Reflection: Jason

Waking up at 3 a.m. to board a bus was certainly an experience, coupled with the lack of sleep from the night before. However, seeing the animals we learnt about during our lessons with my own two eyes in the intertidal zone definitely made up for the tiredness and the seasickness from the boat ride. For me, there is possibly no better way to learn that to see and observe first-hand. The trip further piqued my interest in these animals, and allowed me to understand, absorb and apply the knowledge I learnt more effectively.
Listening to the tour guide’s clear explanation, and actually seeing how the animals (like the gobies, darting between the corals) helped me better understand how these species are intertwined and made me more aware of how they form a complex net that is the ecosystem. Despite the challenges they face, each of them still manages to adapt to the harsh environment in their own unique way.
Lastly, being able to witness these animals’ lifestyles in person has triggered a desire to study them in greater detail so that we may understand the factors that threaten them and to guard them from extinction to conserve them for the generations to come!