The dwarf seahorse’s scientific name is hippocampus zosterae. The dwarf seahorse faces an uncertain future. It is threatened by habitat loss (Biological Diversity). It is the slowest fish on earth with a speed of five feet per hour (Guinness World Records). It spends most of its time using its tail to cling to seagrass and catch tiny plankton. They are found mostly found in the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Gulf of Mexico (Monterey Bay Aquarium).
The female generally has reproductive maturity at 118 days. Dwarf seahorses get to know each other before they mate. They will dance for many mornings before hooking up tails and mating. When mating they would move up to the water column (Live Aquaria). The male seahorse always is pregnant and never demonstrates sex role reversal. The male would give an average of 10-30 fry. The fry are independent from birth and immediately start eating freshly hatched brine shrimp. The babies would be well developed and after three months will also be able to mate (Monterey Bay Aquarium). When they mate they would not take any other additional mates that they are offered (Animal Diversity Web).
The Dwarf Seahorse mostly eats non insect arthropods and is always a carnivore. To catch food they hook onto seagrass and are well camouflaged and catch drifting tiny animals like brine shrimp, copepods, and freshly hatched shrimp larvae. They prey is sucked near through the snout. Food progress in the seahorse is very fast causing it to absorb little nutrients. Because of this the sea horse can consume up to 3,000 brine shrimp a day (Animal Diversity Web).
The Dwarf Seahorse’s predators include tunas, dorados, skates and rays, penguins, crabs, and water birds. Young dwarf’s are at the risk of at t...
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...their ecosystems. They as predators help regulate populations of their prey. As prey for other animals they provide a food source. Consumption of crustaceans from seahorses and other predators to keep the population balanced. The dwarf seahorse is a source of food for many animals (Animal Diversity Web ).
In Asia it can be used as medicine for economic importance. It is believed to help with asthma. None of the tests have shown to work though. They have also been known to be powerful and spiritual in myths. There are lots of myths surrounding exotic creatures. They are also very important to studies and research. The unique reproduction systems stymies scientists. There is currently no adverse affects on humans. The chinese medicine is the largest use of the Dwarf. It is very endangered because of all this catching (Animal Diversity Web ).
Because of its size and abundance, T. californicus is commonly regarded as the insect of the sea. This creature is generally very small, from 1-3 mm in size as adults. They are cylindrically shaped, and have a segmented body (head, thorax, abdomen) though no noticeable division between body regions (Powlik 1966). Each segment of the body has a pair of legs. They use their 'legs' to propel themselves through the water in short rapid jerks. They have 2 pairs of long feathered antennae, a chitin us exoskeleton and a single eye in the middle of their head, this simple eye can only differentiate between light and dark.
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
13. Species Summary for Etheostoma nianguae: Niangua darter. Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr,1991. (On-line) http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=3444
Seahorses are a prime example of species whose atypical biology and unusual global distribution leads to a series of evolutionary questions. Seahorses (genus Hippocampus) are a marine species that have extensively been studied because of their abnormal behaviors in the marine environment compared to other marine creatures. Many of the seahorse species have large ranges, both longitudinally (over a great horizontal distance across the ocean), and latitudinal (great vertical distance within the ocean), regardless of the fact that they are characterized as weak swimmers and lack any large structural fins for efficient swimming (Lourie et al., 1999a). Although they do have these large range environments, seahorses
Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptations take place continuously and even the smallest of changes can leave a significant impact. Examples can be seen within any plant or animal. One example would include sea turtles, specifically, the Loggerhead Turtles. These turtles are native to the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans as well as the Mediterranean Sea (Deurmit L 2007). They thrive in either temperate or tropical climates and can live in a myriad of biomes (Deurmit L 2007). These biomes include the pelagic, reef, coastal, and brackish water (Deurmit L 2007). Loggerhead turtles are omnivores and can eat anything from insects to aquatic crustaceans, to macro algae (Deurmit L 2007). According to Deurmit (2007) Caretta caretta is classified into Animalia Kingdom, Chordata Phylum, Vertebrata Subphylum, Reptilian Class, Testudines’ Order,
Reproduction: Skipjack Tuna are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs that mature and eventually hatch. In the warmer, tropical waters, the fish spawn all year long whereas in areas further away from the equator such as the North Sea, spawning is limited to the warmer months (FLMNH). The average age at sexual or reproductive maturity for both male and female Skipjack Tuna is roughly around 1.5 years of age (ADW) and can also mature at a size of around 15 inches (40cm) long (FL...
