THE SEAHORSE HOTEL — Underneath the Sydney Harbor in Sydney, Australia, a reclamation project is taking place.
Mitchell Brennan is the project manager of the Sydney Seahorse Project, a collaborative effort focused on conserving Australia’s endangered White’s seahorse.
“We’ve seen dramatic population losses, which means that we need to act now in order to help these guys persist into the future,” Brennan says in this Reuters video.
White’s seahorses, Brennan says, are endangered due to habitat loss. Namely, the loss of seagrasses and soft corals. To help curb this habitat loss, the project has constructed “seahorse hotels” — grid-like boxes made of biodegradable metal that will eventually break down and contribute to marine life while serving as a species for the White’s seahorse in the meantime.
“Over time, they will accumulate lots of natural growth including sponges and algae and become a suitable habitat for the seahorses, replacing that habitat that’s been lost or degraded in the past,” Brennan says.
While endemic to Australia’s east coast, the population of White’s seahorses in the Sydney Harbor dropped by nearly 50% between 2008 and 2015, according to the Reuters video, while the population on New South Wales’s north coast dropped by 95%.
“The white’s seahorse, or the Sydney seahorse, is the second species of seahorse to be classified as endangered in the whole world, with the other species found in South Africa,” Brennan said. “It’s the first species to be classified as endangered in Australia and this is largely due to human impacts, including the effects that we have on their habitats.”
The hotels are designed to look like discarded crab traps, a usual home for seahorses. They’re placed in the harbor at least a month before the release of seahorses to allow time for marine fouling — the accumulation of plants, algae and other organisms.
Over the years, the metal breaks down, leaving behind a semi-natural reef that benefits the seahorses and the surrounding harbor.
Earlier releases indicate that the seahorse hotel model is working.
“Ninety seahorses were released into Chowder Bay, and after one year, 20% of these seahorses were still found on the seahorse hotels, so it’s a really positive first sign,” Brennan said. “As well, nine seahorses were observed to be pregnant in the wild, which is really positive for the reproductive success of them after they’re released.”
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