SINGAPORE, Feb 24 — Seven years after being released into the wild, the endangered Singapore freshwater crab (Johora singaporensis), bred in a laboratory, is thriving in its natural habitat.Released by researchers from the National Parks Board (NParks) into a stream in Bukit Batok in 2018, these crabs have since established their own population in the wild, The Straits Times reported today.“This means they are surviving, even breeding the next generation of crabs in the wild,” Karenne Tun, group director for NParks’ National Biodiversity Centre, was quoted as saying.Reproduction is a positive sign, suggesting the crabs have adapted to their environment and are producing viable offspring.The positive news about the crabs and Singapore’s conservation efforts was published in the January 8 edition of scientific journal Nature, which also revealed that nearly one-quarter of the 23,496 known freshwater species are threatened with extinction due to significant threats to their habitats.Freshwater species, including fish, crustaceans, insects, and predatory flying insects, face threats such as pollution, habitat loss, and climate change.Freshwater crabs, in particular, are vulnerable due to their localized distributions and difficulty dispersing, making them more susceptible to threats like damming and habitat loss.In Singapore, over a third of its 277 freshwater species are listed as threatened with extinction in the Singapore Red Data Book, including freshwater fishes, crustaceans, and dragonflies.“We simply don’t have enough habitats available to support them,” Associate Professor Darren Yeo, head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore told the newspaper.As part of its conservation work, NParks has been monitoring and surveying key freshwater habitats, including streams in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.The Species Recovery Programme, launched in 2015, aims to increase populations of endangered species, including six freshwater fauna species like the Singapore freshwater crab.NParks has successfully bred and released other freshwater species, such as the muff river prawn and swamp forest crab.