Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at 正规欧洲杯买球网站圣地亚哥分校 is celebrating the arrival of more than 70 tiny newborn Weedy Seadragons, which are incredibly difficult to breed and rear in captivity.
Only a handful of facilities have successfully hatched and reared this unique species of fish that are related to seahorses and pipefish.
“这对我们来说意义重大. 我们已经为此研究了几十年,” said Associate Curator Leslee Matsushige who leads Birch Aquarium’s Seahorse and Seadragon Breeding Programs. “这是一个非常具有挑战性但又令人兴奋的过程. We've had some previous experience raising young seadragons, so we hope to be successful raising an even greater number of babies this year.”
The baby weedies are about 1-inch-long and weigh less than 1 gram, 能长到13-15英寸长. They began hatching on Sunday, February 26 and continued hatching through Friday, March 3. 杂草海龙是相当孤独的生物. 卵一旦孵化，小企鹅就完全独立了. 它们自己觅食，自己照顾自己. 父亲保护幼鱼的任务完成了.
现在, the babies are being raised behind the scenes so aquarists can monitor and feed them a special diet. 杂草海龙是出了名的挑食者. 它们的首选食物是小壳虾.
监测数周
好几个星期, the Husbandry Team had been closely monitoring the father who carried more than 70 eggs on the underside of his tail. 海龙宝宝有叶子状的伪装附属物, 它们的体型通常很大, 而且和成年人相比也没有那么丰富多彩. 它们的鼻子也短得多.
The 水族馆 has experienced an influx of guests coming through its doors following the announcement of the 蛋转移 on January 9, 2023. 前一个 蛋转移 happened in 2020 when five eggs were released and two of them hatched. 然而，这种转移是在幕后进行的. Those two seadragons are currently in the seadragon exhibit.
《欧洲杯买球》中令人惊叹的中心装饰 & Seahorses,” which opened in May 2019, is home to 16 adult seadragons. The display is 18-feet wide, 9-foot-tall and holds over five thousand gallons of water. It was designed to provide an optimal environment for these colorful fish to mate and breed.
“Seadragons are relatively new to human care with their first introductions in the ‘90s. 在这么短的时间里, Birch Aquarium and our colleagues have been able to learn just a bit of their amazing life history, 基因和行为,珍·尼禄·莫法特说, 动物保护中心的高级主管, 科学与保育.
“This successful breeding was the result of many years of dedication to understanding this delicate species and replicating their natural environment through changes in flow rates, 水的体积, 照明和水温, which are key to influencing their health and successful breeding. We are poised to help this species with our conservation program,” Moffatt continued.
Matsushige and her team have been working with seadragons since 1996. Not only has she been able to improve her breeding strategies based on information from her own research but also from the experiences of colleagues who have shared notes about their own breeding strategies.
“There is still a lot to learn and improve on,” said Matsushige. “We hope with the gained knowledge we can get better at this process and have more frequent and consistent 蛋转移s and hatchings.”
它们有着复杂的伪装和独特的颜色, seadragons are wonderful ambassadors to promote a greater understanding of the rich diversity in our oceans.
Weedy seadragons are only found in temperate waters on the southern coast of Australia. They have delicate appendages that help them blend in with kelp and seagrass to avoid predators. Other challenges faced by seadragons in the wild include food scarcity, warming oceans and compromised habitats caused by climate change.
The babies will spend several months behind the scenes before guests can see them. 最终, there may be an opportunity to transfer some to other AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) institutions as part of breeding and education programs.
Seadragon enthusiasts can follow the 水族馆’s social media channels for the latest updates. To learn more about the 水族馆’s Seadragon Breeding Program, visit 水族馆.正规欧洲杯买球网站圣地亚哥分校.edu.
