Syngnathus abaster

This pipefish’s high capacity of adaptation to new environments is accomplished by the high tolerance to different salinity levels and diversity of consumed prey. Their feeding habits vary within the seasons, but they mostly consume small crustaceans (copepod, amphipod, mysids), aquatic insect larvae, and fish larvae or eggs. They hunt their prey, by adopting a “sit and wait” strategy, camouflaging within the eelgrass, taking advantage of their vermiform shape, and brown-greenish body tones. Their body is also adorned with white dots and black stripes. 

The female’s stripes become more defined during the breeding season, working as an ornament to attract males. The breeding season ranges between March and October, but it can vary with latitude due to temperature differences. Both sexes can mate with multiple partners within a pregnancy. Larger fish are the preferred partners. Curiously, larger females can differently distribute their eggs between the partners, giving the best eggs to larger males. 

Females compete for males and start sexual interactions. They display themselves above the eelgrass, captivating the surrounding males. When a female obtains a male’s attention, she starts to twirl her body, and as a response of interest, the male mimics the behaviour. The positive response leads the female to deposit her eggs on the male’s brooding pouch. Then, the male is left alone, contracting his body, fertilizing and rearranging the deposited eggs. The juveniles emerge fully developed from the brood pouch and no further parental care is provided. Indeed, it's suggested that the parents don’t even recognize their offspring after parturition, because of rare events of juveniles being cannibalised by their parents