Syngathids Flashcards
Syngnathids include which animals?
Seahorse, pipefish, pipehorse and seadragons.
What are unique to males?
Marsupium (pouch) or use ventral gluing.
Many species use what mating system?
Monogamy or polyandry.
Describe population sizes within the ocean.
Many species are endangered or threatened
Small brood size means what for these animals? Male brooding?
Limits potential reproductive rate.
Young depend on parental survival far longer than most fish.
What is the local species? Where do they live? What’s an odd fact about them? (pipefish)
Northern pipefish.
Estuaries, coves, bays, inlets where eelgrass and/or seaweed abundant.
o Sometimes found in fresh water near the coast
Roll eyeballs separately.
Pipefish breed when? What do males do?
March to August.
Nurse the eggs in the brood pouch.
The protruding _____ of the female is inserted into the opening of the _____ of the male and a dozen or more eggs are passed over. (pipefish) How long does this occur and when does it stop?
Oviduct; pouch.
Occurs several times in succession, with intervals of rest, until the pouch is filled.
When does fertilization take place? (pipefish) What happens?
during the transference of the eggs from one parent to the other
The egg becomes embedded in the lining of the brood pouch and the embryos within the eggs are nourished by the epithelial lining layer of the pouch (functions as a placenta)
Incubation and maturity take roughly how long? (pipefish)
Incubation takes around about 10 days
o The young are retained in the brood pouch until they are 8- or 9-mm. long, when the yolk sac has been absorbed
The young pipefish are then ready for independent existence and once they leave the pouch, they do not return to it
Pipefish fry kept in aquaria have been found to grow from about 10mm to about 70mm in length within about 2 months after hatching
· It is probable that they mature when about 1 year old
What are characteristics of pipefish? (8)
·Better swimmers than seahorses but still not great
·15-30cm in length
·Male involved in parental care
·Swim on the horizontal not on the vertical like seahorse
·Thin, long, can camouflage well
·Common from the gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida
· Pencil-like; horizontal; narrow head; snout tubular; yellow green
· Flexible body covered with rings of bony scales; 19 trunk rings
o 1 rectangular dorsal fin; tail tiny, fan-like
What are characteristics of seahorses? (9)
·Great fathers and the father will deliver the babies
·Hard to keep in captivity and do not breed in captivity (typically)
·Hook on plants and wait for food to pass by them
·Many seahorses have small pouches (these are the species with few young)
o Acts as a placenta, nourishes the young, protects the young
· Not great swimmers
o Swim vertically, not hydrodynamic
·If the parents die, the young often don’t survive as they are very dependent on parental care
·Strictly monogamous and individuals separated from their partner may actually never mate again
o Each morning begins with a dance between the male and female and this is their way of reconnecting with each other
·Dependent on “sea forests” so they can hook there and spend most of their lives there
o Tsunamis, hurricanes, cyclones can be detrimental to seahorses due to this
·K-selected species
o Cannot renew their population very quickly if something happens
What is project seahorse? What are some facts we know from Project seahorse? (6)
A conservation group
· Small brood size limits potential reproductive rate
· Male brooding means that young depend on parental survival for far longer than in most fish
· Monogamy in most species that have been studied means that widowed animals don’t reproduce until they find a new partner
·Low population density suggests that lost partners are not quickly replaced
· Monitoring of known individuals suggests that natural rates of adult mortality may be low, making fishing a new pressure
· Low adult mobility and small home ranges in many species may restrict recolonization of depleted areas, although juveniles may be the primary dispersers
