For the first time ever, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego has bred and successfully hatched two rare weedy seadragons.

加州大学圣地亚哥分校斯克里普斯海洋研究所的伯奇水族馆首次繁殖并成功孵化出了两只罕见的草海龙。

This is a first for Birch Aquarium, now one of the few aquariums in the world to hatch this unusual fish. The inch-long babies display the characteristic camouflaging appendages of the elaborate adult weedy seadragons in miniature, and have already had their first meals of tiny shrimp.

这是伯奇水族馆（Birch Aquarium），世界上为数不多的孵化这种不寻常鱼类的水族馆之一，第一次培育成功。这些一英寸长的小龙宝宝展示了成年草海龙的较为复杂的技能——伪装，并且已经吃了第一顿小虾。

“We are elated to have breeding success with our weedy seadragons. This is a momentous event for our team and our seahorse and seadragon breeding program,” said Jennifer Nero Moffatt, the aquarium’s senior director of animal care, science and conservation. “Seadragons are charismatic, sensitive, and require detailed husbandry. We have spent over 25 years working with these animals and love that we have made the next steps to conserve this delicate species.”

“我们很高兴我们的草海龙能繁殖成功。这对我们的团队以及海马和海龙繁殖项目来说都是个重大事件，”水族馆动物护理、研究和保护高级经理Jennifer Nero Moffatt说。“海龙是有魅力的，敏感的，需要详细的管理。我们花了超过25年的时间和这些动物一起工作，我们为保护这个脆弱的物种不断做出努力。”

Weedy seadragons are native to southern Australia and Birch Aquarium has had a population on display, and as part of a behind-the-scenes breeding program, since 2012. The Seadragon Breeding Program was created because of the aquarium’s success in breeding other seahorse, or signathid, species. Since 1995 Birch Aquarium has bred 13 different seahorse species, sharing more than 5,000 juvenile seahorses with other aquariums around the world.

草海龙原产于澳大利亚南部，自2012年以来，伯奇水族馆公布了它们的数量，并作为幕后繁殖计划的一部分。草海龙繁殖计划建立在水族馆成功繁殖了其他海马物种的基础之上。自1995年以来，伯奇水族馆已经培育了13种不同的海马品种，与世界各地的其他水族馆分享了5000多只幼年海马。

Weedy seadragons perform elaborate mating displays, where partners spin together snout-to-snout and move up and down in the water column. This “dance” is essential for the successful transfer of eggs from the female onto the male’s tail, where he then fertilizes and hosts the eggs. If mating is successful, the male will hold the eggs until they hatch about six weeks later.

草海龙的交配表演是精心设计的，伴侣们会面对面一起旋转，在水柱里上下移动。这种“舞蹈”对于将卵从雌草海龙转移到雄草海龙的尾巴上是否成功至关重要的，然后雄草海龙会在尾巴上授精并孕育这些卵。如果交配成功，雄草海龙会一直守着受精卵，直到6周后孵化。

“This is an exciting day for Birch Aquarium. Not only are these births a major accomplishment for our talented Husbandry team, but also an exciting step in our commitment to conservation,” said executive director Harry Helling.

对于伯奇水族馆来说，这是激动人心的一天。这不仅是我们优秀团队的一项重大成就，也是我们在保护方面迈出的令人兴奋的一步。”

The conservation status of weedy seadragons have been downgraded to “least concern” — partially because of the lack of population data. Their remote habitat along Australia’s rugged and underpopulated South Coast makes observation difficult. This isolation, combined with their expert camouflage, makes population counts challenging even for the most experienced seadragon-spotters.

草海龙的保护地位已被降至“最不受关注”——部分原因是缺乏种群数据。它们栖息在澳大利亚崎岖而人烟稀少的南海岸，因此很难进行观察。这种隔离，再加上他们专业的伪装，使得即使是最有经验的海战观测员也难以确认。

Seadragons and seahorses face challenges in the wild: climate change, warming ocean, compromised habitats, destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling, and unsustainable collection practices for home aquariums and traditional medicine. Captive breeding programs, like that at Birch Aquarium, alleviates pressure on wild populations and contributes to Species Survival Plans (SSPs), as outlined by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

草海龙和海马在野外面临着各种挑战:气候变化、海洋变暖、栖息地遭到破坏、海底拖网捕鱼等破坏性捕鱼方式，以及家庭水族馆和传统药物采用的不可持续采集方式。根据动物园和水族馆协会的概述，像伯奇水族馆那样的圈养繁殖项目减轻了野生种群的压力，有助于制定物种生存计划。

In 2013, a male weedy seadragon with fertilized eggs on his tail was one of 10 transferred from Monterey Bay Aquarium to Birch Aquarium. The seadragons were flown on a private plane from Monterey to Birch Aquarium, where the eggs hatched. This is the first time the Birch Aquarium has had a successful egg transfer, fertilization, and hatching in-house. The aquarium’s husbandry team is diligently monitoring the sensitive baby seadragons and hope for the survival of these fragile newborns.

2013年，一只尾巴上有受精卵的雄性杂草海龙从蒙特里湾水族馆（Monterey Bay Aquarium）转移到伯奇水族馆，它是10只被转移的草海龙中的一只。这些草海龙乘坐私人飞机从蒙特里湾飞往伯奇水族馆，在那里孵出了这些蛋。这是伯奇水族馆第一次成功实现卵子转移，受精，并孵化。水族馆的饲养团队正在密切监视这些敏感的小草海龙，并希望这些脆弱的新生海龙能存活下来。