Submitted by: Xiong Zhang
My research is detecting the roles of physical (habitat structure), chemical (water quality) and biological (prey and predators) drivers in the population dynamics of seahorse species. Significant seahorse population decline has been detected in research around the world, but there is little knowledge about the causes. In protected areas, theoretically, seahorse population can be heavily impacted by physical and chemical environmental factors and death of juveniles from predation. Understanding how these drivers determine seahorse population dynamics is vital for the conservation and management of seahorse species in marine protected areas.