Life in an estuary
This is the estuary of the Aceh river in Sumatra, but for a long time another stream, called the Punge river, dominates its water to this estuary.
This area is in fact a dense settlement in medieval times. As a result of land subsidence and a variety of other geomorphological processes, it becomes a tidal swamp land.
... And life there has changed since that long time.
This is one of the flowering plants that grow in that salty air area. I have not found the exact identification for this plant, which grows much in the bunds of fish ponds there, but from its leaves and from its resistance to saltiness, I can surmise that it is one of the mangrove species.
And this is the nipah fruit (Nypa fruticans) where this kind of palm tree grows abundantly in the estuary.
The palm produces large quantities of sugar-rich sap that can be converted into ethanol. It has been reported that Nipah palm is capable of producing ethanol ranging from 6,480 to 20,000 L/ha, that makes it several times more productive than the sugarcane. (source
Next, the crabs.This is a crab is one of members of the family Ocypodidae. A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of approximately 100 species of semi-terrestrial marine crabs which make up the genus Uca. (source. And the crab, which I took this picture, named Uca forcipata. I think, It dominates this area.
Human activities in this area are now limited to fish farming activities, fishing, and looking for oysters, nothing more.
While in the night, the area was a silent darkness.