Lionfish are not currently listed as threatened in their native range. However, the increase in pollution in coral reefs can negatively affect the lionfish's primary food sources (NOAA, 2011). If lionfish are unable to adapt to declines in their prey species, their numbers will decrease. Although between the increasing reef pollution and the Lionfish’s voracious appetite reef populations will more than likely be damaged beyond repair, they may even be close to elimination by the time the Lionfish population actually declines (Albins, 2013).
Organized in the class Actinopterygii, seahorses, Hippocampus spp., are marine dwelling organisms found in bodies of water which span from tropical to temperate zones around the Earth. As cited by Foster in Life History and Ecology of Seahorses, research by R. A. Fritschze suggests that the genus Hippocampus diverged at least 20 million years ago from its ancestral origins. Research pertaining to organisms organized under the genus Hippocampus are conflicting in regards to the number species contained within it, although a general figure places the number at around fifty discovered species(website source). These odd-looking organisms reside at shallow depths of less than 30 meters and can be found in habitats containing seagrass beds and coral reefs(Foster 10). Hippocampus spp. are all predatory organisms, their main sources of food consist of small crustaceans and fish, as well as other organisms which are small enough to be consumed(lourie 10). Although Hippocampus spp. are predatory, their size and restricted mobility capabilities place them at risk of being prey for other carnivorous organisms.
The most scientific name for this little water flea is called the Daphnia, a very small planktonic crustacean that measures up to five millimeters long. Daphnia are part of the Cladocera family, which are small crustaceans of all sorts commonly called water fleas. The Daphnia are called water fleas because the movements they make are very similar to the way fleas move around. Daphnias “inhabit most types of standing fresh water except for extreme habitats, such as hot springs.” Many of these creatures live as filter feeders but some can be found clinging onto water plants or skimming the very bottom of the shallow pond.
The seahorse is a small species of vertebrate that is found in the tropical shallows and temperate waters around the world.
In The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister tells how a beautiful, extraordinary, yet, self-centered blue fish learns that being beautiful isn’t the key to happiness. The blue fish came to find this lesson when he lost his friends. Pfister takes a simple ocean setting and explores the consequences of an individual’s arrogance toward their peers, the process of humbling of oneself, and the tremendous reward one feels when they learn to share. The story achieves these morals by the author’s use of detailed imager and also, the influence of minor characters on the antihero in order to reveal to the audience the true thematic message; selfish actions bring true happiness.
The world’s coral reefs are quintessential to global biodiversity, so much so that they are often referred to as the "rainforests of the sea". Although their actual space occupied by reefs is relatively small, constituting less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface, they support over 25% of all marine species on earth. They provide complex and varied marine habitats that support a wide range of other organisms including, but not limited to, fish, mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates and other cnidarians. Some of these animals feed directly on the corals, while others graze on algae on the reef. The reef also provides a protective habitat for many of these animals.
The Monterey Bay Sea Otters There are a number of sea otters who are an important part of this world and they form a fairly large population and that is why it is felt that they should be preserved at all costs. They are an important source of earning for the people and they are also important in the sense that they provide an important source of earning to the people and their is an entire group of people who use this field as their source of earning. Besides the population of these otters keeps fluctuating and it has to be maintained because if the number fluctuate exponentially and if they get out of hand they can damage the ecological and the environmental balance of the world. Similarly the fishing and the killing of these otters can cause the damage to the balance because just like the excess of anything can cause a problem similarly the excess supply can cause a lot of major problem as well. These otters vary in sizes and this is an unchartered territory with a number of parasites who do vary in species and sizes and they all have their purposes and pros and cons and they impact our life and the balance of the world in a different manner. As the size varies so does the importance of the otters and the smaller ones might be innocuous while the larger ones can be the source of food as well and some of the larger species can also act as the predators and they act as a deterrent for the other species because they keep the check over the other species. They may pose a hazard of some type in some of the cases but their habitats and their productive cycles are all the things that need to be considered by us as human beings. Similarly their eating habits and appetites can alter and impact our world and our actions and reactions an...
Frogs are needed for everyday life. They are part of pond life. Each animal is important because even in the pond, there is a food chain. Frogs are amphibians, animals that spend half of their lives under water, and remainder on land. The first frog appeared in the early Jurassic period about 200 million years ago.
...n in Starfish Caught by Towed Demersal Fishing Gears." Marine Biology 138.3 (2001): 527-36. Print.