Seahorses and Pipefish

Oliver, Miquel Planas; Burhans, Robert; Simões, Nuno

doi:10.1002/9781119169147.ch17

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Aquaculture of seahorses can be divided into three parts: production of live prey (usually Artemia sp. and copepods), keeping of breeders, and maintenance of a nursery facility for juveniles as they grow into an appropriate size [43,44,51,181,183]. There is no larval breeding stage because fertilized eggs are incubated inside the male's pouch [43,[184][185][186][187].…”

Section: Methods Of Seahorse Aquaculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…and copepods), keeping of breeders, and maintenance of a nursery facility for juveniles as they grow into an appropriate size [43,44,51,181,183]. There is no larval breeding stage because fertilized eggs are incubated inside the male's pouch [43,[184][185][186][187]. Seahorse species in captivity usually become sexually active at ages of around 3 to 6 months.…”

Section: Methods Of Seahorse Aquaculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Millions of seahorses are collected each year globally to meet the demand of the traditional Chinese medicine market and the marine ornamental industry [28,[30][31][32][33][34], which are mostly caught by nonselective fishing methods and partly as bycatch [35][36][37][38][39][40] but also by hand [41]. Hippocampus species range in maximum body length from about 1.5 cm in length to 35 cm (Table 1) and are characterized by their fused jaws, prehensile tail, bony plated skeleton, and typical upright posture [42,43]. Owing to their characteristic appearance and suitable size, seahorses are popular among sea aquarium hobbyists.…”

Section: International Trade In Seahorses (Hippocampus Spp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to their characteristic appearance and suitable size, seahorses are popular among sea aquarium hobbyists. Seahorses have a unique reproduction style in which the female deposits eggs in an abdominal chamber of the male, where the young are incubated [43]. Seahorses are live bearers, which means that after the eggs are fertilized and brooded, the male gives birth by releasing tens to hundreds of juveniles into the water [44].…”

Section: International Trade In Seahorses (Hippocampus Spp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aquaculture of marine aquarium fish is significantly less advanced, and this industry has been slow to develop and is not widely accessible [59][60][61][62]. The aquaculture of seahorse species is a relatively new venture, with rising demand and market prices [43,51,63]. The commercial culture of seahorses could provide an alternative income for subsistence fishers and accommodate a future rise in global demand [55,64,65].…”

Section: Captive Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of Seahorse Species (Hippocampus spp.) in the International Aquarium Trade

Koning

Hoeksema

2021

Diversity

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Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) are threatened as a result of habitat degradation and overfishing. They have commercial value as traditional medicine, curio objects, and pets in the aquarium industry. There are 48 valid species, 27 of which are represented in the international aquarium trade. Most species in the aquarium industry are relatively large and were described early in the history of seahorse taxonomy. In 2002, seahorses became the first marine fishes for which the international trade became regulated by CITES (Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), with implementation in 2004. Since then, aquaculture has been developed to improve the sustainability of the seahorse trade. This review provides analyses of the roles of wild-caught and cultured individuals in the international aquarium trade of various Hippocampus species for the period 1997–2018. For all species, trade numbers declined after 2011. The proportion of cultured seahorses in the aquarium trade increased rapidly after their listing in CITES, although the industry is still struggling to produce large numbers of young in a cost-effective way, and its economic viability is technically challenging in terms of diet and disease. Whether seahorse aquaculture can benefit wild populations will largely depend on its capacity to provide an alternative livelihood for subsistence fishers in the source countries. For most species, CITES trade records of live animals in the aquarium industry started a few years earlier than those of dead bodies in the traditional medicine trade, despite the latter being 15 times higher in number. The use of DNA analysis in the species identification of seahorses has predominantly been applied to animals in the traditional medicine market, but not to the aquarium trade. Genetic tools have already been used in the description of new species and will also help to discover new species and in various other kinds of applications.

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Section: Methods Of Seahorse Aquaculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods Of Seahorse Aquaculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: International Trade In Seahorses (Hippocampus Spp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: International Trade In Seahorses (Hippocampus Spp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Captive Breedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of Seahorse Species (Hippocampus spp.) in the International Aquarium Trade

Koning

Hoeksema

2021

Diversity

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Sperm transport and male pregnancy in seahorses: An unusual model for reproductive science

Holt

Fazeli

Otero‐Ferrer

2022

Animal Reproduction Science

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Dynamic changes in DNA methylation during seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) postnatal development and settlement

Suárez-Bregua¹,

Rosendo²,

Comesaña³

et al. 2021

Front Zool

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Introduction Most living marine organisms have a biphasic life cycle dependent on metamorphosis and settlement. These critical life-history events mean that a developmentally competent larva undergoes a range of coordinated morphological and physiological changes that are in synchrony with the ecological transition from a pelagic to a benthonic lifestyle. Therefore, transition from a pelagic to a benthonic habitat requires multiple adaptations, however, the underlying mechanisms regulating this process still remains unclear. Epigenetic regulation and specifically DNA methylation, has been suggested to be particularly important for organisms to adapt to new environments. Seahorses (Family Syngnathidae, Genus Hippocampus) are a fascinating group of fish, distinguished by their unique anatomical features, reproductive strategy and behavior. They are unique among vertebrate species due to their “male pregnancy”, where males nourish developing embryos and larvae in a brood pouch until hatching and parturition occurs. After birth, free-swimming offspring are pelagic and subsequently they change into a demersal lifestyle. Therefore, to begin to address the question whether epigenetic processes could be involved in the transition from a planktonic to a benthonic lifestyle observed in seahorses, we studied global DNA methylation profiles in a tropical seahorse species (Hippocampus reidi) during postnatal development and settlement. Results We performed methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) along with quantitative expression analysis for genes suggested to be involved in the methylation machinery at six age groups: 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 days after male’s pouch release (DAR). Results revealed that the H. reidi genome has a significantly different DNA methylation profile during postnatal development and settlement on demersal habitats. Moreover, gene expression analysis showed up- and down-regulation of specific DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) encoding genes. Conclusion Our data show that the differences in the DNA methylation patterns seen among developmental stages and during the transition from a pelagic to a benthonic lifestyle suggest a potential for epigenetic regulation of gene expression (through DNA methylation) in this species. Therefore, epigenetic mechanisms could be necessary for seahorse settlement. Nevertheless, if these epigenetic mechanisms come from internal or if they are initiated via external environmental cues should be further investigated.

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Seahorses and Pipefish

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

Diversity of Seahorse Species (Hippocampus spp.) in the International Aquarium Trade

Diversity of Seahorse Species (Hippocampus spp.) in the International Aquarium Trade

Sperm transport and male pregnancy in seahorses: An unusual model for reproductive science

Dynamic changes in DNA methylation during seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) postnatal development and settlement

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