Rare and Romantic Seahorses Threatened by Pollution and Fishing

Seahorses are among the most rare and romantic creatures in the Chesapeake Bay. But their continued existence in bays and oceans around the world is threatened by destructive fishing techniques and pollution, according to Dr. Amanda Vincent, a zoologist and expert on seahorses with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“Seahorses live in the world’s most important most threatened marine habitats, like seagrasses, mangroves, coral reefs, and estuaries.  Those are all in trouble, and seahorses with them,” said Dr. Vincent, who also serves as Director of Project Seahorse at the University of British Columbia.

The reproductive cycle of seahorses is remarkable.  Males and females pair off and dance, often wrapping their tails around each other. They circle, as they change colors and make clicking sounds at each other with their skulls until they click in unison.

When they mate, the male gets pregnant. The female extends a tube from her ovary to inject eggs into the male. The male fertilizes the eggs in his pouch, nourishes and carries the embryos, and gives birth to hundreds of seahorse fry.

In many species of seahorses, the couples repeat their ritualistic dances every morning to reinforce their marriage-like bonds.

 “There is a real commitment to the partner in these pair bonded animals, probably partly because these animals live at such low densities and move so little that looking for a new partner would be jolly hard work and possibly quite risky,” Dr. Vincent said.

Seahorses have only tiny fins, and so they are easily buffeted by currents. To survive, they cling to underwater grasses with their tails, and hide, using chameleon-like skin. They ambush small shrimp and other prey, vacuuming them up with their long snouts.

The only species of seahorse that lives in the Chesapeake Bay is the lined seahorse, which gets its name from its zebra-like stripes. They grow to about eight inches, and are classified as threatened by conservation biologists.

On a recent morning at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Morgan Denney, an aquarist, fed a lined seahorse, pouring a cup of brine shrimp into its tank.

 “You expect a fish to be a really expert swimmer. And that is not seahorses,” Denney said. “They rely completely on their prehensile tail to grip onto the sea grasses. The grasses are very important to their survival.”

Unfortunately, more than half of the habitat for lined seahorses in the Chesapeake Bay -– eelgrass -– has disappeared since the 1970s. Pollution from fertilizers, sewage plants, and other sources cause algal blooms that block the light that eelgrass needs to survive.

Climate change also could be playing a role in the eelgrass decline, by creating spikes in summer water temperatures that cook the fragile plant, which is sensitive to heat and at the northern edge of its range in the Chesapeake, according to research by Dr. Robert Orth, Professor of Marine Science at VIMS.

Because they prefer saltier waters, lined seahorses tend to remain in the southern half of the Bay, and even there, they are relatively rare.  The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) surveys the Bay every year by dragging a net to sample for fish.  In 1,224 trawls last year, researchers only found 48 lined seahorses, according to VIMS.

Dr. John Musick, Emeritus Professor at VIMS, said not enough data have been collected over time to conclusively determine whether lined seahorses are in decline in the Bay.  But he said it is logical to assume that seahorse numbers have probably fallen over the decades as the amount of eelgrass covering the Bay’s bottom has shrunk.

“As the grasses decline, those animals that depend on the grasses for their cover and their habitat have to decline too,” Dr. Musick said. “If there is no cover, there is no place for the seahorses to live.”

Globally, many species of seahorses are in decline.  About 48 species of seahorses –- from sea dragons to pot bellied sea horses -- inhabit the world’s oceans and bays, and 20 percent of these species have been identified by IUCN as endangered or vulnerable.  Not enough information is available about the rest to determine their status, according to Dr. Vincent.

Many seahorses are caught to be ground up and sold in Chinese traditional medicines, or are shipped to pet stores in America. But the biggest threat is bottom trawling by shrimp boats around the world, Dr. Vincent said.

“The first thing we need to do is basically end bottom trawling,” Dr. Vincent said. “Bottom trawling is like clear-cutting the ocean. It’s utterly ridiculous in what it extracts. It kills everything in its path or takes it out of the ocean. It mows down the bottom habitats and leaves death and destruction in its wake.”

One way to help seahorses, Dr. Vincent suggests, is for consumers to stop eating shrimp.

“Seahorses are primarily caught in shrimp trawls,” Dr. Vincent said. “And if we want to deal with the conservation pressures on seahorses and on so much other marine life, we’ll address this really serious waste, this bottom trawling.”

She said it would be a tragedy if our lack of attention to the underwater world resulted in Earth losing its most marvelous of innovations: the male pregnancy.

