Classification of Hippocampus kuda
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species: Kuda
Description, Distribution and Habitat of Hippocampus kuda
The Indian and Pacific Oceans are highly bio-diverse water bodies, brimming with marine life. One the organisms that inhabits these waters, is the Hippocampus kuda, better known as the spotted sea-horse. Unfortunately, the global population of wild Hippocampus kuda has decreased drastically. This is due to the several threats, that these organisms face (Ismail, 2015).
This species is a marine organism and can be found in Indo-Pacific waters, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan and other countries in the South-East Asia regions. This has been spotted in at least 23 counties, however, since these creatures are highly popular ornamental aquarium organisms, they can be found in several aquaria, world-wide. These organisms have a horse-shaped head, with a hard armoured body with no scales, in a curved shape which is divided into hard bony plates, along with a tail which is able to grasp and hold to keep the seahorse stable and to be utilised during mating. Their colours change, depending on the environment around them, which camouflages them from their predators (Hashikawa, 2004). Hippocampus kuda can be found in the intertidal and neritic zones. These are able to live up to a depth of 55m. They can inhabit several coastal areas, lagoons, sandy bottoms, sea-grass beds, mangrove forests and reefs. They mainly feed on zooplankton and the maximum growth length ever recorded was 30cm. (IUCN Red List, 2018).
A very particular characteristic in seahorses, is that they are faithful to one sexual partner, throughout their life. They have a very complex courtship and mating system. The male starts changing colours and performs a courtship dance around the female, along with a number of clicking sounds. They then entwine their prehensile tails around one another and face each other. The female places the eggs in the male seahorse’s brooding pouch through her oviposter. This is done regularly until the male becomes pregnant (Hashikawa, 2018).
Threats faced by Hippocampus kuda
The IUCN (2018), classified H. kuda as vulnerable species, due to the numerous threats it faces. Some of these threats involve:
1) It is caught as by-catch from trawling.
2) Over-fishing due to the increase in the amount of fishers, especially in the South-East Asia region.
3) This particular species is also fished and traded for the use of ornamental aquaria, traditional medicines. Over 2 million species are traded every year.
4) Its habitat is constantly being damaged due to trawling, coastal development, coastal construction, which results in pollution and an increase in the siltation (Wiswedel et al., 2014).
5) It also may undergo certain predatory threats from turtles, dorados, rays, skates, crabs and tuna, however the major predators are humans (Hashikawa, 2018).
What Can be Done to Protect Hippocampus kuda?
In my opinion, several measures can be carried out, to protect these vulnerable species. For example, more NGOs and projects need to be set up to protect these creatures, such as the Project Seahorse which was founded in 1996. The aims of this project, is to conserve seahorses, protect shallow marine environments and to train conservationists (Project Seahorse, NA).
It is also highly essential that these seahorses are not fished or traded for the use of ornamental aquaria and for the use of traditional medicines. The habitats in which these creatures live should be protected, since it is classified as a vulnerable species and certain restriction policies on these areas with regards to fishing should be drafted. Other alternatives for traditional medicines should be used to decrease Hippocampus kuda’s use in the medical sector. Trawling should also be carried out, in areas where seahorse spawning zones and habitats are not found, so as to decrease the number of seahorses caught as by-catch. Environmental Impact Assessments should also be carried out before any coastal construction is done to reduce the destruction of the Hippocampus kuda habitat. Seahorse aquaculture is an essential way forward to conserve these species and to increase the population of seahorses in our seas to replace the overfished habitats of the Hippocampus kuda.
References:
Hashikawa, M. (2014) Hippocampus kuda: Common Seahorse [online], Available at: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hippocampus_kuda/, (Accessed on: 7/11/2018).
Ismail, M.S. (2015) Breeding and Rearing of the Spotted Seahorse (Hippocampus Kuda) [online], Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325193935_Breeding_and_Rearing_of_the_Spotted_Seahorse_Hippocampus_kuda_in_Captivity, (Accessed on: 7/11/2018).
IUCN Red List (2018) Hippocampus kuda [online], Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10075/16664386#bibliography, (Accessed on: 8/11/2018).
Project Seahorse (N.A.) Our Approach [online], Available at: http://www.projectseahorse.org/about-our-approach/, (Accessed on: 8/11/2018).
Wiswedel, S., Lim, A., Buchanan, J. & Pollom, R., (2014), Hippocampus kuda [online], Available at: http://eol.org/pages/218966/details, (Accessed on: 8/11/18).
댓글