Opercular Beat Frequency of Long-Snouted Seahorse, Hippocampus Guttulatus Cuvier 1829

For species that are threatened or deserving of specific conservation initiatives, it is extremely useful to evaluate the distress conditions through non-invasive methods. Opercular beat frequency (i.e. respiration rate) is considered a valid method to detect stress conditions of several marine organisms such as seahorses. This study aims to investigate the respiration patterns (measured during normal activities) for adult females, adult males and pregnant males (hereafter defined as “life stages',) of the European long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier 1829). Given the poor swimming skills and small home ranges of these fishes, information on the stress generated by natural (heat waves) and anthropogenic pressures (i.e. divers, underwater photographers) becomes crucial to provide baseline data for a code of conduct to be applied in seahorse populations management and conservation.