Mate choice, operational sex ratio, and social promiscuity in a wild population of the long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus

Naud, Marie-José; Curtis, Janelle M. R.; Woodall, Lucy C.; Gaspar, Miguel B.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arn128

Cited by 34 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Pygmy seahorses are assumed to be monogamous, at least between broods, as has been found in most other seahorse species and reported for Hippocampus bargibanti (Jones & Avise 2001, Naud et al 2008). In our study, some seahorse groups were found to have a skewed sex ratio, suggesting that pygmy seahorses may benefit from plasticity in their mating system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…A possible explanation for this is the preferential settlement of animals to hosts that already accommodate a member of the opposite sex, given that seahorses are gonochoristic. Since post-settlement movement appears not to occur, and solitary individuals remained on their host in isolation for extended periods (Smith 2011), relocation to find a partner appears unlikely.Pygmy seahorses are assumed to be monogamous, at least between broods, as has been found in most other seahorse species and reported for Hippocampus bargibanti (Jones & Avise 2001, Naud et al 2008). In our study, some seahorse groups were found to have a skewed sex ratio, suggesting that pygmy seahorses may benefit from plasticity in their mating system.…”

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confidence: 82%

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Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Smith

Grutter²,

Tibbetts³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Pygmy seahorses are a group of little-known miniature hippocampid fish that differ considerably in biology and ecology from their larger congeners. We estimated the population density, sex ratio and habitat of 2 sympatric, obligate gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses, Hippocampus bargibanti and H. denise, in a 20 km long coastal marine protected area in southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Belt transects covering 200 m 2 each were surveyed at 7 sites and 5 depth contours to record the density of seahorses and their host gorgonians. The population density (± SE) was 1.17 (± 0.27) per 200 m 2 for H. denise and 0.34 (± 0.20) per 200 m 2 for H. bargibanti, some of the lowest densities for unexploited seahorse populations studied thus far. Male−female pairs (43.9%) were the most common group composition for H. denise, with single, 3 or 4 individuals found on 19.5, 7.3 and 29.3% of inhabited gorgonians, respectively. H. denise inhabited 7.8% of Annella reticulata gorgonians within the survey area but were recorded from a total of 8 gorgonian genera during extensive opportunistic ad hoc searches. Annella spp. density was 10.7 times higher than that of Muricella spp. (the sole host of H. bargibanti), of which 20.0% were inhabited. The small population size, occurrence of pygmy seahorses in groups on their hosts with the resulting skew in sex ratios, and habitat specialisation likely all impact the species' population dynamics, and hence these need to be considered in conservation management strategies.KEY WORDS: Habitat specialist · Miniature species · Abundance · Rare species · Hippocampus · Syngnathidae · Pygmy seahorse · Gorgonian 444: 195-206, 2012 Many organisms that live on coral reefs rely directly on architectural species for their existence (Jones et al. 2004). An association with gorgonians can be beneficial to other organisms due to the gorgonians' temporal stability as hosts, their unpalatability, thus acting as a chemical refuge, and their provision of access to rich food resources via their position in high water flow (Goh et al. 1999, Puglisi et al. 2000, Kumagai 2008. Two of the 7 described species of pygmy seahorses are obligate associates of gorgonian corals and form small groups of individuals that appear to spend their entire post-pelagic life on a single host (Smith 2011). The associations of these miniature seahorses with gorgonian hosts have been documented for Hippocampus bargibanti, which lives exclusively with Muricella plectana and M. paraplectana (Gomon 1997), and H. denise, which has a wider range of hosts including Annella reticulata, Muricella sp. and unconfirmed associations with Echinogorgia sp. and Acanthogorgia sp. (Gomon 1997, Lourie & Randall 2003, Lourie & Kuiter 2008. Despite a paucity of knowledge regarding the biology and ecology of gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses, their host specialisation is a factor potentially placing them at an increased risk due to habitat disturbance , Munday 2004, Feary 2007. Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of th...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

mentioning

confidence: 82%

Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Smith

Grutter²,

Tibbetts³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Although H. guttulatus occurs at higher densities than most other seahorse species (Foster and Vincent 2004), it has been observed to be socially polygamous (Naud et al 2009) and may have skewed sex ratios in some populations (Woodall 2009): none of these factors appear to result in deviation from a genetically monogamous breeding system.…”

Section: Marker Loci Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vincent and Sadler 1995;Van Look et al 2007). However social polygamy has been observed in some species (Woods 2000;Wilson and Martin-Smith 2007;Naud et al 2009). Variation in population demographics (density, sex ratios) has been suggested to influence mating systems in syngnathids Jones 2007, 2009), increased individual densities or highly skewed sex ratio may provide a greater opportunity for mating to occur, and thus increases the chance of polygamy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This species can occupy areas at densities much greater than other seahorse species (Curtis 2004;Woodall 2009), and with equal or skewed sex ratios (Curtis and Vincent 2006;Woodall 2009). H. guttulatus lives in large socially polygamous groups, with each male displaying to a number of females concurrently and successively (Naud et al 2009). Given the differences (high density and sex ratios) between H. guttulatus and other seahorse species, and the observed social polygamy, H. guttulatus is an interesting species on which to investigate seahorse mating strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Serial monogamy in the European long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus

2011

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IMPF: 01.61Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) are non-sex-role-reversed members of the Syngnathidae family that provide extensive brood care. Previous studies of seahorses have revealed monogamy within a single brood, but their longer term mating system had not been comprehensively evaluated. The parental contribution to 29 wild-born broods of Hippocampus guttulatus, sampled from six Portuguese populations with differing seahorse densities and sex ratios, was assessed using microsatellite DNA markers. To assess the longer term genetic mating system of this species parentage was determined in eleven broods sampled from a captive population over two breeding seasons. Genetic data suggest that this socially polygamous seahorse is serially monogamous across breeding seasons, i.e. monogamous within a season but may switch mates between seasons, and that differing population densities and sex ratios do not affect the mating system.preprintPeer reviewe

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2018

Fishes in Lagoons and Estuaries in the Mediterranean 1

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Mate choice, operational sex ratio, and social promiscuity in a wild population of the long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus

Cited by 34 publications

References 26 publications

Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Extreme habitat specialisation and population structure of two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses

Serial monogamy in the European long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus

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