Pipefish selection

11augustus2010
Source: iol.co.za
The extent to which male pipefish care for their young depends on the attractiveness of the female they mated with. When the mother was attractive, the father takes better care of the young.
Pipefish are a remarkable species. Just like its near relatives the seahorse and the sea dragon, the males get pregnant. The female deposits the eggs in a pouch on the male and he then cares for the embryos. The litter is between 5 and 40 and gestation lasts 12 to 14 days. Researchers from a university in Texas have found out that the male lets the extent of his care for the young depend on the attractiveness of the female. The pipefish that were studied are the Syngnathus scovelli, which live in the Gulf of Mexico. The males have a preference for large females. When a male has mated with a smaller, and therefore less attractive female, he takes less good care of the embryos. It seems as though the male wants to save his strength for future pregnancies with potentially more attractive females.

Pipefish live in tropical coastal waters. They are long, thin fish of about 10 centimetres. The male carries between 5 and 40 offspring in his pouch and gestation lasts between 12 and 14 days.
The results of this research were published in the journal Nature.