A new study on Australian seadragon genetics reveals the significant variations between populations from different sections of the continent.
According to a precautionary recommendation from researchers, the marine animal - an Instagrammable creature that has found favor among divers and snorkellers - is set to be managed separately based on the state where they're found. The genetic study results are published in the journal PLOS ONE, which also reveals that Victorian weedy seadragons alone could form its own subspecies - creating implications for future conservation management efforts.
Scientific Studies on Weedies
Dr. Selma Klanten, the lead investigator in the study from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Fish Ecology Laboratory, said in a UTS release that there are few scientific studies concerning seadragons despite their popularity. She further noted that their efforts aim to understand the genetic structure and diversity of weedy seadragons on the Australian east coast.
"This is important because, like all syngnathids, seadragons are endemic to temperate Australia. As adults, they might only move 50-500 meters away from where they were born," Dr. Klanten added, sharing that this makes them especially susceptible to loss of habitat and environmental changes. Although they are not yet listed as "endangered species," there are concerns about their population decline, as confirmed by surveys.
Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), a gene-sequencing technology with increased speed and scale, researchers were able to discover four distinct genetic clusters - one in Central New South Wales (NSW), Southern NSW, Victoria, and Tasmania. Researchers used high-resolution imaging to gather data on the weedy seadragons' lengths and shapes. It revealed that populations from NSW differed in measurements compared to populations in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
Possibility of an Entirely New Subspecies
Aside from illustrating the significant variations among weedy seadragon populations in the Australian east coast, researchers also observed that Victorian weedy seadragons might be a subspecies on its own.
"They are highly distinct to NSW and Tasmania and do not interbreed with any other populations. Biologists refer to this as being reproductively isolated," Dr. Klanten added. She also noted that since Victorian weedy seadragons are the only ones used in the global aquarium trade, there is a bias against their species, creating wide implications for conservation management efforts.
Professor David Booth, a co-author in the study also from UTS Fish Ecology Lab, shared an ecological insight, "that weedies from the populations were shaped differently and occupied different habitat types, but we were surprised how different they were genetically."
About the Weedy Seadragon
Also known as the common seadragon, these species are related to the seahorses. These "weedies" have a reddish hue in their adulthood, coming with yellow and purple markings on their bodies. They are fitted with thin and small, leaf-like appendages that look like marine plants like kelp for camouflage. They also have spines along the length of their body for protection.
Aside from the waters of the Australian continent, populations of the common seadragon can be found in the eastern parts of the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is often associated with rocky coral reefs, seabeds, and seaweed-colonized parts of the ocean.
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