In a recent appraisal by the World Bank of the state of freshwater biodiversity research in Asia (Kottelat & Whitten, 1996), Singapore stood out in many aspects.

Its fauna was well studied and known, and despite its small size, it had a disproportionately number of top taxonomists (19% of the total in Southeast Asia, based on publications in international peer-reviewed journals), all of which are staff or workers in NUS.

The report also commented that "The knowledge of the freshwater biodiversity of Singapore is outstanding... a key factor has also been the presence in local institutions of a succession of scientists with an interest in freshwater diversity". The same is also true of Singapore's marine biodiversity program.

The basis of this strength in aquatic biodiversity research is clearly tied to the Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), with some eight academic staff now working on various aspects of aquatic systematics, ecology etc. The staff, and their respective specialties are as follows:

• Prof TJ Lam - Fish endocrinology and aquaculture

• Prof LM Chou - Marine invertebrate biology

• A/Prof PKL Ng - Fish and crustacean taxonomy, ecology

• Dr N. Sodhi - Biology of water birds

• A/Prof HTW Tan - Aquatic plant taxonomy and ecology

• A/Prof Benito Tan - Bryophytes

• Mrs CM Yang - Aquatic insert taxonomy

The DBS also administers the Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC), which contains the bulk of the zoological specimens in the renowned former Raffles Museum and National Museum of Singapore. This zoological collection, with some 300,000 specimens, assembled over 150 years of Malaysia and Singapore's history, is generally acknowledged as the finest collection of Malayan animals in the world. Over the last 10 years, the ZRC has also obtained large collections from all over South and Southeast Asia, making it an excellent centre for comparative studies of the tropical fauna of the Oriental Region.

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Many of the academic staff are involved in classical systematics and ecological work, and have published extensively on the flora and fauna of Southeast Asia. These staff and their students are working on various aspects of Southeast Asian and Indo-West Pacific aquatic biodiversity (particularly zoodiversity), some major ones being:

1. Marine crab fauna of South East Asia
2. Inventory of the marine fauna of South China Sea (with various ASEAN and international bodies)
3. Diversity of hard and soft corals, as well as polychaete worms in Singapore (with various international bodies)
4. Echinoderm biology and taxonomy (with Belgium in part)
5. Mangrove ecology of crabs
6. Management of coastal ecosystems
7. Coastal fish inventory of Singapore 
8. Revision of the air-breathing fishes of Southeast Asia
9. Faunistic survey of central Sumatra with a focus on aquarium species
10. Systematics of the freshwater crabs and prawns of Southeast Asia (with various institutes)
11. Crabs of Sri Lanka (with the Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka)
12. Aquatic insect fauna of Sabah (with the University of Sabah)
13. Water beetle fauna of Malaysia, Insects of phytotelms (with the Senckenberg Museum, Germany)
14. Taxonomic studies of the water skaters of Southeast Asia (with various institutes)
15. State of water insect, crustacean and herptile fauna in Singapore (with the National Parks Board)

There are also very active applied research programs based on aquatic biodiversity, particularly in conservation (local and regional), fish and crab culture, in the aquarium trade and disease management. Many of these programs are multidisciplinary, using classical as well as cutting edge molecular techniques.

The various staff involved in this research have also won national and regional recognition for their scientific work, notably the Singapore National Youth Award (Excellence in Science and Technology) (1993), National Science Award, (1995), and ASEAN Young Science and Technologist Award (1995). One student has also won the inaugural Nature Society Prize (Singapore) (1997) for writing the top thesis in conservation matters, while five others have won prestigious short-term research fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and Paris Museum over the last 5 years. Staff are also serving in various regional committees under the United Nations Environment Program and Food and Agricultural Organisation. Staff are also members of the Freshwater Fish and Otter Specialist Groups of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) (Geneva, Switzerland) (selected by the IUCN on the basis of their international professional expertise) which serve to advise on key international conservation issues involving these animals. Currently, these staff serve on the editorial boards or are regional governors of no fewer than 12 regional and international journals, including the top ones in their respective fields! Publication wise, these staff and their students have been very productive, releasing over 50 publications in regional and international peer-reviewed journals between 1996 and 1997 alone.

A book on the flora, fauna and ecology of Bukit Timah Forest, one of the many collaborative projects between National Parks Board and NUS.

To support the biodiversity program, the DBS has the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity, a modern herbarium, a boat (for marine work), complete electron microscope facilities, radiograph machines and processors, a modern photographic laboratory, a fully equipped computer room etc. These facilities are supported by some dozen technical staff. The DBS's aquatic biodiversity program is also augmented by some 20 postgraduate students involved in various associated research projects, including fish and aquatic invertebrate faunistics of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

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