Why two seahorses have posed puzzle for Dorset experts (From Bournemouth Echo)

Why two seahorses have posed puzzle for Dorset experts

7:00pm Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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TWO dead seahorses have been washed up in two days, intriguing marine conservationists.

One spiny Seahorse was found in Poole Harbour at Hamworthy and the other at the National Trust’s Knoll Beach at Studland.

“Seahorses can get washed up during stormy or rough weather if they are very close to the shore,” said marine photographer Steve Trewhella. “But it’s pretty interesting because we have no idea where they go in the winter.”

The sites are dived all year round but the elusive creatures, along with other fish, simply seem to disappear from the shallow waters between September and May.

“The theory was that they went to deeper water because it’s warmer,” said Steve.

But the fact that two “fresh” bodies have been washed up in different places as early as March could suggest that seahorses stay closer in than thought.

“It means they can withstand pretty low temperatures – the water is around six degrees,” he said.

There is a healthy population in Poole Harbour and the one found there was a male, and the one at Studland, female.

“It will be interesting to see whether it’s bred at some stage through the winter,” said Steve.

Both spiny and short-snouted seahorses are found off the Dorset coast and Studland is known to have the highest density of the delicate creatures in the world.

The bodies went to The Seahorse Trust, which last year tagged five, including two breeding pairs, to try and discover where they go in winter and if they return to their breeding sites together in spring.

Seahorses have also been washed up at Kimmeridge Bay and Worbarrow and surveys will be carried out this year to search for live species.

Anyone who sees a washed-up seahorse is urged to report it to The Seahorse Trust, Wildlife Trust or the National Trust.