Pacific seaweed pipefish

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Pacific seaweed pipefish
Syngnathus schlegeli Nanami 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Syngnathus
Species:
S. schlegeli
Binomial name
Syngnathus schlegeli
Kaup, 1856
Synonyms [2]
  • Sygnathoides schlegeli(Kaup, 1856)
  • Syngnathus acusimilis Günther, 1873
Coastal Range of S. schlegeli Sea of Okhotsk map-sv.png
Coastal Range of S. schlegeli

The Pacific seaweed pipefish (Syngnathus schlegeli) is a species of pipefish, which is a marine, oceanic demersal fish, common in the beds of Zostera sea grass. [2] The pipefish is well known for being one of the most famous and expensive materials of Traditional Chinese medicine, as it possesses a special medicinal composition. [3] The fish is a member of the Syngnathidae family, making them relatives with seahorses and seadragons. The Syngnathidae family is a large group with almost 300 species of marine, brackish, and freshwater fish. [4]

Contents

Distribution

Syngnathus schlegeli is a species found in the north-western Pacific Ocean, near Vladivostok (Russia), southern to Gulf of Tonkin. Pacific Seaweed Pipefish is one of the more widespread pipefish species along the coast of Japan and inhabit the shallow seagrass beds. [5] The pipefish occur in these seagrass beds during breeding season, May to October, and stay in deeper offshore waters in winter and early spring for thermal refuge. [6] The pipefish resides in a broad geographic distribution which encompasses a wide variety of climate conditions and microhabitats. [7]

Description

The Seaweed Pipefish has a slender, elongate body structure with a longer, tube-shaped snout and a terminal mouth. [8] Like other Syngnathids, they lack teeth and have jaws towards the end of their snout. [9] The tubular and rigid snouts are made of certain, specialized neurocranial bones. [9] The standard length of juveniles was found to range from 5.5 to 14.7 cm, while the adults length ranged from 13.3 to 27.7 cm. [5] Their bodies are mainly a brownish color with pale markings. [8] Compared to seahorses, most all pipefish species possess snouts which are relatively longer and narrower than those of seahorses. [9] They have very small dorsal and pectoral fins which they beat rapidly to propel themselves, and use their head to steer. [9] The fish lack large caudal fins which gives more power to swimming motions, so they must rely on these oscillations to maneuver and keep control. [9] Pipefish are usually poor swimmers, especially in open water, which is why they are mainly found in shallow water amidst seaweed or seagrass. [9] Their shape and color also allows them to blend into their surrounding vegetation, making predator avoidance and catching prey a little easier.

Reproduction

Pipefish are similar to seahorses by their unique mode of reproduction, the male becomes pregnant. [10] The reproductive season of S. schlegeli begins in May and continues into October, more than six months. This long breeding season is characterized in other Pipefish as well, such as Syngnathus abaster and Syngnathus taenionotus. [5] The males of S. schlegeli have a special secondary sexual organ which develops along with the sexual maturity in males. This is the brood pouch, in which the eggs develop. [11] The brooding period ranges from 14 to 28 days [6] , the offspring develop and are released as free-living juveniles. [7] These juveniles are unique in that syngnathids produce juveniles that have fully developed prey-capture abilities. [9] Females have a higher reproductive rate than males, so consequently females mate with multiple males sequentially to have greater reproductive success, meaning the species is polygamous. [6] Once a pair have mated, there is exclusive paternal care of eggs. [7]

Feeding

When the pipefish hunt, they are among the fastest feeders of all fish, this is referring to the act of them catching their prey, not the steps leading up to it. The fish find their prey through eyesight and can actively swim through the water column in their search. They normally choose their prey based on how easy it is to track them, so they look for colors or small swarms of prey. S. schlegeli must use a slow approach as to not scare away its prey, and because it would not be fast enough to swim after it. The Pipefish species have developed a specific head morphology which limits fluid disturbance as they strike, so it lessens the chances of them being detected. It is able to catch the prey by positioning the body so the snout is only a few millimeters away from the prey, and then snapping its mouth rapidly by rotating the head away from the body. This explosive head rotation allows the fish to keep a constant body position. The longer the snout of these fish, the further away the fish can attack prey. Thus, the snout morphology determines the size of prey they are able to catch. Furthermore, as juveniles pipefish can be considered specialist feeders since they are limited to smaller prey, and adults are more generalist feeders as they have access to a wider range of prey. S. schlegeli are carnivorous fish, eating small crustaceans like copepods and amphipods, fish, fish eggs, and zooplankton. [9]

Conservation Status

The most recent assessment of the Pacific Seaweed Pipefish for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was in December of 2014 and the species was listed as Least Concern. The Seaweed Pipefish is not as widely studied as other species in its family such as seahorses, but the species is still facing threats from human activities. The marine environments pipefish species depend on include seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangroves, and more. The species do not thrive in open water habitats due to their morphology. These habitats in which they depend on are constantly at risk to coastal development, pollution, and climate change effects. Pipefish are also susceptible to being bycatch in fisheries which harvest other species. Conservation efforts are being made to support threatened coastal habitats, one of these efforts includes Marine Protected Areas. Through the implementation of MPAs, pipefish can continue to thrive in their natural habitats. [12] More research is certainly needed for the Pacific Seaweed Pipefish, this can help scientists better understand the species role in the ecosystem and the population dynamics of the fish.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seahorse</span> Genus of bony fishes

