Seahorse Dads Have a Lot in Common with Human Moms, New Study Reveals

First Posted: Sep 03, 2015 09:03 AM EDT

It turns out that seahorse dads may have a lot in common with human moms. Scientists have found that when it comes to breeding, seahorses share more in common with humans than previously thought.

Seahorses are famed for being part of the only family in the animal kingdom in which the male is responsible for pregnancy. However, it's been unknown until now to what degree the male seahorse nourishes and protects the embryos in its brood pouch during the 24-day gestation period.

Now, researchers have taken a closer look at male seahorses to find out a bit more about how they take care of their young. They found that male seahorses are able to deliver nutrients to their developing embryos, particularly energy-rich lipids, and calcium to allow them to build their tiny skeletons. It is likely these nutrients are secreted in the brood pouch and then absorbed by embryos.

"Surprisingly, seahorse dads do a lot of the same things human mums do," said Camilla Whittington, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Seahorse babies get a lot of nutrients via the egg yolk provided by their mothers but the pouch of the fathers has also evolved to meet the complex challenges of providing additional nutrients and immunological protection, and ensuring gas exchange and waste removal."

The researchers also found that male seahorses' gene expression during pregnancy was similar to that of humans. Their research involved taking samples from brood pouches and assessing how gene expression changed during the course of the pregnancy. It is the first RNA sequencing study across the full course of pregnancy in any animal.

"Regardless of your species, pregnancy presents a number of complex challenges, like ensuring you can provide oxygen and nutrients to your embryos," said Whittington. "We have evolved independently to meet these challenges, but our research suggests that even distantly related animals use similar genes to manage pregnancy and produce health offspring."

The findings are published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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TagsSeahorse, Pregnancy, pregnant, Pregnancies, Human, Humans, Mother, Father, Fatherhood, Animal Behavior