- Title
- An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure
- Creator
- Claassens, Louw, Booth, Anthony J, Hodgson, Alan N
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123718
- Identifier
- vital:35486
- Identifier
- https://doi.10.1007/s10641-018-0732-4
- Description
- The development of a residential marina estate within the Knysna estuary, South Africa, introduced Reno mattresses (horizontal wire cages filled with rocks) as a novel habitat for the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis. Consistently high seahorse densities on these artificial structures, despite the availability of seagrass habitat, begged the question of whether this habitat was chosen by the seahorse in preference to natural vegetation. An in situ habitat choice experiment was conducted which focused on the choice made by adult H. capensis between natural vegetation (Zostera capensis) and artificial (Reno mattress) habitat within a choice chamber. Seahorses were significantly more likely to move away from Z. capensis onto a Reno mattress structure or remain on this structure. This study concludes that higher H. capensis densities on Reno mattresses within Thesen Islands Marina are owing to some positive feature of this habitat and the underlying processes responsible for the choice made by this species (additional food, holdfasts, protection) can now be investigated.
- Format
- 11 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Environmental Biology of Fishes, Claassens, L., Booth, A.J. and Hodgson, A.N., 2018. An endangered seahorse selectively chooses an artificial structure. Environmental biology of fishes, 101(5), pp.723-733, Environmental Biology of Fishes volume 101 number 5 723 733 2018 0378-1909
- Rights
- Environmental Biology of Fishes
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the SpringerLink Terms of Use Statement ( https://link.springer.com/termsandconditions)
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Booth, Anthony John (Prof)
Hodgson, Alan N (Prof)
RU Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science
RU Department of Zoology and Entomology
SDG 14. Life Below Water
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