Transcript Freshwater Fish

Wildlife and Fishery
Science
Fish
• Cold blooded animals that depend on their
environment for body heat
• Freshwater and Saltwater environments
• Crucial anatomy features
• Shapes and sizes of body parts vary with species
• Breathing
• Gills
• How does this work?!
Breathing
• Water containing dissolved oxygen passes through the GILLS
of the fish
• Oxygen enters the tissue in the gills where it becomes attached
to blood cells
• Waste materials flow across the gill tissue to the surrounding
water
• Breathing
Reproduction
• Spawn
• Reproduce
• Females deposit roe (eggs) in depressions beneath
the water
• Male fertilizers by discharging milt (sperm) on the
surfaces
Freshwater Fish
• Freshwater
• All the waters on this continent that are not high in salt
continent
• Most springs, streams, rivers, lakes, marshes, canals, and
ponds
• These sources vary greatly across the continent
• Temperature, Oxygen Content, pH, rate of flow, dissolved
nutrients, and degree of pollution
Catfish
• 2 Families, 46 Species in North America
• Largest Family, Bullhead
• 45 species from Canada to Mexico
Bullhead Catfish
• 4 pairs of barbels (feelers or whiskers)
• Give the fish a sense of touch to locate food
• Bony spines located at the bases of their dorsal fins
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Pectoral fins correspond to front legs in terrestrial animals
Adipose fins store fat
Pelvic Fins correspond to rear legs
Prominent Anal fin
• Tough Skins and No Scales and Sharp Spines
• White Catfish
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• Medium
Brown Bullhead
• 12-15 inches
Margined Madtom
• 12 Inches
Flathead Catfish
• 20-30 lbs
Yellow Bullhead
• Max 18-19 in
Channel Catfish
• 30 Inches, 15 lbs
Stonecat
• 12 inches
Sunfish
• Native to North America
• These fish are laterally compressed
• Greater measure from their back to their belly than from
side to side
• Become active in direct sunlight
• This family includes basses, crappies, and bluegills
• Several distinctly different fishes belonging to different
families are among the basses
Sunfish Mating
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Males build nests in which the females lay their eggs
Nests are a shallow depression in the gravel or sand
Males fan the loose material away with his fins
Each male defends a small area in the vicinity of the nest, the eggs,
and the small fish.
• Sunfish of different species may mate together producing hybrids
• Commonly happens when the water is polluted or dirty
• Potentially because they have trouble distinguishing between different
species.
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Redear Sunfish
Blackbanded Sunfish
Warmouth
Longear Sunfish
Redbreast Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Smallmouth Bass
Largemouth Bass
Black Crappie
Banded Sunfish
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Bluespotted Sunfish
Mud Sunfish
Rock Bass
Green Sunfish
Bluegill
Spotted Bass
White Crappie
Perch
• Second largest family in North America
• Darters
• Bottom dwelling
• Major food source for larger fish
• Popular game fish include the Sauger and Walleye
• Have the ability to see in the dark
• Tapetum Lucidum, special tissue in eye
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Greenside Darter
Banded Darter
Rainbow Darter
Bluebreast Darter
Johnny Darter
Tesselated Darter
Gilt Darter
Spotted Darter
Longhead Darter
Eastern Sand Darter
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Tippecanoe Darter
Yellow Perch
Logperch
Sauger
Saugeye
Walleye
Trout, Carp, and Whitefish
• Several species of this family will migrate to the ocean.
These species are strictly freshwater.
• Large number of species even though they look quite
different, divided into different groups or races within the
species
• Most migrate to their spawning areas
• They spawn in clean gravel so that the eggs can be trapped
in the rocks and the eggs are well aerated.
• Coho Salmon
• Golden Rainbow Trout
• Chinook Salmon
• Brown Trout
• Pink Salmon
• Brook Trout
• Rainbow Trout
• Lake Trout
• Steelhead
• Atlantic Salmon
Minnows and Suckers
• Found on every continent
• 231 species occur north of Mexico
• Includes carp, goldfish, squawfish, shiners, chubs
Suckers
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Quillback
White Sucker
Northern Hog Sucker
River Redhorse
Shorthead Redhorse