SIMS will make a major contribution to marine science.

Much of its work will have world-wide applicability.

Weedy or common sea dragons are only found in the waters off southern Australia. While commonly sighted by divers and collected for the aquarium trade, there is insufficient information available to make an assessment of the species’ risk of extinction. Because of this they are listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as ‘data insufficient’.

Like their relatives the sea horses, the male sea dragons brood the eggs. A male indicates that he is ready to brood eggs by wrinkling the lower half of his tail, where the female deposits about 250 eggs.

Professor David Booth and PhD student Jaime Sanchez-Camara from the University of Technology, Sydney recently investigated the reproductive cycle and growth of the common seadragon in their natural environment around Sydney. A number of interesting findings were made during the study including: sea dragons have well defined home ranges but the males move to more suitable sites to look after their eggs and give birth to their young; some males have more than one brood per season with around 60 days between broods; breeding peaks just prior to the time of warmest water temperatures; the young grow very quickly in the first few months when the water is warm and there is an abundance of food (small mysids) but they do not grow as large as animals found further south; both males and females become sexually dimorphic between 11 and 16 months and at a length of 30 cm and sexually mature at 28 months and 33cm. Tagging studies have revealed a longevity of seadragons of up to 6 years, compared with only several months for pipefishes the team has investigated.