Common Seahorse

Photo: Marine Explorer (Dr John Turnbull) · CC BY-NC-SA

Common seahorses maintain small resident populations in Pozo Negro's seagrass and algae beds, where their ability to change colour to match surrounding vegetation makes them extremely difficult to spot without systematic searching of fronds and holdfasts. They are monogamous within a breeding season and pairs perform a dawn courtship ritual, gripping the same anchor point and mirroring each other's movements in a synchronised dance before the female transfers eggs to the male's brood pouch. Pozo Negro's relatively undisturbed conditions and abundant seagrass provide the stable microhabitat that seahorses require — sites with boat anchor damage or urchin barrens rarely support sustainable seahorse populations.