Seahorse Giving Birth

The first thing is the ability to camouflage. Sea horses being able to camouflage is a very great way to survive in their habitats because they can hide from anything that tries to harm them. In source 1 paragraph 3 sentences 1 through 3 it states “(1)

Reproduction usually occurs once a year for hammerhead sharks. Male hammerhead sharks start to bite the female hammerhead sharks when they are ready to mate. Female hammerhead sharks give birth to their cubs in the warm water. They are able to have 12-15 cubs at once. Not all cubs will make it out of birth from the mother. The female hammerheads immediately leave the pups alone to take care of themselves. A good percentage of the cubs will survive after birth and it is unusual for all cubs to survive.

The ocean is a vast biome that is constantly changing. There is much to learn about the life within, the article “Omura's whales (Balaenoptera omurai) off northwest Madagascar: ecology, Behavior and conservation needs” showed how our knowledge of the ocean and the life within continues to grow. Balaenoptera omurai, or Omura's whale was only found as a new species in the year 2003. Their are no dependable population size estimates or evaluation of conservation facts because there is not enough data collected on these cetaceans. Scientists are able apply what they learn from some of these organism to humans. In the article “Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales” scientists were able to draw comparisons between Humans and other species.

In the article, “How a Seahorse Dad is like a Pregnant Woman” by Sarah Zielinski, may sound comical, but much to my surprise, has some biological information that is worth reading. Unlike human, beings male seahorses carry the babies, instead of the women. A male seahorse carries the eggs of his mate in a pouch. Inside the male is where the eggs become fertile and start the growing process. The pouch, or the homes of the eggs are inside the male, around the stomach region. The male’s pouch is very adaptable. When the male is not pregnant the pouch is not sealed off, but when there are eggs in the pouch it becomes sealed, isolated from anything else. When eggs occupy the pouch it adapts its size and the nutrients it realizes according to the

Female Leafy Sea Dragons lay up to 250 bright pink eggs. Then, she deposits the eggs to the male’s tail with her ovipositor. Finally, the eggs attach to the brood patch which supplies the babies with oxygen.

The female Ringed Seal will give birth every 9 to 11 months, only to one pup. They are ready to have a pup at age 6. The approximate growth rate of male Ringed Seals is about 69.0 ± 2.7 kg and 68.9 ± 2.5 kg for females. A young pup will spend most of their time in the birth lair while their parents go out to hunt

Based on this study, researchers can know what is the rate of fertilization and where mortality rate is greatest, also they can use this population to create a model population to see what is the cause and how they can prevent this. These results are important because it showed the evolution of the population and it helped to see if minimizing the threats is an effective solution and how these threats are affecting the right whales. Also, it can help assess the recovery of depleted populations, evaluate conservation threats and also to use whales as indicators of the health of local ecosystems (Fretwell 2014). Doing this study was complicated because the old population was not clear, and assumptions had to be made, such as the population size at each class. Therefore, the sample size can affect the end result. Also, assumptions had be made in the future population in regards of the population in each age class, but it was based from a journal.

Clownfish have interesting mating behaviors. For instance, they are hermaphrodites meaning they have both female and male genitalia. There is strict dominance hierarchy in a group of clownfish. Two clownfish, with the female being the biggest, reproduce through external fertilization. However, if the female was to die, the male would become the high female and the next largest male would become the highest male and reproduce with the clownfish who became female. Throughout this monogamous relationship, they can mate all year long. A female clownfish can lay 600-1600 eggs. While breeding, the male cleans debris and creates a nesting area with his mouth.

Did you know that seahorses are the only members of the Hippocampus species? The name Hippocampus is Greek, it means “Horse Sea Monster.” There are thirty-four different species of seahorses. Many people are surprised when they find out that seahorses are a type of fish. They have fins and gills, the defining features of a fish. When seahorses are in a group they are called a herd, just like horses. Seahorses usually live one to five years, but they are becoming endangered because their habitat is slowly being destroyed. “Seahorses can be as small as one inch long and as tall as twelve inches long!”(Trisha Shaskan, page 23) Seahorses are not alone though, the Syngnathidae family also includes pipefish and seadragons. Syngnathidae means fused jaw.

A seahorse is a fish that lives under water. Seahorses prey on plankton and shrimp. Seahorse’s predators are penguins and stingrays. Seahorses are fish although they are bad swimmers. They are also very small. The male seahorse is equipped with a pouch on the ventral or front-facing, side of the tail and this is why seahorses are called seahorses. Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world. From about 45 degrees south to 45 degrees north and live in sheltered areas such sea grass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, or mangroves. Four species are found in pacific water from North America to South America. These areas are seahorse’s habitat. When the fry, or baby seahorse, are ready to be born, the male

The process of angelfish laying their eggs is called spawning. When spawning, the female angelfish

After fertilizing the eggs, the male closely controls the prenatal environment of the embryos in his pouch. The male keeps blood flowing around the embryos, controls the salt concentrations in the pouch, and provides oxygen and nutrition to the developing offspring through a placenta-like structure until he gives birth” (science.tamu). The male member of the partnership then fertilizes and carries the eggs for a range of the ten days to forty two days, a length of time dependent on the species and water conditions (SFSU Geography and Dames N 2000). Upon conclusion of this gestation period, the male carrier begins the process of live birth, a moment that is usually held off until the ocean tide is near its peak (SFSU Geography and Dames N 2000). This waiting period ensures food and potential security for the newborn Syngnathids: fully developed offspring who receive no additional care from the parents and must learn to forage and survive on their own (SFSU Geography and Dames N 2000). This course of action will likely lower the survival rates of the newborn offspring, but also enables the parents the continue onto another cycle of mating and reproduction (SFSU Geography and Dames N

Deep down in the dark blue sea, male pregnancies are not extraordinary. Believe it or not female seahorses are actually the ones that impregnate the males. The reproductive process starts off by the male and female meeting up and “dancing”. One can think of this as being the first date. The two will continue to meet and swim together along with intertwining their tails several days before actually mating. The fish will also grip a strand of sea grass and whirl around it in unison. This kind of dancing and courtship synchronizes the movements of the seahorses and prepares the male to receive the eggs when the female is ready to deposit them (Maia, et al. 2013).

Seahorses are very different from other fish that live in the sea. There are so many things that are different about them. Seahorses are unique fish that live in the ocean and one unique thing about seahorses is that the male seahorses have the babies because of their pouch and seahorses have advantages over other fish because of their tail and snout.

Seahorses are not ad helpless as you would think and the babies can do many thing. Some of them can do more things than adults. First, In ( Ocean Animals ) it states that “As a baby, seahorses are transparent. They have tiny little spikes on the top of their head, and the swirly tail they are famous for has not grown yet. But don’t worry they still