Parenting for marine animals takes specialized skill and strategy that only Mother Nature herself could have designed. Unlike humans, the expecting parents of marine animals must deal with extenuating circumstances at all times. In a risky numbers game, the survival rate for individuals is extremely low and the constant threat of survival is always present for the parents and their babies.

Several factors come into play once the eggs have been fertilized that have forced the evolutionary process to provide. The most obvious is that the host parents must seek nourishment during the incubation period or risk peril from weakness and starvation. Leaving the defenseless eggs alone is never an option as they provide a tasty source of protein for other animals and therefore must be protected at all times. Additionally, during the incubation period, the eggs must also be continuously aerated to ensure the proper flow of fresh water and oxygen or the eggs will die. So just how do the parents successfully protect their precious eggs while staying alive and perform all of these other vital duties? The answer is as different as the animals themselves. For instance, it’s the male that carries the eggs for common pipefish and seahorses, while female ornate ghost pipefish carry the eggs. Sea mantis males and females have both been known to share a brood of eggs and will carry or use a burrow to incubate their young.

In certain fish species, such as jawfish or cardinalfish, the males use their mouths to brood their eggs until the babies begin to hatch. Other fish — such as sergeant majors — lay the eggs on a nearby rock, tunicate or other structure found on the reef, including wrecks, then tend to them in much the same way.

Whatever method is used to accomplish the task, one thing is for sure: It's a risky numbers game and survival of the fittest!

Mike Bartick was born and raised in Southern California, not far from the ocean in Huntington Beach. After finding his first nudibranch on an Open Water checkout dive, he was immediately hooked on diving. Bartick, who splits his time between the Indo-Pacific and the Eastern Pacific as a freelance photographer, photojournalist and field guide, shoots with a Nikon D300 and D300s, Sea and Sea housings, and YS-D1 and YS 250 pro strobes. To see more of his work, visit saltwaterphoto.com.