Thoughtful Thursdays: Chesapeake Bay Lined Seahorses

Many people don’t realize that there is a species of seahorse that calls the Chesapeake Bay its home.  The lined seahorse, hippocampus erectus, lives in shallow eel grass beds during the summer and moves to deeper submerged aquatic vegetation during the winter.  It can typically be found in the lower to middle Chesapeake Bay and, in particularly dry years when the water is saltier, as far north as Kent Island and the Bay Bridge.

Lined Seahorse at National Aquarium, Baltimore
Photo courtesy of Michael Bentley

The lined seahorse varies drastically in both coloration and ornamentation.  Individuals can range from a yellowish color all the way down the spectrum to a nearly black color.  Some may have intricate ornamentation on their backs and their heads.  Additionally, they can change color slightly to match their surroundings.  As with all seahorses, males carry a pouch which they use to hold their young after breeding.  Breeding itself is complicated, it includes a drawn-out ritual of dancing and clicking between the male and female.  At the end of the courtship, females deposit their eggs into the male’s pouch where they are fertilized and held until ready to be released (about 2 weeks).

Lined seahorses vary in color, pattern and ornamentation

Seahorses as a whole are ineffective swimmers.  They only use three of their fins (two pectoral fins and one dorsal fin) to swim.  They beat these fins rapidly to provide propulsion, but it is not enough to keep them stationary in even the most gentle of currents.  It is because of this that they require something to hold on to.  For our local lined seahorses in the Chesapeake, that something is often eel grass, as well as other submerged aquatic vegetation.  These grasses are vital to the seahorses’ ability to hunt, breed and just plain survive.  Seahorses are ambush predators and so they need something to anchor themselves to while hunting.  As they hide, prehensile tails attached to the eel grass, they wait for prey to float by their snouts.

Lined seahorses have very small fins, making it hard for them to swim.

Unfortunately, eel grass is in trouble in the Chesapeake Bay.  Nutrient pollution from farms, sewage and other human activities often leads to large algal blooms, which grow near the surface of the water and block light that the grasses need to grow. Additionally, destructive fishing techniques like bottom trawling can rip up huge swaths of submerged aquatic vegetation, causing wide-spread loss of habitat.  Because they are so specialized in their habitat needs, lined seahorses have little hope of successfully hunting and breeding without the grasses.  These pressures are threatening seahorses worldwide. As a result of these and other conservation pressures, it is estimated that the world’s lined seahorse population has declined by at least 30 percent in the past 10 years. We must begin to take steps to preserve the local habitat, or we risk losing this very interesting and important Chesapeake Bay species.

What you can do to help:  Reduce waste runoff, which pollutes waters like the Chesapeake Bay.  

• Control insects using natural controls instead of pesticides. Americans directly apply 70 million pounds of pesticides to home lawns and gardens each year and, in so doing, kill birds and other wildlife and pollute our precious water resources.
• Dispose of motor oil and anti-freeze through a local service station or recycling center. A one-quart container of oil disposed of at the local landfill can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of drinking water and the water home of our seahorse friends.
• Don’t pour anything down storm drains because they lead to the bay, which connects to the ocean. Most sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants do not remove poisonous cleaners, and yard and car-wash chemicals make their way into local waterways, and, eventually, into our ocean, harming animals along the way. You wouldn’t want to swim in those chemicals, and neither do animals!
• Learn more!
  To find out more about the lined seahorse and the troubles threatening them in our area, listen to this special seahorse edition of WYPR’s Environment in Focus with Tom Pelton

Thoughtful Thursdays: A Greener Cleaner

During the last few months, the National Aquarium’s Fishes department has been transitioning all of its cleaning products to eco-friendly options.

Aquarist Beth Schneble said, “As a conservation organization, we feel strongly about the Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures, and decided to do our part by not polluting the Chesapeake Bay watershed with chemicals. Because we want to promote the use of these products, we are sharing our choices with volunteers, tour groups, interns, and other staff members who might be considering changes for the sake of the environment. The green products are just as effective as the old ones, and they are helping to minimize the amount of chemicals rinsed down the drains daily.”

