Description of burrowing behaviour of the pipefish Syngnathus abaster Risso, 1827 in the Ria Formosa lagoon, Portugal

Pipefish are generally associated with seagrass habitats, which they mimic in colour, shape and behaviour (Howard & Koehn, 1985), using them as hideouts, nursery and feeding grounds (Franco, Franzoi, Malavasi, Riccato, & Torricelli, 2006; Sundin, Jacobsson, Berglund, & Rosenqvist, 2011; Teixeira & Musick, 1995; Vincent, Berglund, & Ahnesjö, 1995). Pipefish often coexist sympatrically in the same bed with seahorses by partitioning their habitat according to their morphology, mobility and foraging techniques (Howard & Koehn, 1985; Kendrick & Hyndes, 2003)