Male pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) are only able to receive
eggs from additional females for 3–4 days after they first
reproduce (Berglund et al. 1988) and this receptive period
may be further truncated in seahorse species, where the
sealing of the egg pore in the brood pouch of a seahorse
male after egg transfer may be irreversible. Although
H. abdominalis mate monogamously, egg transfer often
involves multiple reproductive bouts in captive-bred