A seahorse is any of 46 species of small marine bony fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippókampos (ἱππόκαμπος), itself from híppos (ἵππος) meaning "horse" and kámpos (κάμπος) meaning "sea monster" or "sea animal". Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile tail. Along with the pipefishes and seadragons they form the family Syngnathidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syngnathidae</span> Family of fishes

The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons. The name is derived from Ancient Greek: σύν, meaning "together", and γνάθος, meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the traits that the entire family have in common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common seadragon</span> Species of fish

The common seadragon or weedy seadragon is a marine fish of the order Syngnathiformes, which also includes the similar pipefishes, seahorses, and trumpetfishes among other species. Adult common seadragons are a reddish colour, with yellow and purple striped markings; they have small, leaf-like appendages that resemble kelp or seaweed fronds, providing camouflage, as well as a number of short spines for protection. As with seahorses and the other syngnathids, the seadragon has a similarly tubular snout and a fused, toothless jaw into which it captures small invertebrate prey at lightning speed. Males have narrower bodies and are darker than females. Seadragons have a long dorsal fin along the back and small pectoral fins on either side of the neck, which provide balance. Weedy seadragons can reach 45 cm (18 in) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pipefish</span> Subfamily of fishes

Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons, form the family Syngnathidae.

<i>Syngnathus</i> Genus of fishes

Syngnathus is a genus of fish in the family Syngnathidae found in marine, brackish and sometimes fresh waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Fossils of these species are found from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene. They are known from various localities of Greece, Italy, Germany and United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syngnathiformes</span> Order of fishes

The Syngnathiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the leafy seadragons, sea moths, trumpetfishes and seahorses, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater pipefish</span> Species of fish

The greater pipefish is a pipefish of the family Syngnathidae. It is a seawater fish and the type species of the genus Syngnathus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-striped pipefish</span> Species of fish

The black-striped pipefish is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the southern Gulf of Biscay to Gibraltar, also in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As the introduced species it is mentioned in the Caspian Sea and fresh waters of its basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippocampinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

The Hippocampinae are a subfamily of small marine fishes in the family Syngnathidae. Depending on the classification system used, it comprises either seahorses and pygmy pipehorses, or only seahorses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadnosed pipefish</span> Species of fish

The broadnosed pipefish or deepnosed pipefish is a fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is native to the Eastern Atlantic ocean from Vardø in Norway, the Baltic Sea and the British Isles in the north all the way to Morocco at south. It is also found in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov. It is common in the coastal shallow waters, usually on reefs with seagrasses. This species is notable for its "broad" snout, which is as deep as its body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf pipefish</span> Species of fish

The Gulf pipefish is a species of pipefish in the member of the taxonomic family Sygnathidae. Syngnathus scovelli is native to the region of south Florida, United States, the Atlantic Ocean, etc. S. scovelli is similar to Microphis brachyurus.

The Yucatán pipefish is a demersal fish species native to the Gulf of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robust ghost pipefish</span> Species of fish

The robust ghost pipefish, also known as the blue-finned ghost pipefish, Racek's ghost pipefish, robust-snouted ghost pipefish, or the squaretail ghost-pipefish, is a species of false pipefish belonging to the family Solenostomidae. Its appearance can vary greatly due to its ability to change colors over several hours, but the general body shape and fin shapes allow it to mimic a piece of seagrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pregnancy in fish</span>

Pregnancy has been traditionally defined as the period of time eggs are incubated in the body after the egg-sperm union. Although the term often refers to placental mammals, it has also been used in the titles of many international, peer-reviewed, scientific articles on fish, e.g. Consistent with this definition, there are several modes of reproduction in fish, providing different amounts of parental care. In ovoviviparity, there is internal fertilization and the young are born live but there is no placental connection or significant trophic (feeding) interaction; the mother's body maintains gas exchange but the unborn young are nourished by egg yolk. There are two types of viviparity in fish. In histotrophic viviparity, the zygotes develop in the female's oviducts, but she provides no direct nutrition; the embryos survive by eating her eggs or their unborn siblings. In hemotrophic viviparity, the zygotes are retained within the female and are provided with nutrients by her, often through some form of placenta.

Lissocampus fatiloquus, also known as prophet's pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. The species has been noted in a variety of habitats including sargassum, seagrass beds and sandy substrates along the coast of Western Australia from Shark Bay to Rottnest Island. Their diet is thought to consist of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.

