Lack of detailed knowledge on ecological niche, life cycles, spatial distribution, reproductive biology and space use strongly affects the selection of useful tools and measures in the conservation of threatened marine species. Especially for sedentary and slow species, behaviour and movement capacities are supposed to be the most important functional traits. Indeed, behavioural variability concerning available space and the close presence of individuals is considered a crucial trait for the population dynamics assessments, especially when disturbances of various causes are present in the environment. The present study aimed to investigate the site fidelity and degree of movement of Hippocampus guttulatus, an emblematic and threatened Mediterranean seahorse species. With this aim, a number of seahorses were tagged and monitored throughout two years within a limited area of the lagoon of Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Southern Italy). The studied individuals were initially morphometrically measured for size, sex and life-cycle stage and subsequently monitored through repeated four-month surveys each year. Obtained results indicated high site fidelity regardless of habitat type. Movement pattern was in line with the data on congeneric species, although values were slightly higher. The analyses showed differences in movement degree among different sexes and life-cycle stages and indicated greater mobility of adult females compared to males and juveniles. The investigated parameters showed a great variability suggesting that even small-scale environmental factors can influence the species mobility. Finally, a change in the population structure has been observed, with the loss of large individuals in 2016 and reduced recruitment in 2017. These findings indicated the possible presence of stressors that could lead to the alteration of the seahorse population at Mar Piccolo of Taranto.

中文翻译：

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Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier 的现场保真度，1829 年在塔兰托的 Mar Piccolo（意大利南部；爱奥尼亚海）

缺乏关于生态位、生命周期、空间分布、生殖生物学和空间利用的详细知识，严重影响了保护受威胁海洋物种的有用工具和措施的选择。特别是对于久坐不动的物种，行为和运动能力应该是最重要的功能特征。事实上，关于可用空间和个体近距离存在的行为可变性被认为是种群动态评估的关键特征，尤其是当环境中存在各种原因的干扰时。本研究旨在调查海马（Hippocampus guttulatus）的现场保真度和运动程度，这是一种具有象征意义的受威胁的地中海海马物种。带着这个目标，在塔兰托（意大利南部）的 Mar Piccolo 泻湖的有限区域内，一些海马在两年内被标记和监测。研究人员最初对大小、性别和生命周期阶段进行形态计量学测量，随后每年通过重复的四个月调查进行监测。获得的结果表明，无论栖息地类型如何，现场保真度都很高。运动模式与同类物种的数据一致，但数值略高。分析表明，不同性别和生命周期阶段之间的运动程度存在差异，表明成年雌性与雄性和青少年相比具有更大的流动性。研究的参数显示出很大的变异性，表明即使是小规模的环境因素也会影响物种的迁移。最后，