Diver study of wild Short Snouted Seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus) in Torbay, Devon. Neil Garrick-Maidment (1), John Newman (2) (1)The Seahorse Trust, Escot Park, Ottery St Mary, Honiton, Devon EX11 1LU (2) 71 Chudleigh Road, Kingsteington, Newton abbot. Devon TQ12 3JS The British Isles are home to 2 species of Seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus (The Spiny Seahorse) and Hippocampus hippocampus (The Short Snouted Seahorse); the British Seahorse Survey was set up in 1994 by The Seahorse Trust to study both of the species in the wild and we have now accrued a huge amount of data about them but it is seldom we get a chance to study individuals for any length of time in the wild. So the opportunity to study a pair of Hippocampus hippocampus in Torbay, Devon for 3 months was invaluable to gather much needed data on their ecology and behaviour in the wild. John Newman (the Seahorse Trust) studied a pair of Short Snouted Seahorses at Babbacombe in Torbay in Devon and spent over 300 hours watching behaviour and taking photographs. Corresponding author: N. Garrick-Maidment Email:
[email protected] Keywords: Hippocampus guttulatus, H.hippocampus, Zostera marina, home range, courtship, reproduction, SCUBA, British Seahorse Survey, Wildlife and Countryside Act, Introduction The Seahorse Trust runs the British Seahorse Survey (BSS) and runs the National Seahorse Database (NSD) at its headquarters at Escot Park nr Ottery St Mary in East Devon and has focused on both British species of seahorses in the UK. Through their work they have made numerous discoveries about both British species of seahorses and submitted and got both species protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).