Being the theme of “Seahorse” this year, we get to learn a lot of facts about “the seahorse” where we are not aware this year. With this, we are excited to learn about the “Seahorse” as the theme of this year Tioman Island Clean-Up Day
Some of the facts where we got to know about “Seahorse” includes
Seahorses don’t look like fish but they are fish.
Seahorses may not look anything like your typical fish, but they actually are classified as fish. Characteristics that make them fish include a swim bladder to control buoyancy, gills to breathe, and fins to propel them through the water.
Every seahorse has a fin on its back, which it uses to propel itself through the water. Pectoral fins located close to the back of the head are what the animal uses to actually steer itself in the right direction.
Seahorse have no teeth and stomachs
They feed almost constantly on tiny fish and plankton. And with this, the passes right through them, so they need to continue consuming in order to stay alive.
They are voracious eaters
They anchor themselves with their prehensile tails to sea grasses and corals, using their elongated snouts to suck in plankton and small crustaceans that drift by. Voracious eaters, they graze continually and can consume 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day.
Their eyes can work independently of one another
Seahorses have a great sense of sight. Their eyes can work independently of one another as well so they can be aware of their surroundings at all times. In other words, while one eye is looking forward, the other can be looking behind.
Seahorse can camouflage themselves amidst the coral reefs
Pictures from https://www.pinterest.com/2wendydene/seahorse-fancy/
Seahorse are monogamous creatures
Seahorses are truly unique, and not just because of their unusual equine shape. Unlike most other fish, they are monogamous and mate for life.
Male Seahorses carry eggs and give births
Pictures captured from https://www.pinterest.com/brandinpark/addi-seahorse-project/
Seahorse males do something highly unusual in the animal kingdom; they get pregnant and deliver their offspring. Scientists don’t have a clear reason why seahorses evolved this way, but they theorize this is one of the ways seahorses try to help the species survive. Neither parent gets involved in the child-rearing, though. When the male delivers the babies, they are on their own.
Baby Seahorses are known as Fry
Baby seahorses are known as fry and when they are born they are totally on their own. They spend the first two to three weeks of their lives drifting along in the plankton layer of the ocean. Less than one in a thousand will survive long enough to become an adult due to predators.
Seahorse are Inept Swimmers
Because of their body shape, seahorses are rather inept swimmers and can easily die of exhaustion when caught in storm-roiled seas. They propel themselves by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second. Even smaller pectoral fins located near the back of the head are used for steering.
They dont have many Predators
The seahorse is too bony and indigestible for the majority of species that it shares its home with. Therefore, it doesn’t have many predators to worry about. Crabs, however, are a major threat. And the other major threat to their survival is humans, who harvest them at faster rates than they can reproduce.
And being this, we had learned about the seahorse and also know that this little creatures are going on the extinction and repirts saysthat the population data for most of the world’s 35 seahorse species is sparse. However, worldwide coastal habitat depletion, pollution, and rampant harvesting, mainly for use in Asian traditional medicine, have made several species vulnerable to extinction.
And during this trip, the school children are being educate about “seahorses” and building the seahorse model with using recycle bottles as well. It is not just the student are learning about seahorses but we being the adults are surprises about the knowledge.
And for next year, it will be on ” Blue Spotted Manta Ray” theme and we wish that people can learn about those sea creatures and teach them about the problems and how to take care of them.
( Info adapted from the Tioman Island Cleanup Day Slides and Websites : Book Your Dive, National Georgraphic