FISH ECOLOGY

Unit 2. Fish Ecology

Lesson 1. --What is a Fish?
Lesson objectives:

Students will understand external fish anatomy, and that fish come
in many shapes and sizes

The students will be able to identify the different zones of the
ocean

Students will become familiar with the methods that are used to
study fish are diverse, and each has a purpose.
Vocabulary words: vertebrae, planktonic, nektonic, benthic,
continental margin, and many more pertaining to ocean zonation

What is a Fish?
A fish is defined as an aquatic lamprey and hagfish; and the
or marine animal with shark, ray, chimaera, lungfish,
vertebrae. All fish have and bony fishes. The bony
vertebra, except sharks and fishes are the most common. A
rays that have cartilage. bony fish has jaws that are well
Cartilage is more flexible than developed, formed by true bone
bone, but strong enough to rather than cartilage. Fish are
support the body. They usually very different in appearance,
possess gills in the adult stage size and shape. This all
and have limbs in the form of depends on the environment
fins. Fishes also include the that it lives in.
jawless vertebrates such as the

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 17

 FISH ECOLOGY

Fish Habitats
Fish occupy almost every not associated with land) realm
conceivable aquatic habitat. of the ocean.
Describing the ocean is difficult,
as there are many words that Geographic zonation defines
are used to explain the land the coastline, and submerged
and water realms. These land. Scientists use these
habitats are defined by the words to help in the
critters that live in each. identification of animals that live
Visualize a column of water. on the substrate (land).
This is the pelagic (the water,

Some fish live in man

made habitats in peoples
homes. These habitats
are called aquaria.

between the continents and

ocean basins. The continental
margin includes the coast (also
There are other terms that known as the littoral zone), the
describe the geographic zones continental shelf, the
that pertain to the continent and continental slope, and the
landmasses under the water. continental rise. The
Between the continental land continental rise ends where the
and seafloor is the continental abyssal plain begins. The
margin. It is the submerged deepest parts of the ocean are
part of the continent, and located in the trenches, or
makes up a transition zone hadal areas.

(Activity 1 is an illustration that is to be labeled with the different

vocabulary words found in this section.)

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 18

 FISH ECOLOGY

Example
Prefix (most
English Realm of what
have Greek Depth
definition (water or land) lives
origins)
there
no specific
depth, just
all organisms
pertaining
pelag(os) of the sea water found in the
to the water
water column
realm, NOT
the land
plankton, fish
epi outer, exterior water 0-200m larvae, very
small fish
active
swimmers
such as the
meso middle water 200-600m
tuna, squid
and marine
mammals
of or pertaining crabs,
littoral (littoralis) to the edge of a water and land seashore juvenile fish,
origin is Latin lake, sea or boundary area plankton,
ocean larvae
deep sea
4000m and
batho- or bathy- depth both organisms,
deepter
gulper eel
deep area or 4000m to deep-water
abyssos both
space, chasm 6500m organisms
flounder,
stargazers,
0 (beach
crabs,
zone) to
depth of the sea, starfish,
benthos land deepest
bottom urchins,
ocean
snails,
bottoms
christmas
tree worms
deep sea
deepest part of 6500m and organisms,
hadal land
the sea, trenches deeper some eels,
lantern fish

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 19

 FISH ECOLOGY

How Do We Study Fish?

Scientists study fish in many containers without inflicting
ways because sometimes they harm.
want to observe them in their
natural environment, and other Nets may be small enough that
times, scientists need to one or a few persons can use
observe the internal body them. These might be trailed in
structures. The study of fish the water over a distance, or
might be completed through the the fish may be directly caught
use of SCUBA, nets, trawls, in them. Other nets are very
seines, and videography. large, and require use of a boat
Scientists and heavy machinery to use
use SCUBA them.
observe fish
in their Beach seines are long mesh
natural nets with lead weighing down
habitat, the bottom of the net, and
collect them styrofoam or airfilled floats on
to dissect or the top of the net that stay at
observe live, the waters surface. Wooden
or capture poles attached to either end of
their movements on video the net are used to move the
camera. Another way that a net through the water. Seine
scientist studies fish is with the nets may be used nearshore
use of a manned or unmanned where the leadline will rest on
ROV (Remotely Operated the bottom, while other times it
Vehicle). Using an ROV, a may be used in the pelagic
scientist may observe fish and realm, and never rest on the
their habitat without disturbing bottom. Sometimes, a seine
it. ROV's are extremely useful net will have a bag or a sack
for scientists to use at great attached to the middle of the
depths. When an ROV is used net to help in the capture of fish
for research, the materials are in the center of the net.
almost always captured on
video. They are also useful for Otter trawls are much like seine
capturing live fish into nets. They are dragged across
the bottom of seagrass and soft

