Cuttlefish seen laying eggs on a seahorse off Spain

A seahorse carries the burden of cuttlefish eggsIt is the curious incident of the cuttlefish and seahorse in the daytime.Biologists diving in the seas off Spain witnessed a European cuttlefish laying its eggs on a passing seahorse, which then swims away, eggs in tow. The researchers believe they have filmed the European cuttlefish laying eggs in the wild for the first time. However, during filming, one cuttlefish appears to confuse the seahorse with seaweed, laying its eggs on the passing fish despite the water being clear. The startling behaviour was captured on film by Manuel Enrique Garcia Blanco, an underwater cameraman and photographer, who works with Ms Fiona Read, a PhD student at the Marine Research Institute in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. Together, the researchers are investigating the sustainability of fisheries in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, including an old type of fishing for cuttlefish still practised by fishers living in a few villages within Galicia. As part of the research, Mr Blanco was diving off the island of Toralla in the Ria de Vigo, where cuttlefish arrive in the winter to breed and spawn. During one dive, he filmed a pair of European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) mating and laying eggs in the seagrass, which to the best of the researchers' knowledge is the first time such behaviour has been recorded in the wild. Over two hours, he recorded the cuttlefish laying 15 eggs at two different sites. The cuttlefish attached the eggs onto seagrass, which holds the eggs in the current, laying an egg at each site around three minutes apart. This is similar to what other European cuttlefish do when reproducing in captivity, behaviour observed by the researchers the year before in an aquarium. However, Mr Blanco also captured another, much more improbable first: a seahorse swimming along with two cuttlefish eggs attached to its tail. "The cuttlefish had laid the eggs on the seahorse rather than the seagrass," Ms Read told the BBC. "From the egg-laying behaviour, it is almost certain the cuttlefish put the eggs on when the seahorse was sitting in the seagrass." Rather than let the seahorse be compromised by the eggs, Mr Blanco decided to intervene. "The eggs were really tight round the seahorse's tail and it was thought to effect the survival of the seahorse," explains Ms Read. "So the seahorse was captured and the eggs were cut from its tail. "The seahorse is expected to survive but the eggs were damaged during the dissection."

Marine Mr. Mom: Male Pipefish Gives Birth, but Some Are Deadbeat Dads, Study Shows

Male pipefishes and their seahorse cousins are the only males that actually become pregnant and give birth, but pipefishes likely will never win any Father of The Year awards -- their attitude towards their offspring can range from total love to total neglect, according to new findings from Texas A&M University researchers.

Kim Paczolt and Adam Jones, researchers in the Department of Biology, found that the male pipefish can be a nurturing father as it tends its young before giving birth, but later it may not choose to make the effort. The key factor for this attitude: How the male feels about the mother.
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and the findings are published in the current issue of Nature.
The Texas A&M researchers studied consecutive broods in male Gulf pipefish to understand why some offspring survive while others do not. Their results reveal that the males who were especially fond of the females they had mated with were more likely to show a nurturing attitude toward their offspring. In almost every case, those that were not overly fond of the mother were less nurturing toward their young.
"The bottom line seems to be, if the male likes the mom, the kids are treated better," Paczolt explains.
"Why this occurs, we don't fully understand, but our findings are quite specific about this relationship between the male pipefish and its mate. If the male prefers the female, he treats their mutual offspring better."
Pipefishes are found worldwide and are especially prevalent in tropical and subtropical waters, including the U.S. Gulf Coast. They are 4-5 inches in length and somewhat resemble a stretched-out version of a seahorse.
Like the seahorse, the male pipefish becomes pregnant and gives birth. The Gulf pipefish can carry from 5 to 40 developing offspring at one time in its specialized brood pouch.
Pipefishes and seahorses are part of a family of marine life called syngnathid fishes that have a unique reproductive system in which the male carries developing embryos. The male -- not the female -- provides for the embryo during their development.
Paczolt says the study supports several aspects of the sexual selection theory -- not only do individuals choose their mates based on a variety of traits, but also, this choice can be expressed both before and after mating.
"The one trait in the pipefish that seems to stand out is the size of the female," she adds.
"Mate choice in the Gulf pipefish is related to the size of the female. Males tend to seek out larger females to be their mates. If he really likes his female mate, he makes a greater effort to tend their babies. It's almost as if he is saying, 'Are these babies worth my effort?' If he is not overly fond of the mother, the answer appears to be 'No,' and he invests fewer resources."
Paczolt says by studying male pregnancy in pipefish, it may give researchers a better understanding of how the brood pouch in syngnathid fishes evolved. "The whole phenomenon of male pregnancy is full of conflict and far more complex than we had previously realized," she notes.
Kimberly A. Paczolt & Adam G. Jones. Post-copulatory sexual selection and sexual conflict in the evolution of male pregnancy. Nature, 2010; 464 (7287): 401 DOI: 10.1038/nature08861

Rare seahorses fly in to capital

The big bellied species can give birth to up to 700 baby seahorses Six rare Australian big belly seahorses have arrived in Edinburgh to form part of a new captive breeding programme at an aquarium. The seahorses were transported by aeroplane from Southampton to be taken to their new home at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry in Fife. There are already four big bellied seahorses kept in the aquarium. The new additions were packaged in seawater in plastic bags with oxygen added to support them on the journey. They have been transported in a polystyrene box to help to maintain the cooler temperatures that the species are kept in. 'Wonderful creatures' Michael Morris, an aquarist from Deep Sea World, said it was important to source captive-bred specimens to eliminate any need to remove animals from the wild. He said an aquarist from the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth - where the sextet were bred - accompanied the seahorses on their journey. Blue Reef aquarium employee Zahra D'aronvlle with a big belly seahorse "We hope to continue Blue Reef's success in breeding these wonderful creatures and to eventually help supply other zoos and aquariums around the country," he added. Big bellied seahorses live around Australia, generally in the cooler water regions, and are usually found around areas of sea grass and kelp not much deeper than about 12m. They are one of the largest species of seahorse in the world, getting their name from their swollen bellies, and can grow to about 25cm long.

