A review of the diets and feeding behaviours of a family of biologically diverse marine fishes (Family Syngnathidae)

Manning, Clayton G.; Foster, Sarah J.; Vincent, Amanda C. J.

doi:10.1007/s11160-019-09549-z

Cited by 41 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 116 publications

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“…The supposed superior quality of several small species of marine crustaceans (e.g., amphipods and mysidaceans) over Artemia has been reported in seahorse culture (Palma et al, 2008;Woods, 2009;Otero-Ferrer et al, 2012;Buen-Ursue et al, 2015;Vargas-Abúndez et al, 2018). Those sources are among the mostly consumed preys by wild seahorses (Manning et al, 2019). However, the main dietary sources for H. guttulatus adults in our nearby region (NW Iberian Peninsula) are amphipoda (caprellids and gammarids), whereas mysidaceans are insignificant prey in the bulk diet composition (Valladares et al, 2016).…”

Section: Breeding Performancementioning

confidence: 88%

A Multidisciplinary Experimental Study on the Effects of Breeders Diet on Newborn Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

et al. 2020

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The global trade in seahorses is increasing and new rearing techniques are currently available for a few species. One of the main bottlenecks in seahorse production is reproductive success, which is dependent upon the administration of high quality diets to breeders. However, little is known about the most adequate diets, on how they should be administered and on how they might affect newborn performance. In this study, three homogeneous groups of adult seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus were maintained in captivity. Each group was fed on one of the following diets since the onset of the breeding period: unenriched adult Artemia (diet A), unenriched adult Artemia and mysidaceans (diet AM) and mysidaceans (diet M). As a positive control, a wild pregnant male was used. The mixed diet AM provided the highest overall breeding success and reasonable fatty acid profiles, and better resembled newborn from a wild male. The use of mysidaceans solely (Diet M) provided the worse results in spite of the high DHA content. Significant differences were observed in newborn characteristics and fatty acid profiles among dietary groups and along the breeding season, especially in total n-3 HUFA and DHA. Monospecific diets including Artemia or mysidaceans very likely suffered nutritional deficiencies, which were reflected in morphological alterations of the muscle tissue (diet A) or abnormal early mortalities in newborn (diet M). Three progressive stages were identified along the whole breeding period: initial mixed capitalincome period (100-120 days since the onset of the breeding period), followed by an inflection period (short transitional stage-income sources), and finally a long period characterized by the use of income sources and the progressive exhaustion of body reserves. Special attention should be deserved to the progressive changes in fatty acid profiles along the breeding season, resulting in a decrease in newborn performance. Considering the time required for a diet to be reflected in newborn, we recommend Hippocampus guttulatus breeders to be fed on a high quality diet for at least 3 months prior the breeding period.

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Section: Breeding Performancementioning

confidence: 88%

A Multidisciplinary Experimental Study on the Effects of Breeders Diet on Newborn Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

et al. 2020

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“…Syngnathidae is a singular fish family mostly inhabiting temperate and tropical sheltered, coastal marine waters [ 26 , 47 ]. Seahorses and pipefishes utilize rocky, muddy, sandy, and rubble bottom habitats, generally associated with macrophytes communities [ 53 ]. Syngnathids are secondary consumers with specialized and opportunistic predatory strategies, ambushing small prey (mainly planktonic and nektonic crustaceans), showing a variety of diets, and foraging behaviours across genera and locations [ 53 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multidisciplinary approach to identify priority areas for the monitoring of a vulnerable family of fishes in Spanish Marine National Parks

