Aquatic macroinvertebrates of Nee Soon 
105 
the identification and the designation of endemic Plecoptera (e.g. Scopura gaya and 
Scopura jin ) and Trichoptera species (e.g. Agrypnia pagetana) as threatened species 
(Kim et al., 2014). Incorporation of molecular techniques (e.g. DNA barcoding) 
into identification workflow in future studies would vastly improve this process, as 
molecular barcoding allows for the linkage of adult and juvenile forms (Zhou et al., 
2007; Kutty et al., 2018), as well as allowing for the identification of cryptic species 
down to the species level. Indeed, previous work by Ball et al. (2005) and Pfenninger 
et al. (2007) has shown that high levels of accuracy from molecular techniques can be 
achieved in the identification of Ephemeroptera and Chironomidae, respectively. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We would like to thank Y. Cai, T. Li and W.H. Lim for their 
assistance in the field. This study was approved by the National Parks Board of Singapore 
(Permit no. NP/RP13-068-1). Funding for this study was received from the National Parks 
Board of Singapore (National University of Singapore grant number R-347-000-198-490). 
References 
Balke, M., Hendrich, L. & Yang, C.M. (1997). Water beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the Nature 
Reserves of Singapore. Gard. Bull. Singapore 49(2): 321-331. 
Ball, S.L., Hebert, P.D.N., Burian, S.K. & Webb, J.M. (2005). Biological identifications of 
mayflies (Ephemeroptera) using DNA barcodes. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 24(3): 508-524. 
Blakely, T.J., Harding, J.S., Clews, E. & Winterbourn, M.J. (2010). An illustrated guide to 
the freshwater macroinvertebrates of Singapore. Christchurch: School of Biological 
Sciences, University of Canterbury. 
Blakely, T.J., Eikaas, H.S. & Harding, J.S. (2014). The SingScore: a macroinvertebrate biotic 
index for assessing the health of Singapore’s streams and canals. Raffles Bull. Zool. 62: 
540-548. 
Bressan, M., Chinellato, A., Munari, M., Matozzo, V., Manci, A., Marceta, T., Finos, L., Moro, 
I., Pastore, R, Badocco, D. & Marin, M.G. (2014). Does seawater acidification affect 
survival, growth and shell integrity in bivalve juveniles? Mar. Environ. Res. 99: 136— 
148. 
Cai, Y., Ng, C.Y. & Ngiam, R.W.J. (2018). Diversity, distribution and habitat characteristics 
of dragonflies in Nee Soon freshwater swamp forest, Singapore. Gard. Bull. Singapore 
70 (Suppl. 1): 123-153. 
Clements, R., Koh, L.P, Lee, T.M., Meier, R. & Li, D. (2006). Importance of reservoirs for 
the conservation of freshwater molluscs in a tropical urban landscape. Biol. Conserv. 
128(1): 136-146. 
Clews, E., Low, E., Belle, C.C., Todd, P.A., Eikaas, H.S. & Ng, P.K.L. (2014). A pilot 
macroinvertebrate index of the water quality of Singapore’s reservoirs. Ecol. Indie. 38: 
90-103. 
Clews, E., Corlett, R.T., Ho, J.K.I., Koh, C.Y., Liong, S.Y., Memory, A., Ramchunder, S.J., 
Siow, H.J.M.P., Sun, Y., Tan, H.H., Tan, S.Y., Tan, H.T.W., Theng, M.T.Y. & Yeo, D.C.J. 
(2018) The biological, ecological and conservation significance of freshwater swamp 
forest in Singapore. Gard. Bull. Singapore 70 (Suppl. 1): 9-31. 