Rare seahorses breeding in Thames

Colonies of rare seahorses are living and breeding in the River Thames, conservationists have revealed. The short-snouted variety are endangered and normally live around the Canary Islands and Italy. Experts at London Zoo said the species had been found at Dagenham in east London and Tilbury and Southend in Essex, over the last 18 months. The revelation coincided with new laws which came into force on Sunday to give the creatures protected status. The seahorses, or Hippocampus hippocampus, are now protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are usually found in shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds and conservationists said their presence in the Thames is another good sign that the water quality of the river was improving. Monitoring work Alison Shaw, from London Zoo, said: "These amazing creatures have been found in the Thames on a number of occasions in the last 18 months during our regular wildlife monitoring work. "It demonstrates that the Thames is becoming a sustainable bio-diverse habitat for aquatic life. "It is not clear how endangered short-snouted seahorses are because there is little data known, particularly in the UK, so every scrap of information is valuable. "Now they are protected conservationists are more relaxed about telling the world they are there." Both the short-snouted and long-snouted seahorse are kept and bred in the aquarium at London Zoo in Regents Park. Aquarists are studying their life history and behaviour so their wild habitats and requirements can be protected. Source: BBC News

Sperm secrets of male seahorses uncovered

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have uncovered for the first time secrets about how male seahorses produce their young that could prove valuable in conservation efforts to save the vulnerable species. Unlike other animals and humans in which the female becomes pregnant, male seahorses carry their unborn in a pouch on their body and give birth to their young.They manage to reproduce very efficiently with small amounts of sperm and have a short window of opportunity in which to fertilize the female eggs."We were delighted to finally be able to uncover the male seahorse's fertilization mechanism, a fascinating area of seahorse reproduction that has been neglected until now," Professor Bill Holt, of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said on Friday.After observing and filming the mating behavior of the yellow seahorse, Holt and his team discovered that when it comes to efficiently reproducing male seahorses are way ahead of humans and most other species.But seahorses face threats from habitat loss, pollution and fishing and are listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union, or IUCN, Red List of endangered species."We did sperm counts and observations of the mating behavior and have videos of the whole sequence of the mating. With all of the evidence together you can see exactly what is going on," said Holt.To overcome the lack of sperm yellow male seahorses produce two types of sperm, according to the findings reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology."But even more surprising, the sperm they produce is expelled from their bodies into the sea water. But the sperm still manage to find the male pouch where the females have deposited the eggs," said Holt."We can't explain exactly how that actually happens." All the female seahorse has to do is produce the eggs and transfer them to the pouch -- a process that takes 5-10 seconds. The sperm also have to find their way into the pouch in that time because once the eggs are transferred the pouch closes and is sealed.Although the research focused on the yellow seahorse, a species found in Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan, Holt and his team said all seahorses reproduce in the same way.Adult yellow seahorses measure 8 cm (3.1 inches) and live about five years. Unlike humans who can produce billions of sperm but normally only one or two young at a time, seahorses give birth to about 100."If they have only a few hundred sperm and are producing a hundred offspring that is amazing in the world of sperm," Holt added

Remove the ban on exports of marine species: Experts

Experts have urged the government to lift the ban onexport of marine species having medicinal value - seahorses and pipefishes. Many experts have cited that these marine creatures are no longer in thecategory of endangered species. A good number of them have bred and culturedand kept safe in the sanctuary - Gulf of Mannar. The breeding of seahorses and pipefishes are being undertaken in the Centreof Advanced Study in Marine Biology of the Annamalai University located inthe remote village, Parangipettai. "We bred 10,000 species of seahorses and pipefishes and handed over to theGulf of Mannar. We have trained 40 Tsunami-affected women fisher folks intwo batches in the art of breeding," said the professor in marine biology, SRajagopal.

Protecting endangered seahorses

A NEW £100,000 centre for protecting endangered seahorses is set to open
this Easter under the guidance of a Glasgow scientist.

Rory Crawford, an aquatic bioscience graduate from North Kelvinside, will
head the special seahorse breeding and conservation unit at Loch Lomond
Aquarium.

Nine new tanks will house a host of the endangered species from Australia to
the Caribbean.

The 22-year-old former Williamwood High pupil will be responsible for
encouraging a minimum of three species of tropical seahorse to breed, and
for raising awareness of the plight of many seahorses in the wild.

continued...He said: "I can't wait to get started. The new facility will
give us a great opportunity to inform people about such an important
conservation cause.

"About 20 million are slaughtered annually, many to supply ingredients for
traditional Chinese medicines - so they really are at risk. There's also
still a thriving black market in seahorse souvenirs and in the illegal
import of protected species for home aquariums."

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