Seahorses are such unique species. They are found in most worldwide temperate waters and can be found grabbing onto corals, mangrove roots and seagrasses with their small prehensile tail.
Here are a few seahorse facts for you:
-They pair for life (monogamous).
-Their eye sight is incredible & each eye can work independently.
-Depending on the species, a seahorse can give birth to up to 1500 babies!
-Less than 1 in 1000 babies will survive long enough to become an adult.
-They can change their body colour very quickly to match that of their surroundings.
-They are not great swimmers: for this reason they use their tail to hook onto things but can also die of exhaustion.
-Every morning, seahorse couples engage in a ritualistic dance to greet each other (watch a video on YouTube if you never saw this!).
These species are truly incredible and I am so happy that I have been able to do my marine biology masters thesis in an attempt to help the restoration of their habitat.
Keep reading if you would like to hear more about what my Masters thesis project involved!
Seahorses, the Ria Formosa and my Masters Project
My study was based in the Ria Formosa Lagoon, located in the Algarve (South of Portugal). Not only I have been lucky enough to live here for the last 3 years but I was also lucky enough to take part in an incredible project.
Seahorses in the lagoon have dramatically decreased in the last 20 years due to coastal construction, trawling, construction of clam farms and illegal trade. In this area, the seahorses rely on seagrasses to grab onto with their tails, given their poor swimming abilities and when the seagrasses are destroyed… the seahorses struggle.
For my masters, we focussed on creating new artificial seagrass structures to be deployed in the Ria Formosa, in the hope to help the survival of the seahorses and for their number to grow again.
After some different tests and trials we found out the type of structure that the seahorses preferred, made out of natural fiber in order to minimize any ecological impact. We constructed 100 of them and deployed them in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Ria Formosa!
Part of the study is being sent for publication whilst the second part of the study is ongoing, with data being collected every month! Hopefully we will have great data for a whole year and be able to succesfully publish our results!
Remember that in the smaller picture of things we have so much power to help!
Keep following my blogs to find out what you can do to avoid harming seahorses and all other marine life.
If you love snorkelling or diving, you can start by reading this blog!