Seahorse Surprise

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family, Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Career & Technical Education (CTE), Economics/Business, Health & Physical Education, Industrial Technology, Professional Development, Science, STEM, Technology/Information Science

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to seahorses and their unique traits, inviting participants to share any prior knowledge or interesting facts they’ve researched.

• Segment 1 - Meet Our Seahorses: Meet the resident seahorses at Mote, learning about their distinctive features and behaviors–including their unique reproductive process.

• Video 1 - Behind the Scenes: Short behind-the-scenes video offering a glimpse into the care and breeding programs for seahorses at the aquarium.

• Segment 2 - Fish Are Friends: Explore the diversity and abundance of other fish species at the aquarium and their relationships to seahorses.

• Video 2 - Marine Ecosystems: A brief video explores the seagrass homes of seahorses and pipefish in our estuaries, focusing on the impact of human activities on their habitats.

• Segment 3 - Questions and Answers: Q&A session, allowing participants to ask questions and engage in discussion about seahorses and marine conservation.

• Segments may vary due to weather and veterinary priorities. We will make every effort to deliver the segments as described but may use a combination of live and recorded video when necessary.

🎯 Objectives

1. Identify the unique features and behaviors of seahorses, including their distinctive reproductive process, through interactive discussions and observations.

2. Explore the diversity of fish species at the aquarium and understand how seahorses relate to other marine life in terms of their habitats and roles in the ecosystem.

3. Watch and analyze short videos on marine ecosystems and seahorse conservation to gain insights into the impact of human activities on their habitats.

4. Ask questions and engage in discussions during the Q&A session to deepen understanding of seahorses and their conservation needs.

5. Reflect on the conservation challenges faced by seahorses and propose ways to support their preservation.

✏️ Standards this program supports

• LS1A 3–5 –– Structure and function. Learners explore how seahorse structures like prehensile tails, bony plates, and independently moving eyes support feeding, camouflage, and movement, and compare these features to those of other bony fish.

• LS1A 6–8 –– Structure and function. Learners analyze how internal and external features of seahorses—such as upright posture and male pregnancy—differ from other bony fish, and how these adaptations support survival and reproduction.

• LS2A 3–5 –– Interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Learners explore how seahorses interact with predators, prey, and habitats, and how environmental changes can impact their survival.

• LS2A 6–8 –– Interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Learners examine the role of seahorses in food webs and how their specialized adaptations and relationships with other organisms affect ecosystem dynamics.

• LS4D 3–5 –– Biodiversity and humans. Learners investigate the seagrass habitats of species like seahorses and explore conservation efforts to protect these vulnerable areas.

• LS4D 6–8 –– Biodiversity and humans. Learners analyze how human activities, such as coastal development, pollution, and overharvesting, affect biodiversity in marine ecosystems.

• LS4D 9–12 –– Biodiversity and humans. Learners evaluate how global human impacts, including habitat destruction and unsustainable exploitation of seahorses, influence biodiversity and the health of ocean ecosystems.

Ocean Literacy Principles

• • Ocean Literacy Principle #5 – The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

  • Ocean Literacy Principle #6 – The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• • 14 - Life Below Water

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.3.L.15.1 – Classify animals into major groups based on physical characteristics and behaviors. Application: Learners identify seahorse as vertebrates, their classification as sygnathids, and how they differ from other marine animals.

• SC.4.L.17.4 – Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Application: The program discusses how seahorses and marine life interact with their environment and the effects of human activities on them.

• SC.5.L.15.1 – Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. Application: Learners examine sygnathid adaptations and resilience in changing marine environments.

• SC.6.L.15.1 – Analyze how organisms are classified based on shared characteristics. Application: Learners examine seahorses within the Linnaean classification system and their distinguishing biological traits.

• SC.7.L.17.3 – Describe limiting factors in an ecosystem and their impact on populations. Application: The program investigates factors affecting seahorse populations, such as water quality, habitat availability, and disease.

• SC.8.N.4.1 – Explain how political, social, and economic concerns can affect science, and vice versa. Application: Students examine how conservation laws, aquarium trade regulations, and economic pressures impact seahorse research and protection efforts.

• SC.912.L.15.6 – Discuss distinguishing characteristics of the domains and kingdoms of living organisms. Application: Learners place seahorses within the Animalia kingdom and Chordata phylum, exploring traits distinguishing them from invertebrates and other vertebrate groups.

• Adaptation: The process by which an organism becomes better suited to its environment, such as how seahorses have evolved specialized features to blend into their surroundings.

• Aquaculture: The cultivation of aquatic organisms, such as seahorses, in controlled environments for commercial, conservation, or research purposes.

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA): An organization that accredits and supports zoos and aquariums, ensuring high standards of care for animals, including seahorses.

