Ichthyology

1
Ichthyology Web site www.uvm.edu/rsenr/wfb232
no Blackboard site you can calculate your
grade yourself (Blackboard makes mistakes), or
ask me Objectives of the course
2
Textbook Bond Biology of Fishes 1996 (out of
print) - 5 Barton Bonds Biology of Fishes
- 105-250 ON RESERVE also Smith,
Fishes of New York Scott and Crossman,
Freshwater Fishes of Canada Borror, Dictionary
of Word Roots (PDF on web site) Assignments -
only graded if handed in on time, typed,
stapled Quizzes (4), exams (2)
3
Ichthyology

• the study of fishes

4
Ichtheology

• God is a fish

5
Ichtheology

• or

Ray Troll
6
Ichthyology
Anatomy and morphology osteology form and
function Physiology buoyancy respiration
osmoregulation thermoregulation Taxonomy
nomenclature identification Phylogeny Evolution

Genetics Zoogeography Sensory systems vision
hearing mechanosensory touch
olfaction electrical Locomotion Reproduction
development growth
Behavior schooling feeding reproduction
migrations Communication sound
pheromones electricity Habitats Ecology Conserv
ation
7
Kiwi (Apteryx sp.)
Pallas cat (Otocolobus manul)
8
Define fish..
9
Sygnathiformes Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques)
Anguilliformes European eel (Anguilla anguilla)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
Gasterosteiformes Short dragonfish (Eurypegasus
draconis)
13
Lophiiformes Longnose batfish (Ogcocephalus
corniger)
14
Lophiiformes Pancake batfish (Lophius aculeatus) 
15
Caracharhiniformes winghead shark (Eusphyra
blochii) 
16
Fish a paraphyletic group that includes
tetrapods
In other words you are a fish
17
Define fish..
aquatic mudskippers are semi-terrestrial lungf
ish live up to 4 yrs without water uses gills to
breathe not lungfishes has scales many fishes
are scaleless cold-blooded tuna can generate
internal heat has fins not swamp-eels swims man
y only crawl, burrow, or cannot move at all
18
Vertebrate taxa
19
Vertebrate taxa
4,100
6,500 species
24,500 33,000 species
8,600 species
850 species
20
Vertebrate biases
pages in Larousse Encyclopedia of Animals
15 4
148 37
48 12
61 15
135 35
21
Number of species per order varies over 3 orders
of magnitude
gt9,000 species
22
Fish extremes
Smallest dwarf goby (Trimmatom nanus) 8.0 mm
carp (Paedocypris progenetica ) 7.9 mm
bumblebee bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) 26
mm
23
Fish extremes
Largest (salt water) whale shark (12 m)
24
Fish extremes
Largest (fresh water) Mekong giant catfish (2.7
m, 293 kg)
25
The Aquatic Environment - a brief overview
26
Distribution of water vs. fishes
Salt water
Fresh water
Proportion of water on planet
27
Distribution of water vs. fishes
Salt water
Fresh water
Proportion of water on planet
ice ground- water lakes, rivers atmos- phere
Proportion of fresh water
28
Distribution of water vs. fishes
Salt water
58 of all fishes
Fresh water
Proportion of water on planet
ice ground- water lakes, rivers atmos- phere
41 of all fishes
Proportion of fresh water
29
Tell me about this environment, and what it
conveys about its inhabitants.
30
Tell me about this fish, and what it conveys
about its environment.
31
Water, from terrestrial perspective a blank
surface with alien world beneath To gain access
requires technology (scuba, cameras, submersibles)
32
(No Transcript)
33
Aquatic environment is three-dimensional
34
National Geographic
35
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• Fresh water 0-2 ppt
• Brackish (estuarine) 2-30 ppt
• Salt water 35 ppt
• in fresh water, fish must resist osmotic intake
  of water
• in salt water, fish must retain water and excrete
  salts

36
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• water has high heat absorbance, 4 x that of air
• fish are metabolically adapted to different
  temperature ranges few are widely eurythermal
• a few fish are adapted to temperatures below
  freezing

37
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• various morphological adaptations to moving water

38
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• dissolved materials - gases, solids
• oxygen in water relatively unavailable, compared
  to air
• methods to acquire oxygen are varied
• too little oxygen gtgt air breathing
• too much oxygen gtgt gas supersaturation problems

39
Classification of fishes by where they are found
the habitat to which they are adapted
40
Marine Conservation Society UK
41
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• dissolved materials - gases, solids
• pressure deepest water is 11,000 m (6.9 miles,
  11 km)
• pressure increases 1 atm for every 33 (10 m) of
  depth
• to maintain buoyancy, fish must compensate
• skeletal structure of deep sea fish is reduced
  due to support by water

42
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• dissolved materials - gases, solids
• pressure deepest water is 11,100 m (6.9 miles,
  11 km)
• viscosity water is 800x more dense than air
• requires much more effort to move through water
  than air
• streamlining is critical max. speed (tuna) is
  21 m/sec

43
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• dissolved materials - gases, solids
• pressure deepest water is 11,100 m (6.9 miles,
  11 km)
• viscosity
• light - attenuates with depth, turbidity
• many fishes adapted to zero light conditions
• some fishes generate their own light
• issues for color

44
Aquatic environment

• salinity from 0 to 70 ppt
• temperature - lt 0 to gt 30? C
• motion stagnant to torrents
• dissolved materials - gases, solids
• pressure deepest water is 11,100 m (6.9 miles,
  11 km)
• viscosity
• light
• sound - travels 4 x faster in water than air
• directionality is difficult to achieve

45
Physical, biological habitat
46
(No Transcript)