An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure

Claassens, Louw; Booth, Anthony J; Hodgson, Alan N

Title: An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure
Creator: Claassens, Louw
Creator: Booth, Anthony J
Creator: Hodgson, Alan N
Date Issued: 2018
Date: 2018
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123718
Identifier: vital:35486
Identifier: https://doi.10.1007/s10641-018-0732-4
Description: The development of a residential marina estate within the Knysna estuary, South Africa, introduced Reno mattresses (horizontal wire cages filled with rocks) as a novel habitat for the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis. Consistently high seahorse densities on these artificial structures, despite the availability of seagrass habitat, begged the question of whether this habitat was chosen by the seahorse in preference to natural vegetation. An in situ habitat choice experiment was conducted which focused on the choice made by adult H. capensis between natural vegetation (Zostera capensis) and artificial (Reno mattress) habitat within a choice chamber. Seahorses were significantly more likely to move away from Z. capensis onto a Reno mattress structure or remain on this structure. This study concludes that higher H. capensis densities on Reno mattresses within Thesen Islands Marina are owing to some positive feature of this habitat and the underlying processes responsible for the choice made by this species (additional food, holdfasts, protection) can now be investigated.
Format: 11 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Environmental Biology of Fishes
Relation: Claassens, L., Booth, A.J. and Hodgson, A.N., 2018. An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure. Environmental biology of fishes, 101(5), pp.723-733
Relation: Environmental Biology of Fishes volume 101 number 5 723 733 2018 0378-1909
Rights: Environmental Biology of Fishes
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the SpringerLink Terms of Use Statement ( https://link.springer.com/termsandconditions)

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Booth, Anthony John (Prof)

Hodgson, Alan N (Prof)

RU Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

SDG 14. Life Below Water

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