BIODIVERSITY

• Fish are extremely diverse creatures, varying in

anatomy and behavior based upon where they live.
 FRESHWATER FISH

 Live in freshwater
rivers, lakes, and ponds
Species include:
 Striped bass
Catfish
 Walleye
 Black Crappie
 MARINE FISH

 Live in saltwater or
brackish (mix of fresh and
salt water) bodies of water
Species include:
 Atlantic cod
 Pacific skipjack tuna
 Salmon
 MIGRATORY FISH

 Some fish species

migrate throughout the
year or their lifecycle
 For example, adult
salmon will travel from
saltwater to freshwater
to spawn (reproduce)
  Species are often grouped by their
FAMILY GROUPS taxonomic family
 Sunfish family- large and smallmouth
bass, bluegill, black crappie, red ear
sunfish
 Carp/minnow family- grass carp
 Catfish family- blue, channel and
flathead catfish
 Perch family- walleye
 Pike family- muskellunge
 Gar family- alligator gar
PARTS OF THE FISH AND THE
FUNCTION
 FINS
• To allow the fish to stay upright, move, and maneuver in the water
• Divided into 2 groups:
• Median Fins
• Dorsal, Anal, Caudal
• Paired Fins
• Pectoral and Pelvic
 SPINES
Hard structures that supports the fins and is used for defense
 RAYS
• Soft cartilage structure that supports the fins of the fish.
 DORSAL FINS

Increase stability and balance (prevent rolling); protection

 ANAL FIN

Increase stability and balance; control rolling motion

 PELVIC FIN

Stability, braking
 PECTORAL FIN

Allows to fish to dive, turning, braking, and to stay in

one spot.
 CAUDAL (TAIL) FIN

Helps propel the fish

 LATERAL LINE
 Connects scales to sensory
cells and nerve fibers
Runs in a semi-line from gills
to the tail fin, easily noticed as
a darker line running along
the side of the fish.
 Very important sensory
organ - Helps the fish detect
vibration and helps the fish to
find food and to navigate to
avoid predators.
 GILLS

 Respiration occurs here.

Gills are composed of a
delicate system of blood
vessels, which allows the
gaseous exchange to take
place.
 Covered by operculum skin
flap
 SKIN

 Consistently shed and replaced

with new epithelial cells
 Interspaced between epithelial
cells are slime cells which produce
Mucoid, the slime that forms the
protective covering called the
slime coat
 MUCUS COVERING (SLIME COAT)
Protection from infections and disease. Also helps in
swimming, lowering friction in the water.
 PIGMENT CELLS
 Colors are produced by cells in the
dermis
 Fish can change color during
mating, as a survival tactic and
during feeding times
 This is caused when melanin grains
are moved within each pigment
cell, when dispersed they absorb
more light and the fish darkens.
When they are tightened, the fish
goes pale.
SWIM BLADDER

 This organ filled with gas

and acts as a hydrostatic,
letting a fish maintain its
depth without floating to the
surface
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 The digestive system includes
several organs: mouth,
stomach, liver, intestines, and
waste exits the fish through
the vent (anus).
 Digestive systems among fish
vary according to the species’
location and diet
 ADIPOSE FIN
• Catfish, Trout, Salmon
• Long thought to be vestigial
• Contains a bunch of nerves – sensory organ believed to be a
“flow sensor” to improve maneuverability in turbulent water
 BARBELS

• Sensory organs for detecting food

 REPRODUCTION

Involves three basic steps:

 maturation: gametes
(sperm or eggs) develop so
fertilization may occur
 ovulation: eggs are
released from the ovary
spawning: uniting of egg
and sperm, causing
fertilization
 FERTILIZATION
• Occurs when the sperm reaches
the egg
 sperm discharged into the
water are chemically attracted
to the eggs
 eggs attract only sperm from
the same species
 the farther away from the
eggs the sperm is emitted, the
fewer eggs are fertilized
REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES

 Are the times of year fish will reproduce

 Differ between species of fish
 Occur during periods which will
promote the best chances of survival for
the fingerlings
 Are influenced by environmental factors
such as daylight hours, temperature and
seasonal rainfall
OVARIES
 Are located in the body cavity
and connect to the peritoneum
(membrane lining the abdominal
cavity)
 House the female gametes
known as ova (eggs)
 Produce hormones which
regulate secondary sexual
characteristics
 Increase in size during breeding
season, accounting for nearly 1/3
– 1/4 of the fish’s total body
weight
MODES OF FISH REPRODUCTION

• In fish include the following:

 heterosexual
 hermaphroditic
 parthenogenic
REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES

 Are the times of year fish will reproduce

 Differ between species of fish
 Occur during periods which will
promote the best chances of survival for
the fingerlings
 Are influenced by environmental factors
such as daylight hours, temperature and
seasonal rainfall