Hippo-ATLAS is a database on Europe and Mediterranean seahorses and pipefishes, fed by information gathered from divers, fishermen, amateur naturalists: by your records and information.
Initiated in 2005 by the non-for-profit organization Peau-Bleue, Hippo-ATLAS is at the same time:
- A geographic atlas Seahorse and pipefish records allow us to precise their distribution along the European and Mediterranean coastal waters.
...
- A photographic atlas Collected photos are precious to study and illustrate seahorse and pipefish variability.
- An ecological atlas Habitat information allows to better assess their way of life and their vulnerability.
Thanks to your observations and images, we will be able to improve the scientific knowledge of these mysterious animals, and thus contribute to make them better known and respected by the general public.
Partnership
Hippo-ATLAS project benefits from a partnership with DORIS (Data for Observation, Recognition, and Identification of Sub aquatic fauna and flora), a website from FFESSM (French Federation of Submarine Studies and Sports) where you will find several data sheets on seahorse and pipefish species.
Hippo-ATLAS is also central in a partnership between Peau-Bleue and the French Protected Marine Area Agency, as part of a joint project on underwater participatory sciences. One more interest for the Agency is that seahorses are patrimonial species included in international conventions (OSPAR international convention on cooperation for the protection of marine environment of the North East Atlantic Ocean, Barcelona convention for the Mediterranean, CITES).
picture