• Biodiversity: The variety of life forms within a given ecosystem, including the different fish species at the aquarium and their interactions with seahorses.

• Breeding: The process of reproducing and raising offspring, which at Mote Aquarium involves caring for and increasing seahorse populations to support conservation efforts.

• Brood Pouch: A specialized pouch on the male seahorse where eggs are fertilized and incubated until they hatch.

• Camouflage: The ability of seahorses to blend into their surroundings, such as seagrass, to avoid predators and enhance their hunting efficiency.

• Conservation: The protection and preservation of natural resources and environments, including efforts to safeguard seahorses and their habitats from threats like pollution and habitat loss.

• Courtship: The behaviors and rituals performed by seahorses to attract mates and form pair bonds before reproduction.

• Ecosystem: A community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, which seahorses are a part of, including their seagrass habitats.

• Estuary: A coastal area where freshwater from rivers meets and mixes with saltwater from the ocean, providing a crucial habitat for seahorses and other marine species.

• Extinction: The complete disappearance of a species from the planet, a risk for seahorses due to habitat loss and other threats.

• Hippocampus: The genus name for seahorses, derived from Greek mythology referring to a sea creature with the front half of a horse and the back half of a fish.

• Husbandry: The care and management of animals in captivity, including the breeding and maintenance of seahorses.

• Mysid Shrimp: Small crustaceans that are a common food source for seahorses in both wild and aquarium settings.

• Ovipositor: The reproductive organ used by female seahorses to deposit eggs into the brood pouch of the male.

• Pair Bond: The long-term social and reproductive partnerships formed between seahorses, often involving elaborate courtship behaviors.

• Pipefish: Closely related to seahorses, pipefish are also members of the Sygnathidae family and share similar characteristics.

• Plankton: Tiny organisms that drift in the water, including many that are part of the diet of young seahorses.

• Prehensile: Capable of grasping or holding objects; seahorses have prehensile tails that they use to anchor themselves to seagrass or coral to avoid drifting in the current.

• Reproduction: The biological process by which new individual organisms are produced, notably unique in seahorses as males carry and birth the young.

• Seagrass: The underwater plants that provide essential habitat and food sources for seahorses and other marine organisms.

• Seahorse: A small marine fish with a horse-like head, known for its unique reproductive process where the male carries and births the young.

• Stud Book: A record of the ancestry and breeding of captive seahorses, used to manage breeding programs and maintain genetic diversity.

• Syngnathid: The family of fish that includes seahorses, pipefish, and sea dragons, characterized by their elongated bodies and specialized reproductive methods.

• Traditional Medicine: The use of animal parts, including seahorses, in some cultures for medicinal purposes, which can impact seahorse populations.

Play Seahorse Bingo

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• Project Seahorse. “iSeahorse.” Accessed June 30, 2025. projectseahorse.org/iseahorse

• Seahorse Trust theseahorsetrust.org/education/educational-resources

📚 Books & Publications

Elementary

• Fishes: A Compare and Contrast Book by Marie Fargo (Arbordale Publishing) – A nonfiction early reader that introduces the diversity of fish, helping learners compare sharks with other bony and cartilaginous fishes. https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=Fishes

  • 📑 Activty Guide https://www.arbordalepublishing.com/ForCreativeMinds/Fishes_FCM.pdf

High/Adult

• Poseidon’s Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality by Helen Scales (Gotham Books, 2009) – A blend of science, history, and storytelling that explores the biology, cultural significance, and conservation of seahorses around the world. https://helenscales.com/portfolio/poseidons-steed-2/

• Seahorses: A Life-Size Guide to Every Species by Sara A. Lourie (University of Chicago Press, 2016) – A visually stunning field guide that features life-size photographs and profiles of all known seahorse species, ideal for both educators and marine enthusiasts. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo23519815.html

• Syngnathid Husbandry in Public Aquaria: 2005 Manual by Heather Koldewey (Project Seahorse, 2005) – A detailed husbandry guide for caring for seahorses and their relatives (syngnathids) in aquariums, covering life support, feeding, and breeding practices. https://projectseahorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2005-Koldewey-Syngnathid_Husbandry_Manual.pdf

📰 Mote News

• Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. “Dwarf Seahorse.” Animal Encyclopedia, accessed June 30, 2025. https://mote.org/animal-encyclopedia/dwarf-seahorse/

🖥️ Videos

• Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. “Monday – Craft – Marbled Seahorse.” YouTube, March 3, 2021. https://youtu.be/GY2tERcO-Gw

• Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. “Coral Town 5.” YouTube, September 3, 2022. https://youtu.be/_2vNPAcG5OA?si=ARr0MHURzzDjh4mr&t=214