How do seahorses attract their prey?

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Seahorses are small bony fish of the genus Hippocampus. “Hippocampus” is derived from the Greek words hippos, meaning “horse” and kampos, “sea monster.” Almost forty known varieties of this unusual creature are found throughout the world.

Rather than attracting its prey like many of its oceanic neighbors, the seahorse combines the elements of camouflage, patience, coordination and rapid attack speed in its predatory behavior. It has a highly coordinated musculoskeletal system that enables it to capture its prey in a pivot feeding strike lasting less than one second. Once its prey enters attacking range, either by floating in the water or crawling along the sea bottom, the seahorse begins a fascinating process. First, it swings its long-snouted head upward in a rotating movement with enough power from the epaxial muscles of the head needed to overcome hydrodynamic pressure. What follows is a suction mechanism powered by elastic recoil that draws the food toward its buccal cavity. The precise coordination necessary for the high-performance attack makes feeding time an all-or-nothing phenomenon. The coordinated movement of neurocranium, hyoid, lower jaw and snout in pivot feeding are needed to produce a successful strike. If one of these components does not function properly, then the entire process fails.

The seahorse is born with this completely functional prey-capture mechanism, emerging at a relatively late developmental stage from the brood pouch of the male. Studies of newborn Hippocampus reidi revealed a large cartilaginous cranial skeleton and have demonstrated a rapid snout rotation and suction combination that surpassed that of adult seahorses. Seahorses lack teeth and have inefficient digestion. Voracious carnivores, they must swallow their food whole, daily consuming huge quantities. Observation in captivity showed that they can eat up to 3,000 brine shrimp per day! Favorite items on the seahorse’s menu include mysid shrimp and other small crustaceans, zooplankton, mollusks, and larval fish.

The complex habitats of the seahorse include sea grass blades, coral branches, mangroves, and sponges. Because of its slow speed and tendency to wrap its tail around a central holdfast, the hungry seahorse relies on unsuspecting prey that enters its territory. The role of water currents in their mobility is relatively unknown. The seahorse can propel itself across the sea floor using several fins for ultimate maneuverability: dorsal fins enable propulsion while pectoral fins help stabilize and steer. Camouflage is an important factor in seahorse feeding behavior. Rather than scales, the seahorse has skin that can match the background of its habitat. Colors for the seahorse range from neutral beige, brown, black, fluorescent orange and deep purple, depending on the species. Long skin filaments help them coordinate with their environmental surroundings in order to capture prey.

An unusual characteristic of seahorse feeding behavior is the series of clicking sounds it produces. There are two hypotheses for these noises. The first theory maintains that the water pressure changes in the buccal cavity, causing a phenomenon called cavitation, an imploding of vapor bubbles in the water. The second hypothesis proposes that contact of the supraoccipital and coronot bones in the head is what produces this sound.

Seahorses appear all over the world, mostly populating southern Australia and Tasmania, China, and the Philippines. They are used in medicine, as aphrodisiacs and are popular in home aquariums. Seahorses are shipped in illegal trade in high numbers across the Taiwan Strait each year. Unfortunately, seahorses are threatened by hazards originated by human land development. Land fills cover over sea grass where seahorses establish their home range. Loggers have destroyed mangroves or have flooded them with fresh water, and coral reefs have been dynamited. Efforts to preserve the seahorse have been made in the Philippines, where local villagers and nature conservationists are working together to protect the seahorse and other marine life in their natural habitat.

Resource by Will

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