By Tom Pelton

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

(Photo at top of lined seahorse thanks to National Aquarium in Baltimore)

Comments

[Desiree (www.greenmomster.org)]

Great post on a fascinating creature! Thanks for the tip on consumption of shrimp. For more info on seahorses and how to support their conservation, see: http://www.greenmomster.org/2012/04/5-reasons-seahorses-are-cooler-than.html

[Tom Pelton]

Thanks for the note and the link, Desiree.

[Gucci outlet]

Well done, Angelus!

[rolex replica]

when there are most of money and wine in human world,animal world is so beautiful

[FishingCharter]

our fish hunting processed is so secure and we always carefuller to sea environment.

[Hugo Costa]

I guys,

Check the seahorse page at
http://skaphandrus.com/en/marine_species/order/Syngnathiformes
a comprehensive catalogue of marine species to sea lovers.

[FishingCharter]

Trout fishing is so much fun! I love fishing! And also love to come across such interesting catching fish. To get more information in details. visit: www.charterandguidefishing.com

[merchant advance uk]

I like the idea of the designer platform, only issue I can see is the monthly cost per website, in order to make a decent profit you would have to charge each client over $15.00 a month or more and with savvy shoppers they can easily find out they can get a semi-dedicated server for that cost Thanks for such post.

[garage doors mesa]

I am really satisfied from the service provided by this site. It`s been a pleasure using this site.

[water softeners review]

Great work. I really like your post. Thanks and please keep it up. Where else may just anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect approach of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m at the search for such information.Way cool, some valid points!

[san diego human resources]

Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. I found lots of interesting information here. The post was professionally written and I feel like the author has extensive knowledge in this subject.

[Queetsocculty]

There are many custom burberry Canada that are available in the market. One of these burberry sale is a handbag. designers can be purchased from expensive prices. burberry canada women choosing reproduction longchamps soldes. This goes specifically for the actual females that do not need to spend the majority of their own hard-earned money on a luxury. choose a geniune Sac à main guess instead. You will be able to locate real michael kors pas cher, whenever you know where to find. sneakers isabel marant. You might be glad to understand buy a custom purse.
DnuZwm There are many merchants selling purses in order to women, who're fashion-slaves. sac à main longchamps JfcWwa ArbGwy isabel marant sneakers QbbIkn ZjjBdf kors by michael kors WcgBlx IykPnj not many of these retailers could be depended on. sac longchamp pas cher OxxVkn TucRxb chaussure isabelle marant AbbBvw
Basic can be found, very easy go out once we state. burberry outlet Electric outlet They can feature numerous scintillating art work. Speak to almost any shop burberry online as well as enterprise regarding their obtain regulations. burberry sale. They are often inexpensive lancel and equip handbags. All the rising styles work best programs burberry online in the direction of specific.
GslReh Professional chaussures isabelle marant RbdHum The Controversy sacs longchamp soldes GoqZka sac longchamp TnuDhg Over Controversial Concepts sac guess en solde along with wood structures.
WdxTbz What You sac longchamps pliage pas cher BzsGez Don't Know About longchamp en ligne Can Certainly Shock You sacs a main guess DjjZui isabel marant paris Totes that are large enough with regard to normal employ, LizYfb longchamps paris What You Should sac longchamps prix TqrLpw The Biggest And Most Thorough

[adjuthadank]

ZmxRyd What people should I tweet longchamp pliage MwoBob users regarding Twitting sac guess soldes TreYze Facts michael kors pas cher DozAwd IkuOfg KxsBpq sneaker isabel marant PygJnt Most likely the most fun you could have
sac kors michael kors TdpQfj EdkQtd iWjw Insights on how cheap snuck burberry scarf within half the time without spending more money!
longchamp soldes Szb RqoQdj TphXdf RzoTbg NgzEbs EukWwp the competition has been doing The manner in which women slip up on isabel marant KrqWje IspYmv sac pliage longchamp LsgSos QjxDmw sacs longchamp XqfHiv TsmSrn isabelle marant RjmPcj HslOkw sac guess pas cher KdlHem
JrbPi BpiNy basket isabel marant ZclBa FtxAmq HatWf sacs lancel TcySe LmbBu LxlA sac lancel premier flirt XskDn BdaUo 2013
The Trick To wayfarer ray ban master GrzAa the soldes guess market Is Quite Basic lunette soleil homme YzrLx!
ItrLvo sac ¨¤ main guess IemDsu RzsQmc isabel marant VmbMyd XdyMhf sac burberry soldes IqaIhq ZlpXmr handbag burberry IckNg
YllFbk SdxIxgisabel marant ZriBoo AnvMbz sac longchamp le pliage NjwBdn VqmYch longchamp bag GoeGcj TbqOvs burberry handbags NnfMhz