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 20

 FISH ECOLOGY

sediment communities for the (mouth) as it is towed. There

sampling of demersal and are instruments at the top to
near-bottom fishes as well as collect information about the
epifaunal invertebrates. The water (such as temperature,
structure of the otter trawls is salinity, depth, and chlorophyll).
slightly different in that they are In this schematic, there are
shaped like an ice cream cone. eight nets. A computer can
otter boards
control each net to open and
close at various depths.
float line
Samples are collected at each

lead line
Cod end

Otter Board

The fish are captured in the

cod-end of the net. This is the
pointed end of the cone. Often
within the mouth of the net,
scientists will attach a plankton
net. The plankton net captures Diagram 2. MOCNESS
the microscopic plants and
animals. That way, the fish in depth and stored until the entire
the trawl do not eat them in the net is brought to the surface. In
trawl, and there is something to the drawing, they all are closed,
feed the live fish scientists are except one. The top net, is
studying. sampling the shallowest depths
on its way back to the surface.
This is a sketch of a research When the MOCNESS is
vessel towing a 1-m retrieved on board, the
MOCNESS (Multiple Opening collectors (nets and cod ends)
Closing, Net E S System). are each handled separately for
The MOCNESS is a special sorting and preserving.
sampling device used to collect
multiple samples at variable There are many more kinds of
depths. One meter (1-m) refers nets, and special uses for each.
to the open area (one square This is just a brief overview of a
meter) of the net opening few that can be used.

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 21

 FISH ECOLOGY

Why do We Study Fish in the Ocean?

Fish play an the most important sources of
important animal protein for humans, thus
role in many fishes are used as food.
aquatic Other products made from fish
ecosystems include nitrogenous fertilizers
and have from fish and fish scraps and
long the oil extracted from fish livers
provided is one of the sources of vitamin
valuable D. Fish scales are sometimes
resources to used in making artificial pearls.
humankind. Isinglass, a form of gelatin, is
prepared from the air bladders
Fish are very important of certain species, and glue is
economically. Fish are one of made from fish offal.

Fish Conservation
Many fishes are threatened pollution and habitat
with extinction including the destruction. Exotic fish have
great white shark, most killifish, been introduced and often
and every species of sturgeon replace or threaten native fish
and paddlefish. The threat populations. Dams that keep
comes from a variety of adults from reaching their
sources. Seventy percent of spawning grounds hinder
fish species commercially populations from reproducing.
caught around the world are
overexploited. That is, they
are harvested beyond their
ability to sustain a given
population size, caught to the
limit, or are recovering from
overexploitation. One third of
the world catch is bycatch, fish
caught unintentionally and
discarded as waste. Coastal
fisheries are vulnerable to

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 22

 FISH ECOLOGY

Activity 1-1. Ocean Zonation

Objective: Have the students fill in the blanks with the different vocabulary words found in the Where do
I Live section of this informational packet. Students will then learn how the ocean has many zones and
places for fish to live.

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 23

 FISH ECOLOGY

Activity 1-1. Ocean Zonation -- Teacher's Key

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 24

 FISH ECOLOGY

Activity 1-2. Fish Body Outlines

Method: Outline the general body shape of your fish and identify the different body components. Save picture for use in
Unit 3.

Discussion: Have the students discuss the differences in body shapes, and how that might affect how a fish swims.
Using this information, and looking at the coloration or pattern of their fish, the students might be able to guess, or draw
conclusions about the habitat their fish might be best adapted to live in.

Outline of fish goes here.

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 25

 FISH ECOLOGY

Student Information Sheet 1.

What is a Fish?
Fish are the main food we take from the ocean. They are caught
primarily in areas of the ocean that lie over continental shelves.
There the water is rich in the phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are the
basis of most ocean food chains. Some areas near the coasts act
like natural fish farms. This is partly because of natural upwelling
that brings up nutrients from the ocean bottom that is needed for the
growth of phytoplankton.
Today, the fish population is greatly impacted by human fishing.
Nearly one-third of all the fish large enough to be taken in nets are
caught. Laws currently protect some of the endangered fish
populations, and other laws limit the number of fish that can be taken
without destroying the populations in the ocean.
Scientists study fish populations and their environment to determine
how the conditions of the ocean affect fish populations. Water
temperature, pollution, commercial fishing, weather patterns, light,
recreation and others affect the fish population and the marine food
web. When one link in the web is impacted it effects every other
member of the web. Scientists use all of this information together to
help ensure that there will always be a supply of fish.
Fish live in three areas of the water column: the planktonic, the
nektonic, and the benthic. The underwater environment can be
divided into geographic zones, as well as regions of life where
organisms live.
Organisms that drift passively in water and usually near the surface
are called plankton. Organisms that move and swim independently
of currents and are capable of long migrations are called nekton.
Organisms that live along the ocean bottom are called benthos.
Match the following. Column two may have more than one answer.
column 1 column 2
phytoplankton benthic
whale
jellyfish pelagic
crab
bluefin tuna nektonic

PROJECT OCEANOGRAPHY FALL 1999 FISH ECOLOGY 26