Biology of a seahorse species, <i>Hippocampus comes</i> in the central Philippines

Abstract

Based on 16 months of field observations on tagged seahorses Hippocampus comes in the Philippines, adults were found to be nocturnal, to maintain small home ranges, and to live mostly among corals. Prolonged pair associations suggested that H. comes , like many other seahorse species, were probably monogamous, a conclusion consistent with their low density and sparse distribution. Site and mate fidelity suggest that H. comes populations may fare poorly under current high levels of exploitation.