What makes life difficult for seahorses

Seahorses and pipefish in a coastal town in the UK Miller, There has been some progress though within the past 20 years to protect them. Since then, work has been done to include seahorses as a threatened species, but large volumes of illegal trade are still an issue Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, We can make efforts to lessen the decline of seahorses with our own actions.

Refuse to buy seahorse souvenirs. These souvenirs are harmful to seahorses and contribute to their decline. You can also help by reducing ocean pollution. Many marine species are threatened by pollution.

Seahorses living in coastal areas are especially at risk. Lastly, support organizations that care about seahorses and marine life. The Seahorse Trust is an organization focusing on conserving the natural world and especially marine environments.

Their flagship species is the seahorse, and you can adopt a seahorse and support them at The Seahorse Trust website. Project Seahorse is an international organization with a focus on finding interdisciplinary solutions to marine conservation.

You can support them on the Project Seahorse website. They have teams of photographers, scientists, conservation organizations, and seahorse enthusiasts to help. You can learn more about them and support them at the iSeahorse website. Humans are the greatest threat to seahorses today. We have the power to help stop harmful practices against seahorses and support organizations that are focused on their survival.

These cute, adorable animals deserve to be protected, and we have the power to do so. Aylesworth, Lindsay. Chang, Chia-Hao, et al. Grall, George. Hogge, Katie, and Emily Brauner.

Leibach, Julie. Mailonline, Jack Millner For. Potenza, Alessandra. Singh, Virat A. Tiwari, Soma. The views presented herein do not necessarily reflect the position of the University of San Francisco. A Big Bellied Seahorse Aylesworth, Even smaller pectoral fins located near the back of the head are used for steering.

They anchor themselves with their prehensile tails to sea grasses and corals, using their elongated snouts to suck in plankton and small crustaceans that drift by. Voracious eaters, they graze continually and can consume 3, or more brine shrimp per day. However, worldwide coastal habitat depletion, pollution, and rampant harvesting, mainly for use in Asian traditional medicine, have made several species vulnerable to extinction.

All rights reserved. A spiny seahorse Hippocampus histrix photographed at Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. Common Name: Seahorses. Scientific Name: Hippocampus. Type: Fish. Diet: Carnivore. Group Name: Herd. Size: 0. Size relative to a teacup:. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. They do, however, vary within the same species: Seahorses can and do change color and grow and lose skin filaments.

Their size ranges from under 1 inch to 14 inches long. Seahorses are categorized in the family Syngnathidae, which includes pipefish and seadragons. Seahorses are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. Favorite seahorse habitats are coral reefs , seagrass beds, estuaries, and mangrove forests.

Seahorses use their prehensile tails to anchor themselves to objects such as seaweed and branching corals. Despite their tendency to live in fairly shallow waters, seahorses are difficult to see in the wild, since they can remain very still and blend in with their surroundings.

Although there is some variation based on species, in general, seahorses feed on plankton and tiny crustaceans such as amphipods, decapods, and mysids, as well as algae. Seahorses do not have stomachs, so food passes through their bodies very quickly, and they need to eat often, between 30 and 50 times a day. Although they are fish, seahorses are not great swimmers. Seahorses prefer to rest in one area, sometimes holding on to the same coral or seaweed for days.

They beat their fins very quickly, up to 50 times a second, but they do not move quickly. They are able to move up, down, forward or backward. Many seahorses are monogamous, at least during a single breeding cycle. A myth perpetuates that seahorses mate for life, but this doesn't seem to be true. Unlike many other fish species, though, seahorses have a complex courtship ritual and may form a bond that lasts during the entire breeding season.

Larger individuals—male and female both—produce larger and more offspring, and there is some evidence for mate choice based on size. Unlike any other species, male seahorses become pregnant and carry babies called fry to term. Females insert their eggs through an oviduct into the male's brood pouch. The male wiggles to get the eggs into position, and once all the eggs are inserted, the male goes to a nearby coral or seaweed and grabs on with his tail to wait out gestation, which lasts 9—45 days.

Males produce — young per pregnancy and while the main source of food to the embryos is the yolk of the egg, the males do provide additional sustenance. When it's time to give birth, he'll contort his body in contractions until the young are born, over a period of minutes or sometimes hours. The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN has not as yet evaluated seahorse endangerment, but Hippocampus spp were among the first fishes brought under global trade restrictions in All countries which were historically exporting large numbers of them have since banned the export or are under CITES export suspensions—some banned the export prior to Nevertheless, seahorses are still threatened by harvesting for use in aquariums, as curios, and in traditional Chinese medicine.

Other threats include habitat destruction and pollution.