Stigmatopora narinosa, also known as the Southern Gulf pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. The species can be found in patches of seagrass and algae in the shallow waters of Spencer Gulf and the Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. Their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods. Adult males have been measured at lengths up to 11.3 centimeters. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs from December to March before giving live birth.

Stigmatopora nigra, also known as the wide-bodied pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. This species can be found in the shallow waters, bays, and estuaries of southern Australia from Shark Bay to Brisbane, Tasmania, and New Zealand. They often inhabit seagrass or algae beds in addition to bare sand. Their diet consists of small crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods. Adult brooding males have been measured at 6.5-7 centimeters. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity. in which the males brood up to 25 eggs in a pouch below the tail before giving live birth. Stigmatopora nigra can live to 150 days old and are able to reproduce throughout the year.

<i>Urocampus nanus</i> Species of fish

Urocampus nanus, commonly known as the barbed pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. This family consists of 56 different genera and 320 species.

Nannocampus pictus, also known as the reef pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting reefs and seagrass beds of the western Indian Ocean and the eastern coast of Australia including the Great Barrier Reef. Members of this species can grow to lengths of 10 cm and their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.

<i>Vanacampus vercoi</i> Species of fish

Vanacampus vercoi, also known as Verco's pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting seaweed and seagrass beds in addition to tidepools at depths between 2–4 meters from Spencer's Gulf to Encounter Bay, South Australia. Their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.

References

  1. ↑ Pollom, R. & Ouyang, L. (2016). "Syngnathus schlegeli". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T188065A67026644. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T188065A67026644.en .
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Syngnathus schlegeli". FishBase . February 2018 version.
  3. ↑ Khan, Sher Bahadar; Qian, Zhong-Ji; Ryu, BoMi; Kim, Se-Kwon (2009-08-01). "Isolation and biochemical characterization of collagens from seaweed pipefish, Syngnathus schlegeli". Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering. 14 (4): 436–442. doi:10.1007/s12257-009-0007-1. ISSN   1976-3816.
  4. ↑ Wilson, A. B.; Orr, J. W. (2011-06-08). "The evolutionary origins of Syngnathidae: pipefishes and seahorses". Journal of Fish Biology. 78 (6): 1603–1623. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02988.x. ISSN   0022-1112.
  5. 1 2 3 Watanabe, Satoshi; Watanabe, Yoshiro (2001-05-01). "Brooding season, sex ratio, and brood pouch development in the seaweed pipefish, Syngnathus schlegeli, in Otsuchi Bay, Japan". Ichthyological Research. 48 (2): 155–160. doi:10.1007/s10228-001-8130-9. ISSN   1616-3915.
  6. 1 2 3 Sogabe, Atsushi; Takata, Hiromi; Kobayashi, Yasuhisa (2013-01-01). "Ovarian structure and mode of egg production in the seaweed pipefish Syngnathus schlegeli (Syngnathidae)". Ichthyological Research. 60 (1): 85–88. doi:10.1007/s10228-012-0313-z. ISSN   1616-3915.
  7. 1 2 3 Wang, Xin; Zhang, Zhixin; Mammola, Stefano; Ho, Adeljean L.F.C.; Zhang, Yanhong; Qin, Geng; Lin, Qiang (2021-05-04). "Exploring ecological specialization in pipefish using genomic, morphometric and ecological evidence". Diversity and Distributions. 27 (8): 1393–1406. doi:10.1111/ddi.13286. ISSN   1366-9516.
  8. 1 2 Chen, Zhi; Zhang, Yan; Han, Zhiqiang; Song, Na; Gao, Tianxiang (2017-05-06). "Morphological characters and DNA barcoding of Syngnathus schlegeli in the coastal waters of China". Journal of Oceanology and Limnology. 36 (2): 537–547. doi:10.1007/s00343-017-6206-2. ISSN   2523-3521.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Manning, C. G.; Foster, S. J.; Vincent, A. C. J. (2019-06-01). "A review of the diets and feeding behaviours of a family of biologically diverse marine fishes (Family Syngnathidae)". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 29 (2): 197–221. doi:10.1007/s11160-019-09549-z. ISSN   1573-5184.
  10. ↑ Sogabe, Atsushi; Mohri, Kie; Shoji, Jun (2012-07-01). "Reproductive seasonality of the seaweed pipefish Syngnathus schlegeli (Syngnathidae) in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan". Ichthyological Research. 59 (3): 223–229. doi:10.1007/s10228-012-0278-y. ISSN   1616-3915.
  11. ↑ Watanabe, Satoshi; Watanabe, Yoshiro (2002-11-01). "Relationship Between Male Size and Newborn Size in the Seaweed Pipefish, Syngnathus Schlegeli". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 65 (3): 319–325. doi:10.1023/A:1020510422509. ISSN   1573-5133.
  12. ↑ Vincent, A. C. J.; Foster, S. J.; Koldewey, H. J. (2011-06-08). "Conservation and management of seahorses and other Syngnathidae". Journal of Fish Biology. 78 (6): 1681–1724. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03003.x. ISSN   0022-1112.


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