For general cleaning, they use white vinegar and microfiber cloths. Here’s a quick before-and-after snapshot of the other changes they made:

Before	After
Blue Dawn dish detergent	Green Works dish detergent; 97% natural, many ingredients derived from plants
Standard synthetic sponges	Scotch Brite Greener Clean scrubs; 50% of the scrubbing fibers are made from agave plants; sponges are 100% plant-based fiber and 23% recycled material
Ajax and Tide floor cleaners	Damp mop; biodegradable and phosphate-free floor cleaner
Windex	Brillianize Plastic Cleaner (used for exhibit windows); alcohol free, ammonia free and contains no sodium sulfate or ethylene glycol
Plastic spray bottles	Recycled spray bottles made from plastic jugs. Staff add a diluted mixture of detergent and water to decrease the amount of soap needed to clean dishes. The containers are reusable, and supplies last longer.

And if you’re interested in making a change at home, here’s a super-easy recipe for a DIY all-purpose cleaner, which is easier on both the environment AND your budget:

Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda (or 2 teaspoons borax) into 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water. Pour into a spray bottle and store.

Thoughtful Thursdays: Help Us Heal the Seals!

Going “green” isn’t about changing your entire lifestyle all at once. A sustainable lifestyle is achieved by making a series of Thoughtful Choices. Each week, on Thursdays, we will share a simple tip for how we can all help keep our planet healthy.

Our Choice
Since 1991, the National Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program has responded to more than 480 animals in distress and has rehabilitated and released nearly 100 marine animals back to their natural environment. Research, satellite tag tracking, and outreach education are also significant components of this program.

Your Choice
MARP needs a new hospital pool for rehabbing sick and injured seals. You can support our Marine Animal Rescue Program and local Baltimore-area businesses by donating to our Heal the Seals campaign through GiveCorps.

With GiveCorps, you can support causes that move you, and get rewarded for your generosity with great deals from local merchants. Today’s deal is $5 off at Bonjour French Bakery Cafe!

Thoughtful Thursdays: Enjoy, respect, protect!

As our global population reaches 7 billion people, it is more important than ever to take action to conserve and protect our waterways.

Going “green” isn’t about changing your entire lifestyle all at once. A sustainable lifestyle is achieved by making a series of Thoughtful Choices. Each week, on Thursdays, we will share a simple tip for how we can all help keep our planet healthy.

Our Choice

Our Harbor Market Kitchen cafe switched from compostable serveware to reusable serveware made from sustainable bamboo.

Your Choice

Swap out something disposable you use every day: take a travel mug to the coffee shop, pack your lunch items in washable containers instead of plastic bags, or use rags rather than paper towels to wipe up spills.

Together we can make a difference!

Learn more about the National Aquarium’s conservation efforts and how you can help!

Celebrating Earth Day every day

Yesterday we joined the country in celebrating the 40th Earth Day…but we do our best to care for and protect the Earth every day by incorporating simple actions into daily life at the Aquarium. Here are just some of the simple actions we take:

• In the Aquarium cafes, our utensils, cups, straws and lids are made from potatoes and corn, which are compostable and biodegradable. We also offer three bins for waste: compost, recycling and trash.
• The Aquarium Animal Programs staff repurposes toilet paper tubes, used towels, plastic bottles, old phone books, and other materials for education programs and animal enrichment.
• Staff members have the option to join a community-supported agriculture program that delivers organic, locally grown produce right to the Baltimore venue.
• We turned 53 wetsuits into 575 bottle cozies, available in our gift shop, which kept 92 pounds of neoprene out of landfills.
• When you walk across the newly reopened exterior harbor footbridge, do you feel a little spring in your step? We used 98,342 plastic milk jugs to renovate it!
• Last year, we recycled 50 tons of plastic, glass, aluminum, cardboard and paper; 388 pounds of “technotrash”; and 489 pounds of batteries. We also send in corks and energy bar wrappers to companies that “upcycle” them into new products!
• Every month, the Aquarium recognizes and rewards three staff members who conserve natural resources by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit to work.
• Power-generating water valves are installed in Aquarium restrooms, which create and store power.
• Each year, every full-time Aquarium employee gets a paid day off to participate in a conservation event, such as a wetland cleanup or a tree-planting event.

You can read about more actions the Aquarium takes here and get some more tips for what you can do here. And come join us at the National Aquarium this Saturday for our continued Earth Day celebration!

What simple actions do you, your family, or your workplace take every day?