Browsing by Author "Lazic, Tamara"
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- Behavioral traits of captive short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus, Linnaeus 1758Publication . Gristina, Michele; Pierri, Cataldo; Lazic, Tamara; Palma, JorgeStudies of behavioral traits of threatened marine species are fundamental in order to plan correct conservation strategies. This information becomes crucial to seahorses conservation, given the poor swimming skills and small home ranges of these fishes. Although information with regards to seahorse behaviors has increased in the last period, there is still a severe lack of knowledge concerning behavioral traits of the majority of Hippocampus spp. worldwide. The present study aims to present preliminary data on behaviour traits of captive H. hippocampus (short-snouted seahorse) under different conditions of habitat complexity and water temperature. In agreement with previous studies conducted on congeneric species H. hippocampus showed great thermal tolerance at least in the thermal range used in the present experiment. On the contrary, significant differences were found in behaviors adopted in the presence and absence of the algal component. However, it will be necessary to further investigate H. hippocampus behavior also in consideration of its interactions with the congeneric H. guttulatus when they occur sympatrically.
- Different behavioral strategies of two sympatric seahorses: habitat availability and increased density of Hippocampus guttulatus alter the behavior of Hippocampus hippocampusPublication . Spatafora, Davide; Gristina, Michele; Quattrocchi, Federico; Pierri, Cataldo; Lazic, Tamara; Palma, JorgeIn the light of future ocean warming scenarios and habitat fragmentation, coastal fishes must adjust their physiological and behavioral traits to face the combined effect of global warming and ecological interactions. Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) are charismatic fishes with peculiar life cycle traits, which make them vulnerable to several anthropic pressures and natural disturbances. In this study, we investigated the behavior of two sympatric seahorse species, the long-snouted Hippocampus guttulatus (Cuvier, 1829) and the short-snouted Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758). Specifically, we carried out two manipulative experiments to assess (i) the effect of temperature and habitat availability on both H. hippocampus and H. guttulatus behavior and (ii) the effect of temperature and an increased density of H. guttulatus (by 3x) on the activity level of congeneric species H. hippocampus. Our results showed that +3 & DEG;C warming did not affect seahorse behavior in both experiments, suggesting greater behavioral tolerance to thermal variation. However, a significant reduction of the active behavior of H. hippocampus was observed when the artificial habitat was introduced in the tank, while H. guttulatus maintained its activity. Furthermore, a significant decrease of the H. hippocampus activity was observed with an increased relative dominance of H. guttulatus. Our results suggest that both increased density of H. guttulatus and habitat availability, but not ocean warming, will affect the behavior of H. hippocampus. Therefore, different interspecific behavioral strategies may occur, thus affecting the distribution of the two species among shallow habitats when they occur in sympatry.