A synthesis of European seahorse taxonomy, population structure, and habitat use as a basis for assessment, monitoring and conservation.

Autor: Woodall LC; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.; Project Seahorse, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK., Otero-Ferrer F; Grupo en Biodiversidad y Conservación, IU-ECOAQUA, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain., Correia M; Project Seahorse, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK.; CCMar, Universidade do Algarve, F. C. T., Edificio 7, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal., Curtis JMR; Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, BC Canada., Garrick-Maidment N; The Seahorse Trust, 36 Greatwood Terrace, Topsham, Devon UK., Shaw PW; Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK., Koldewey HJ; Project Seahorse, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK.; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine biology [Mar Biol] 2018; Vol. 165 (1), pp. 19. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Dec 05.
DOI: 10.1007/s00227-017-3274-y
Abstrakt: Accurate taxonomy, population demography, and habitat descriptors inform species threat assessments and the design of effective conservation measures. Here we combine published studies with new genetic, morphological and habitat data that were collected from seahorse populations located along the European and North African coastlines to help inform management decisions for European seahorses. This study confirms the presence of only two native seahorse species ( Hippocampus guttulatus and H. hippocampus ) across Europe, with sporadic occurrence of non-native seahorse species in European waters. For the two native species, our findings demonstrate that highly variable morphological characteristics, such as size and presence or number of cirri, are unreliable for distinguishing species. Both species exhibit sex dimorphism with females being significantly larger. Across its range, H. guttulatus were larger and found at higher densities in cooler waters, and individuals in the Black Sea were significantly smaller than in other populations. H. hippocampus were significantly larger in Senegal. Hippocampus guttulatus tends to have higher density populations than H. hippocampus when they occur sympatrically. Although these species are often associated with seagrass beds, data show both species inhabit a wide variety of shallow habitats and use a mixture of holdfasts. We suggest an international mosaic of protected areas focused on multiple habitat types as the first step to successful assessment, monitoring and conservation management of these Data Deficient species.
Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standardsFunding for this project was provided by Chocolaterie Guylian and a Natural Environment Research Council Industrial Case studentship (NER/S/C/2005/13461) to LCW. Support for FOF was provided by the European Commission (ASSEMBLE project, Grant agreement no. 227799).The authors declare that they no conflicts of interest.All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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