Seahorses

Seahorses & pipefish have highly complex and understudied visual systems.

This family (Syngnathidae) are a unique group of fishes that use colour and specialised vision in their day to day lives, from detecting tiny zooplankton in the water with amazing accuracy, to changing their body colouration to attract a mate. On top of our research on reef fish vision, we have a lab team studying the visual capabilities of these unique fish incorporating molecular, anatomical, ecological, and behavioural research into the wider-picture visual ecology of the Syngnathidae. With this multi-disciplinary approach, we hope to determine what and how seahorses see, and use this information to advise conservation work.

Unfortunately, seahorses and pipefish are under threat. Because of their slow/sedentary nature and particular habitat requirements, these unique fish are suffering population declines from habitat loss around the world. Here in South-East Queensland (Australia), a native species of seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) has been listed as Endangered. Our team is hoping to be able to discover the extent of this seahorse population in Queensland, and use information about their visual ecology to protect, conserve and restore the natural populations of this species.

Stay tuned for future projects!