Gayana - Eco Resort

Mangroves support unique ecosystems, especially on their intricate root systems. In areas where roots are permanently submerged, they may host a wide variety of organisms, including algae, barnacles, oyster, sponges and bryozoans. There are also mangrove crabs (e.g: Uca sp, Scylla serrata), mud lobster (Thalassina anomala), mud whelks and fishes like Periopthalamus, Oreochromis sp and many more. The word mangrove comes from the Portuguese mangue which means "tree" and the English "grove" and is used to refer to trees and shrubs that are found in shallow, sandy or muddy areas.

Mangroves grow in sediments that have high salt concentration and usually surrounded by seawater. Since the muddy sediments in which mangrove grow are soft, anaerobic with high salinity and frequent tidal inundation they have special adaptations to grow in such harsh conditions. Mangroves have thick and leathery leaves with stomata (openings in the leaves for gas exchange and water loss) are sunken and usually confined to the undersurface. This adaptations help to retard the loss of water through evaporation from the leaves. Mangroves also have special support roots such as prop roots, drop roots, and cable roots that functions are as structural supports and as a means of aerating the buried root tissues with a system of gas filled spaces.

Mangroves have a special seed adaptation where the embryo in the seed begins to germinate while the seed is still attached to the parent tree. This is important since the developing root and stem can establish more quickly after the seedling dropped from the tree. The embryonic roots can attach quickly to soft sediment and not being washed away to the sea. In order to dispersing the seeds away from the parent tree the mangrove seeds often float before attaching to the bottom.

Seagrasses are marine plants that generally inhabit the protected shallow water with high light intensity. They are flowering plants that live in the coastal waters of most of the world's continents and main diet of dugong and green turtle. Seagrasses has a major stems called rhizomes grow horizontally just below the surface of the bottom sediments. The roots and rhizome help to stabilize the plant and along with the leaves help trap large amounts of sediment.

Marine animals that can be found there are such as sea cucumber, sea star, mollusc, crustaceans and fishes like pipefish, seahorse, rabbitfish and many more. Seagrass species that usually found in tropical waters are such as Halophila sp. Cymodocea sp, Thalassia, and Halodule sp.

The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse collection of species that interact with each other and the physical environment. It is the most diverse community in the world with approximately 25% marine species living in it. There are two types of coral, hard and soft coral. The different between hard and soft coral is that soft coral lack the hard outer coverings of calcium carbonate associated with hard corals.

Many people thought coral as a rock but they are actually is an animal known as coral polyp. These animals rely on symbiotic dinoflagellates that live within the tissue of the coral polyp known as zooxanthellae to supply them with some nutrients and to produce suitable condition for the formation of coral skeleton. Marine animals that are usually found there are such as sponges, sea urchins, sea stars, worms, anemones, echinoderms, crustaceans, mollusc, bryozoans, sea slugs, squids, octopuses, eels, moray eels, sharks, rays, turtle.

Other fishes found on the reefs include angelfishes, butterflyfishes, damselfishes, triggerfishes, seahorses, snappers, squirrelfishes, grunts, pufferfishes, groupers, barracudas, wrasse, parrotfish and scorpionfishes.

The vegetation of the Pulau Gaya, particularly near to Gayana Eco Resort is dominated by dipterocarp family and the trees can reach in height about 50 - 60 meters. The jungle is a mixture of primary and secondary forest. This is a good opportunity for the nature lover to come and learn more on birds of Borneo as 40% of Borneo's native flora and fauna are present in such a private location.

Sabah's first forest reserve, Pulau Gaya (Gaya Island) preserves one of the few remaining areas of undisturbed costal dipterocarp forest. Primitive Cycads grow in small hide-a-ways tucked away in the bosom of the island, untouched for millions of years. Whether your interest is flora or fauna, we have some spectacular sights and surprises for every season.

Let nature entertain your olfactory senses during a trek in the jungle. The smell of the white Gardenia mingling with the brilliant scarlet of the Coral Tree mixed with the wakening taste of the sea air. The mood of Mother Nature presents itself with a different tone for every season whether it is time for the migration of a great variety of non-indigenous bird species in November or the appearance of the Tacca Lily in May.

The jungle trekking is home to a unique collection of birds including hornbills, bulbuls, raptors, and flycatchers. Primates could be seen around the jungle including macaques, proboscis monkeys, together with reptiles, snakes, lizards and many more.