Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection are concepts well known by most people. Evolution being a change in a population over time and natural selection essentially coming down to survival of the fittest and being a key mechanism of evolution. In the case of seahorses, rather the 54 species of marine fishes in the genus Hippocampus, the male and female seahorses have evolved a series of unusual adaptations for the purpose of increasing their overall fitness. A common misconception about seahorses is that the males are the ones to become pregnant, when in reality it is more of a team effort where both the male and female share the energy load. The reason why the male carries the babies is because they are known to be more aggressive. Without this protection, pregnant female seahorses could easily be eaten or injured.
It is the norm that ‘care’ is predominantly a concern for the women and part of life as a female. It is construed as a female gift and suggests that we are more suitable for such endeavors like nursing the babies and childcare overall. However, with seahorses it is an evolutionary adaptation for the males to do the “caring and nursing” of the eggs to protect them and the young as long as possible. The way their relationship works is that the female lays the eggs in the pouch of the male (known as the brood pouch) …show more content…
Thus, the males take care of fertilized eggs in the brood pouch. As the developmental stage moves forward, the brood pouch enlarges, making the male seahorses to look like they are pregnant (but they aren't). When the development is complete, the pouch opens, and baby seahorses are released. It all comes back to fitness, survival of the fittest. It’s about developing the most efficient way to produce the maximum amount of offspring for better fitness and to increase their survival
It is the norm that ‘care’ is predominantly a concern for the women and part of life as a female. It is construed as a female gift and suggests that we are more suitable for such endeavors like nursing the babies and childcare overall. However, with seahorses it is an evolutionary adaptation for the males to do the “caring and nursing” of the eggs to protect them and the young as long as possible. The way their relationship works is that the female lays the eggs in the pouch of the male (known as the brood pouch) …show more content…
Thus, the males take care of fertilized eggs in the brood pouch. As the developmental stage moves forward, the brood pouch enlarges, making the male seahorses to look like they are pregnant (but they aren't). When the development is complete, the pouch opens, and baby seahorses are released. It all comes back to fitness, survival of the fittest. It’s about developing the most efficient way to produce the maximum amount of offspring for better fitness and to increase their survival