Advancing marine conservation
Benthic status of 28 near-shore, artisanal, coral reef fishing grounds in the central Philippines was assessed (2000–2002) together with surveys of the seahorse, Hippocampus comes. Our measures of benthic quality and seahorse densities reveal some of the most degraded coral reefs in the world. Abiotic structure dominated the fishing grounds: 69% of the benthos comprised …
This study examined how habitat associations changed with ontogeny in the Tiger tail seahorse Hippocampus comes Cantor, 1850, over four reef zones in a coral reef ecosystem. Hippocampus comes showed ontogenetic differences in their use of habitat at the scale of reef zones (macrohabitat) and holdfasts (microhabitat). Across reef zones, juvenile size classes (25–105 mm …
Small-scale artisanal fisheries that target sedentary stocks have been largely ignored by fisheries management agencies, despite their great importance for food security and livelihoods. We characterized the fishing effort and biological parameters of one such fishery for seahorses in the central Philippines from 1996 to 1999. We found that catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) was very low, particularly …
Uniquely among vertebrates, seahorses and pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae) incubate their eggs within a male brood pouch. This has contributed to a widespread, but poorly founded belief, that the eggs are fertilised using spermatozoa that are deposited directly into the brood pouch via an internal sperm duct. Anatomical dissections showed, however, not only that direct sperm …
Sexual selection theory predicts a positive correlation between relative parental investment and mate choice. In syngnathid fishes (seahorses and pipefish), males brood offspring in specialized brooding structures. While female-female mating competition has been demonstrated in some pipefishes, all seahorses (genus Hippocampus ) studied to date have been found to have conventional sex roles with greater …
Community-managed, no-take marine reserves are increasingly promoted as a simple, precautionary measure to conserve biodiversity and sustain coral reef fisheries. However, we need to demonstrate the effects of such reserves to those affected by the loss of potential fishing grounds and the wider scientific community. We surveyed changes in fish communities in five small marine …
Great ideas can pop open whole new vistas. And they can come in many forms. They can be as big and sweeping as a new business model or as focused as a single piece of equipment. What’s key is that they are leverage points that have the potential to turn tides. Saving the world’s oceans …
For economic, ecological, and social reasons, it is important to explore how globalization might be changing conservation and management of fisheries. In international arenas, little attention has been given to the exploitation of species for non-food purposes ranging from medicines to bioremediation to souvenirs. Such fisheries range from very small-scale catches for personal use (e.g., …
The presence or absence of skin filaments is an unreliable character for identifying European seahorses. Growth of skin filaments on Hippocampus guttulatus coincides with maturation, while presence on Hippocampus hippocampus is highly variable. Multiple morphological traits including snout, head and trunk shape should be used for identification. Curtis, J.M.R. (2006). A case of mistaken identity: …