The researchers and volunteers are finding and identifying all sorts of creatures in Fishing Bay. Anemones, sea cucumbers, lots of sea stars, sculpins, crabs, chitons, octopi, limpets and more. One of the most interesting is the pipefish, most often camouflaged within eelgrass beds. And pipefish are a bit different from what most people know as fish...Meadows of eelgrass grow underwater near Indian Island and wherever there is eelgrass, there is rich marine life. Herring lay eggs and raise their young these meadows, crabs move in for shelter and to molt, and juvenile salmon hang out there with plenty to eat. Among these and all of the other animals that make eelgrass their home are some remarkably well-camouflaged seahorse relatives called the Bay Pipefish. They seem especially well adapted to this habitat.
When you finally see the pipefish among the eelgrass, you’ll notice that it’s long pencil-slim body with it’s greenish color mimics the swaying blades of the grass. Pipefish have tiny dorsal, pectoral and tail fins that beat rapidly as the tiny fish swim slowly along, usually in a vertical position. Pipefish “steer” by moving their head from side to side. Like seahorses, they have jaws that have evolved into a tubelike snout with little jaws and lips at the end. The shape is perfect for sucking up small food like crustaceans and fish larvae. pipefish basically gets its tubular mouth an inch or so from its prey - and slurps!
Also like male seahorses, male pipefish breed their young. The female pipefish court the males. If the courting is successful, she deposits dozens of eggs in brood pouches on the underside of the male’s body. Then a protective tissue forms on the pouch opening, sealing the eggs inside. The males incubate the eggs and they hatch in about two weeks. Despite their camouflage, pipefish are prey for seabirds, like grebes, who catch them to feed their young. The eelgrass that is home to the pipefish provides multiple habitats and supports a great variety of animals living in, above and under, but not directly feeding on, the plants. Protecting eelgrass meadows for all of these creatures and the larger ones that feed on them is a high priority here in the San Juan Islands.
