Marine Life & Conservation
Seahorses stalk their prey by stealth
Photo: Brad Gemmell
Seahorses may appear slow and awkward but they are ferocious and ingenious predators, according to a new study.
The beautiful creatures are famously bad swimmers, but they have a secret weapon to sneak up on their prey.
Their peculiar snouts are shaped to create very few ripples in the water, effectively cloaking them as they creep up and pounce on tiny crustaceans.
To their victims, seahorses are more like sea monsters, say scientists from the University of Texas at Austin.
“The seahorse is one the slowest swimming fish we know of, but it’s able to capture prey that swim at incredible speeds,” said Brad Gemmell, author of the study in Nature Communications.
The prey, in this case, are copepods – extremely small crustaceans that are a favoured meal of seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons (Syngnathidae).
When copepods detect waves from predators, they jolt away at speeds of more than 500 body lengths per second – the equivalent of a 6-foot human swimming at 2,000 mph.
“Seahorses can overcome one of the most talented escape artists in the aquatic world,” said Dr Gemmell.
“In calm conditions, they catch their intended prey 90% of the time. That’s extremely high, and we wanted to know why.”
Seahorses dine by a method known as pivot feeding. Their arched necks act as a spring – allowing them to rapidly rotate their heads and suck their prey in.
But this suction only works at short distances. The effective strike range for seahorses is about 1mm. And a strike happens in less than 1 millisecond.
Until now, it was a mystery how such apparently docile creatures managed to get close enough to their prey without being spotted.
To find out, Dr Gemmell and his colleagues studied the dwarf seahorse, Hippocampus zosterae, which is native to the Bahamas and the US.
They filmed the movement of water around the fish in 3D using holography – a technique where a microscope is fitted with a laser and a high-speed digital camera.
They found that the seahorse’s snout is shaped to minimise the disturbance of water in front of its mouth before it strikes.
Above and in front of its nostrils is a “no wake zone” and it angles its head precisely to attack its prey.
Other small fish with blunter heads, such as the three-spine stickleback, have no such advantage, the researchers found.
“It’s like an arms race between predator and prey, and the seahorse has developed a good method for getting close enough so that their striking distance is very short,” said Dr Gemmell.
“People don’t often think of seahorses as amazing predators, but they really are.”
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news
Marine Life & Conservation
Double Bubble for Basking Sharks
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
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