The Seahorse Reproductive System
Reproduction:
Like any other organisms, seahorses mate with one another to keep the over all population stable. They tend to reach their sexual maturity by 6 months of age. By then, their reproductive structures are all fully grown and are ready to reproduce. But before they do so, a special mating dance is performed as a way of courtship. This dance is performed for about a week and until then, both the male and the female swim around together and in a way get to meet each other. At one point during the "true courtship stage," the male inflates and deflates the pouch to show that it is empty and ready for fertilization of the eggs.
Seahorses are known to be monogamous, meaning that they stick with one mating partner for their entire lifetime so that when it comes to reproduction, they can improve in reproducing sexually (1). One of the structures used for reproduction is the tail that both seahorse genders have. This structure is used to hang onto one another during the intercourse. All along, an individual female has been producing ova in structures that are quite similar to ovaries, called menestries. These menestries produce haploid cells with chromosome numbers ranging form about 22-24. Meanwhile, the male seahorse has been doing the same, producing sperm in the same structure as the females; their menestries! In order to fertilize the ova, the female inserts them into the birthing pouch of the male through a structure called the ovipositor where the sperms are sent to due to the signal given by the anal fin of the female and awaits to be fertilized.
Like any other organisms, seahorses mate with one another to keep the over all population stable. They tend to reach their sexual maturity by 6 months of age. By then, their reproductive structures are all fully grown and are ready to reproduce. But before they do so, a special mating dance is performed as a way of courtship. This dance is performed for about a week and until then, both the male and the female swim around together and in a way get to meet each other. At one point during the "true courtship stage," the male inflates and deflates the pouch to show that it is empty and ready for fertilization of the eggs.
Seahorses are known to be monogamous, meaning that they stick with one mating partner for their entire lifetime so that when it comes to reproduction, they can improve in reproducing sexually (1). One of the structures used for reproduction is the tail that both seahorse genders have. This structure is used to hang onto one another during the intercourse. All along, an individual female has been producing ova in structures that are quite similar to ovaries, called menestries. These menestries produce haploid cells with chromosome numbers ranging form about 22-24. Meanwhile, the male seahorse has been doing the same, producing sperm in the same structure as the females; their menestries! In order to fertilize the ova, the female inserts them into the birthing pouch of the male through a structure called the ovipositor where the sperms are sent to due to the signal given by the anal fin of the female and awaits to be fertilized.
Development:
After fertilization, the male carries the eggs for about ten days to six weeks depending on the environment. Similar to humans, a fetus of a seahorse goes through the same development. At first they are a simple zygote; the result of the fertilization of a sperm and egg. This zygote later becomes a ball of developing cells called a blastocyst. This ball finally becomes an embryo where the cells are assigned a specific function and later develop into a full grown seahorse. Since seahorses are R-strategists, they lay tons of offspring. So when it is time for giving birth, the male gives birth to 50-1500 offspring over a couple of hours. Though this may seem like a lot, only one in a thousand actually survive without any parental care. These little creatures are expected to find ways to survive keeping in mind that they are much smaller than a coin in an expansive ocean. Like their parents, the offspring will reach their sexual maturity in about six months and will hopefully live about 5-6 years. :)
After fertilization, the male carries the eggs for about ten days to six weeks depending on the environment. Similar to humans, a fetus of a seahorse goes through the same development. At first they are a simple zygote; the result of the fertilization of a sperm and egg. This zygote later becomes a ball of developing cells called a blastocyst. This ball finally becomes an embryo where the cells are assigned a specific function and later develop into a full grown seahorse. Since seahorses are R-strategists, they lay tons of offspring. So when it is time for giving birth, the male gives birth to 50-1500 offspring over a couple of hours. Though this may seem like a lot, only one in a thousand actually survive without any parental care. These little creatures are expected to find ways to survive keeping in mind that they are much smaller than a coin in an expansive ocean. Like their parents, the offspring will reach their sexual maturity in about six months and will hopefully live about 5-6 years. :)
Sources: 1. http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov06macro/sc-macro.html
2. http://horses-in-the-sea.blogspot.com/2011/07/parts-of-reproductive-system-of.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seahorse
4. http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0310300/Life%20on%20Earth/html/seahorse.html
5. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002398.htm
2. http://horses-in-the-sea.blogspot.com/2011/07/parts-of-reproductive-system-of.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seahorse
4. http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0310300/Life%20on%20Earth/html/seahorse.html
5. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002398.htm