NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



i 



months, while larger seahorses 

 mature six months to a year 

 after birth. 



When mating, seahorses 

 do a "carousel dance," 

 according to LaPlante. The 

 male and the female interlock 

 their tails and swirl up the 

 water column and then back 

 down. 



It seems that with 

 every swirl, their appearance 

 changes. "They change colors 

 fairly fast, from white to black, 

 black to red, and red to orange 

 in seconds," says Smith. 



"During the spiral dance 

 they intertwine — the higher 

 partner turns white while the 

 lower is black," Smith explains. 

 "Every fourth or fifth time 

 the male and female go up 

 and down the water column, 

 the male stops to scratch 

 his pouch on a rock or shell, 

 thus preventing the eggs from 

 forming clumps." 



If the eggs clump, the 

 fry will be deformed. Some 

 fry leave the pouch with their 

 ^ m —^— tails connected because each 



*Jl ^ikflM^HNiji e &§ did not have an individual 



place on the male's liner, 

 according to Smith. 

 When the seahorses are bom, they must swim to the surface and gulp 

 air to fill their swim bladders, according to Smith. Some die because they 

 gulp too much air and become too buoyant. 



SEAHORSE SURVIVAL 



Each year, 20 million seahorses are dried and sold by the kilo in TCM 

 markets to treat anything from asthma to infertility and impotence. The 

 World Health Organization recognizes TCM as an acceptable health-care 

 option. 



Experts also note that human activities, such as coastal construction 

 and boating, threaten seahorses because these activities may disturb or 

 destroy important habitats, such as eelgrass beds. 



Water runoff in developed areas also may kill fragile shnmp, the 

 seahorse's primary diet. Without adequate shnmp and eelgrass cover, 

 seahorses may starve or wash up on beaches. 



Seahorse predators include crabs, urchins, other fish, humans, skates 

 and rays, tuna and birds. 



Storms are also a threat because they create rough currents that 

 seahorses are not strong enough to withstand. After storms, seahorses often 

 are found washed onto beaches. 



The entire genus of seahorses, Hippocampus, is listed as a threatened 

 species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 

 of Wld Fauna and Flora — better known as CITES. 



In order for seahorses to receive this listing, the 1 66 nations agree to 

 manage trade to protect wild populations. 



The international convention generally protects commercially important 

 species. Seahorses are one of the first non-commercial species to be listed. 



But, many of the people in these signatory nations depend on the 

 export of seahorses to provide a means of survival in their small villages. 



For example, Caribbean fishers and harvesters rake out the seahorses 

 from eelgrass beds and put them on platforms to dry, in preparation for sale 

 to foreign markets, Smith explains. 



The Philippines has a law that prevents the harvest and trade of any 

 listed CITES species, yet the seahorse trade is vital to some of the nation's 

 small villages. 



The Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation is working 

 with partners — thejohn G. Shedd Aquanum, the University of British 

 Columbia, and the Zoological Society of London — to find a balance 

 between economics and ecology. 



In order to ensure the persistence of seahorse populations worldwide, 

 researchers ideally need to analyze the past, assess the present and plan for 

 the future, according to Foster and Vincent. 



An assessment of each seahorse species is necessary to learn how 

 they are affected by exploitation and habitat damage, the researchers say. 

 Such information will improve genus management, thus protecting wild 

 populations worldwide. 



In North Carolina, conservation efforts include breeding programs at 

 the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and the Museum of Natural 

 Sciences in Raleigh. 



"The seahorse breeding program has been very successful this year," 

 says LaPlante. "We've had fifteen seahorses live this year." a 



The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as the North Carolina Aquariums 

 at Roanoke Island and Fort Fisher, currently have seahorse displays. The aquarium at 

 Pine Knoll Shores will have a display when it re-opens in 2006. For more information 

 about North Carolina's seahorses and conservation, check out www.naturalsciences. 

 org, or www.ncaquariums.com. For an international view, go to Project Seahorse's 

 Website www.seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca. 



COASTWATCH 23 