et al. 2021

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Background Syngnathid fishes (Actinopterygii, Syngnathidae) are flagship species strongly associated with seaweed and seagrass habitats. Seahorses and pipefishes are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic and environmental disturbances, but most species are currently Data Deficient according to the IUCN (2019), requiring more biological and ecological research. This study provides the first insights into syngnathid populations in the two marine Spanish National Parks (PNIA—Atlantic- and PNAC—Mediterranean). Fishes were collected periodically, marked, morphologically identified, analysed for size, weight, sex and sexual maturity, and sampled for stable isotope and genetic identification. Due the scarcity of previous information, habitat characteristics were also assessed in PNIA. Results Syngnathid diversity and abundance were low, with two species identified in PNIA (Hippocampus guttulatus and Syngnathus acus) and four in PNAC (S. abaster, S. acus, S. typhle and Nerophis maculatus). Syngnathids from both National Parks (NP) differed isotopically, with much lower δ15N in PNAC than in PNIA. The dominant species were S. abaster in PNAC and S. acus in PNIA. Syngnathids preferred less exposed sites in macroalgal assemblages in PNIA and Cymodocea meadows in PNAC. The occurrence of very large specimens, the absence of small-medium sizes and the isotopic comparison with a nearby population suggest that the population of Syngnathus acus (the dominant syngnathid in PNIA) mainly comprised breeders that migrate seasonally. Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence variants were detected for H. guttulatus, S. acus, and S. abaster, and a novel 16S rDNA haplotype was obtained in N. maculatus. Our data suggest the presence of a cryptic divergent mitochondrial lineage of Syngnathus abaster species in PNAC. Conclusions This is the first multidisciplinary approach to the study of syngnathids in Spanish marine NPs. Habitat preferences and population characteristics in both NPs differed. Further studies are needed to assess the occurrence of a species complex for S. abaster, discarding potential misidentifications of genus Syngnathus in PNAC, and evaluate migratory events in PNIA. We propose several preferential sites in both NPs for future monitoring of syngnathid populations and some recommendations for their conservation.

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“…amphipods, mysidaceans) over Artemia has been reported in seahorse culture (Palma et al, 2008;Woods, 2009;Otero-Ferrer et al, 2012;Buen-Ursue et al, 2015;Vargas-Abúndez et al, 2017). Those sources are among the mostly consumed preys by wild seahorses (Manning et al, 2019). However, the main dietary sources for H. guttulatus adults in our nearby region (NW Iberian Peninsula) are amphipoda (caprellids and gammarids), whereas mysidaceans are insigni cant prey in the bulk diet composition (Valladares et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multidisciplinary experimental study on the effects of breeders diet on newborn seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

Planas

Olivotto

González

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The global trade in seahorses is increasing and new rearing techniques are currently available for a few species. One of the main bottlenecks in seahorse production is reproduction success, which is dependent upon the administration of high quality diets to breeders. However, very little is known about the most adequate diets, on how they should be administered and on how they might affect newborn performance. In this study, three homogeneous groups of adult seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus were maintained in captivity. Each group was fed on one of the following diets since the onset of the breeding period: Unenriched adult Artemia (Diet A), unenriched adult Artemia and mysidaceans (Diet AM) and mysidaceans (Diet M). As a positive control we used a wild pregnant male. The mixed diet AM provided the highest overall breeding success and reasonable fatty acid profiles, and better resembled newborn from a wild male. The use of only mysidaceans (Diet M) provided the worse results in spite of the high DHA content. Significant differences were observed in newborn characteristics and fatty acid profiles among dietary groups and along the breeding season, especially in total n-3 HUFA and DHA. Monospecific diets including Artemia or mysidaceans very likely suffered nutritional deficiencies, which were reflected in morphological alterations of the muscle tissue (diet A) or abnormal early mortalities in newborn (diet M). Three progressive stages were identified along the whole breeding period: Initial mixed capital-income period (100 – 120 days since the onset of the breeding period), followed by an inflexion period (short transitional stage - income sources), and finally a long period characterized by the use of income sources and the progressive exhaustion of body reserves. Special attention should be deserved to the progressive changes in fatty acid profiles along the breeding season, resulting in a decrease in newborn performance. Considering the time required for a diet to be reflected in newborn, we recommend Hippocampus guttulatus breeders to be fed on a high quality diet for at least three months prior the breeding period.

show abstract

A review of the diets and feeding behaviours of a family of biologically diverse marine fishes (Family Syngnathidae)

Cited by 41 publications

References 116 publications

A Multidisciplinary Experimental Study on the Effects of Breeders Diet on Newborn Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

A Multidisciplinary Experimental Study on the Effects of Breeders Diet on Newborn Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

A multidisciplinary approach to identify priority areas for the monitoring of a vulnerable family of fishes in Spanish Marine National Parks

A multidisciplinary experimental study on the effects of breeders diet on newborn seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

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