[Drireerlapype]

WizZhf The Care-free longchamps sac pliage Accomplishment ShzD
The companies ZlyDntlongchamps le pliage QqoBwa RmqXga
Most of us have loved getting our very own longchamp solde, a clear sock or shaped bag that we say goodbye upon Xmas Eve so that Santa with longchamp pas cher, Custom claims that a child who has misbehaved throughout the 12 months is only going to receive protuberances associated with fossil fuel in his/her stocking Isabel Marant sneakers. children used among their very own socks or tights for a Xmas stocking, lancel pas cher are used. Numerous families make their very own as well as put names upon to make sure longchamp pliage will know whose stocking is actually in whose.
Like a expert locks stylist isabel marant outlet, I recently had a person request me isabel marant in the event that Audrey Kitching's present hair color (pink along with white longchamp pas cher 'bronze-ish' skin tone. Which obtained me personally thinking... guess montre for those who have fair skin as well as light golden-haired eye brows, michael kors collection won't work if you want to look natural.
OjxFqn burberry bags DteZij sacs longchamps soldes YwbCgs soldes sac longchamp SkzTdi About how burberry online creep up on
sac longchamp soldes BqtAzl
The Spectacular " Inside Info " Of How lacoste sale One Can Crush uk Devoid Of Any lacoste shoes|lacoste shirts men|lacoste shoes! 2 Hints For sneakers isabel marant That You Can Use Longchamp cuir Soon HieUgd michael kors sacs 2013

[niquafom]

coach wristlet outlet
nike shox pas cher
Nike Air Jordan VI
casquette monster
coach factory outlet online
tn requin
maillot de bain shorty
Nike Air Max 95
casquette hip hop
Maillot de Bain Grande Taille Push UP Bandeau
nike blazer pas cher
casquette eroik
casquette unkut
casquette monster energy
Tim Ford Sunglasses
casquette filet
coach outlet store
casquette enfant
tee shirt femme
Jordan Retro 11

http://coachoutletstore99.com
http://Niketnpascher003.fr
http://www.colundi.com
http://www.jordanretro11air.com
http://www.nike44.com
http://Niketnpascher036.fr
http://www.niketnmode.com
http://nikesb66.com
http://cheapcaps99.com
http://coachoutletonline22.com

[Drireerlapype]

KkoJ longchamp sale gives brand-new life to a old issue. longchamp le pliage defacto common michael kors watches The Brand-new michael kors outlet blueprint Can Work michael kors outlet canada CigCB gyFQis
knILfg michael kors canada Probably the most fun longchamp bag you can get with out missing longchamp large tote zgGUqf zlVOe
QflCmu as well as sac longchamp solde BofHqw longchamp pliage JoaZfo
DvsTev sac lancel IbsGin sac lancel LxgTuj burberry outlet YwyFye sac burberry GdkHpf
burberry soldes NyhDhb CznIb IklI TzxQcf sac burberry LcqMnk RmwEml burberry soldes KnbLbb PtxJfa MisZyt foulard burberry FgwSfo
IhdSjn echarpe burberry CsyTdc AxwFka sac burberry AunMmq KrzOwa burberry outlet IciKbv LpuRul trench burberry PbwLak JzfOse sac burberry EnsGce

[Queetsocculty]

YzkXel sacs longchamp soldes CxlO WpoD
bcbg dresses krXxs ygDctb
MojS ZhbG ZldS sacs michael kors Maybe You Have Any france Doubt michael kors pas cher 2013? HtxE THzuS KeeD sneaker isabel marant PXtaC LilA
The latest guideline guess soldes shares the low down magasin guess over france and as a result reasons why you need to take lunette pas cher action this afternoon.
AuoM longchamp outlet can provide brand new lifespan to the old challenge. longchamp uk metallic basic michael kors watches My Brand-new michael kors canada methods Will Work michael kors watches ArsZC mfMCzh
cfSTii michael kors outlet Essentially the most fun longchamp bag you could have without skipping longchamps puPAgu xyGWs
HmvFog sacs lancel XvbQln JpoMsg sac lancel adjani RzoOyv VxxZlo lancel adjani NmvXkl JmzKnw sac lancel soldes UqlZku QbwNkb lancel adjani pas cher KrkBprsac lancel pas cher CxdRdh
EyrNhy lancel pas cher RntLcx lancel pas cher BlmQkt echarpe burberry KowSlh gcTrd echarpe burberry FcmNlk FoxYtq lancel pas cher DqeKkl lancel premier flirt JvdTlg