Spatial and seasonal patterns of European short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus distribution in island coastal environments

10 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables This study represents the first report on seahorses in the Macaronesian islands (North-East Atlantic), determining the spatial and seasonal abundance, population structure and physical appearance of European short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus. Animals were s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African Journal of Marine Science
Main Authors: Otero-Ferrer, F., Herrera, R., Tuset, Víctor M., Socorro, J., Molina, L.
Other Authors: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (España), Gobierno de Canarias
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: National Inquiry Services Centre (South Africa) 2015
Subjects:
Biodiversity management
Flagship species
Gran Canaria
Macaronesian Islands
Marine conservation
Population assessment
Seahorse
North East Atlantic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/127287
https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2015.1083476
Description
Summary:10 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables This study represents the first report on seahorses in the Macaronesian islands (North-East Atlantic), determining the spatial and seasonal abundance, population structure and physical appearance of European short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus. Animals were surveyed off Gran Canaria Island in two bays, Melenara and Sardina del Norte, within three habitats: rocky bottom, artificial substrata and seagrass. Populations were monitored over a 5-year period (spring 2006–winter 2011) using 15-minute visual fast count (VFC) surveys. Seahorses were characterised by low abundances, small proportions of subadults and roughly equal sex ratios at each site. We aimed to determine whether environmental conditions and geographical position could explain differences in seahorse abundance and population structure between the study sites. Melenara Bay (mean sighting rate = 0.44 individuals VFC–1; SD 0.72) offered protected environments where seahorse distribution varied with substratum type, irrespective of season. Strong hydrodynamic forces in winter affected abundance and size at exposed locations in Sardina del Norte Bay (mean sighting rate=0.21 individuals VFC−1; SD 0.52). Our findings contribute to the scarce available knowledge about this Data Deficient species (IUCN Red List), helping to establish future conservation strategies and management recommendations for the preservation of H. hippocampus populations around Gran Canaria Island and other localities with similar coastal environments We thank the Consejería de Medioambiente del Gobierno de Canarias and the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia for supporting this project (CGL-2005-05927-C03-02) Peer Reviewed

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