by Katarina Martin
In the words of Paul McCartney; “All you need is love!”
Our underwater realm is filled with romantic couplings and lifelong love. Some creatures actually practice monogamy!
For example, the Whites Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) are known to mate for life, the Seahorse pairs maintain their bond with an elaborate morning courtship ritual, changing colours and twirling together for hours. Another beautiful example of marine animals mating for life are the French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru), found in the western Atlantic, these stunning fish do everything together – traveling, hunting and defending their reef territory. If they ever get separated, they reunite by performing a circular swimming pattern called carouseling. The Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) might pack a mighty punch and may be quite aggressive, but they are romantics at heart, once they’ve chosen a mate, they spend the rest of their lives cohabiting in the same burrow, sharing food and maintaining the den together.
Some animals spend their lives in family groups, just like the Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris). They generally travel, hunt and sleep together in family focused pods and form long lasting, stable pair bonds. Their love can be seen when sleeping, they hold each other’s hands to stop themselves from floating away from each other. Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) are also known for their family bonds, they live in stable, matrilineal family pods led by older females and grandmothers. The offspring remain with their mothers for their entire lives, sharing food and hunting together. Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are similar to Killer Whales. Females and their young live in permanent, highly cooperative social units. They practice alloparenting, where aunts, sisters and grandmothers babysit calves and can even nurse each other’s young while the mothers dive deep to hunt.
Just like land animals, some marine animals put on lavish displays in order to attract a mate. The cuttlefish for example have mating displays that are complex, highly visual and dynamic. The males use rapid, pulsing colour changes, intricate body postures, and even polarized light to woo females and intimidate rivals. The male White Spotted Pufferfish (Arothron hispidus) spend over a week meticulously flapping their fins along the seafloor to carve enormous, intricate geometric circles in the sand. They decorate the ridges with shells and coral to impress passing females. Manta rays only breed once every one to three years, making their mating dance a rare, high-energy event. Up to 25 males line up and form a train behind a single female. The female swims as fast as she can, performing dizzying turns and somersaults while the males aggressively pursue and try to keep up.
The ocean is filled with weird and wonderful creatures, whether they live solitary lives only meeting up for a chance to mate, or animals that spend their entire lives living in family groups or romantic pairings.
Displays of love and mating behaviour are some of the finest underwater spectacles to witness, so let’s hope next time you head underwater you are lucky enough to observe these fanciful exhibitions.
