Marine Studies Consortium’s Biology of Fishes 2010 at the New England Aquarium with Dr. Rae Barnhisel.

Marine Studies Consortium’s

Biology of Fishes 2010

at the New England Aquarium

with Dr. Rae Barnhisel

Ichthyologythe study of fishes/vertebrates

Limnologythe study of lakes/freshwater biology

Oceanography/Marine Biologythe study of oceans/marine life

Aquatic Ecologythe study of aquatic ecosystems

Built in 1969...

200,000 gal23 x 40 ft74 deg. F Caribbean reef

Giant Ocean Tank>100 fish sp>600 specimens

Indo-Pacific reefstemperate to tropicalfreshwater to brackish

NEAq Fishes Total:~400 sp~9000 specimens

2010

MARINE STUDIES CONSORTIUM (MSC) BIOLOGY OF FISHES SPRING 2010

Instructor: Dr. D. Rae Barnhisel; 603-878-3671; [email protected]

Location: New England Aquarium (NEAq) Learning Lab, Education Dept. Dates: Tuesdays, January 19 to May 4, 2010 Class Hours: 5:00–9:00 pm Office Hours: Before and after class; also by email and phone NEAq Assistant:Dan Laughlin, Fishes Dept. Asst. Curator; 619-973-0299; [email protected]

Administration: Roger Stern, MSC Executive Director, 781-444-3643; [email protected] 152 Maple Street, Sherborn, MA 01770

Weather Alert www1.assumption.edu/msc/weather.html and/or home.comcast.net/~drbfishes COURSE SCHEDULE: Week Fishes of Focus Related Topics Date Assignments Due Exams break Assignments/Exams Returned Activity Week 1 Course Overview Aquarium Overview Jan. 19 Vertebrate Classification NEAq Mapping Week 2 Early Fishes: Form and Function Jan. 26 fossil fish and lamprey Cladogram Exercise Week 3 Chondrichthyes: Comparative Anatomy Feb. 2 sharks and rays Tree and Label Practice Written Report Topic due Week 4 Early Osteichthyes: Review Feb. 9 lungfish and sturgeon Exam 1 Written Report Topic returned Week 5 Early Teleosts: bonytongues, Internal Anatomy Feb. 16 eels, and herring Dissection 1 Exam 1 returned Week 6 Ostariophysans: minnows, Aquatic Respiration Feb. 23 characins, and catfish Dissection 2 Written Report Draft due Week 7 Protacanthopterygians: pike, Regulation and Excretion Mar. 2 smelt, and salmon Osmoregulation Exercise NEU NOTE: Course schedule moves forward one week for each postponement due to weather











BIOLOGY OF FISHES SPRING 2010

COURSE SCHEDULE (continued): Week Fishes of Focus Related Topics Date Assignments Due Exams break Assignments Returned Activity Week 8 Early Neoteleosts: Review Mar. 9 cods and anglerfish Exam 2 Stonehill Interpretive Tour Topic due Written Report draft returned

Week 9 Atherinomorphs: Sensory Systems Mar. 16 silversides and killifish Label and Table Practice Suffolk Exam 2, Tour Topic returned UMassB Wheaton Week 10 Early Percomorphs: Reproduction and Development Mar. 23 seahorses and sculpins Sexual Systems Worksheet Tufts Revised Written Report due Wellesley Sunday, March 28, 10 am to 1 pm: Field Trip to Harvard University Fishes Collection, Cambridge, MA Week 11 Percoids: perch, groupers, Adaptation and Behavior Mar. 30 butterflyfish, and angelfish Video Analysis Interpretive Tour Outline due Week 12 Labroids: cichlids, Review Apr. 6 damselfish, and wrasses Exam 3 Revised Written Report returned Week 13 “Other”-oids: wolfish, gobies, Habitat and Exploitation Apr. 13 tunas, and billfish Group Problem-Solving 1 Exam 3, Tour Outline returned Week 14 Pleuronectiformes and Tetraodontiformes: Conservation and Management Apr. 20 flatfish and puffers Group Problem-Solving 2 Complete Interpretive Tour due Week 15 Course Evaluation Review Apr. 27 Complete Interpretive Tour returned Exam 4 Week 16 Make-up Date May 4 NOTE: Course schedule moves forward one week for each postponement due to weather

Marine Studies Consortium (MSC) Biology of Fishes Spring 2010 Syllabus Instructor: D. Rae Barnhisel, Ph.D., 603-878-3671; [email protected] Time: Tuesdays 5:00–9:00 p.m. Place: New England Aquarium (NEAq) For schedule changes due to weather: www1.assumption.edu/msc/weather.html and/or home.comcast.net/~drbfishes

Texts: Required: Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, by P.B. Moyle and J.J Cech, Jr., 2004, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. ISBN: 0131008471

Highly Recommended: Encyclopedia of Fishes, edited by J.R. Paxton and W.N. Eschmeyer, 1998, 2nd ed., Academic Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN: 0125476655.

Course Description:

Biology of Fishes is designed for upper-level undergraduates well versed in biological and chemical principles. The 300-level course builds on the student’s knowledge of vertebrate biology in order to explore and appreciate the differences and diversity among fishes. The course combines traditional ichthyology such as systematics, taxonomy, anatomy, and distribution—with fish ecology including species interactions, adaptations, behavior, and conservation. It emphasizes the phylogenetic relationships among fishes and the use of systematics as an organizational tool.

Each week, we focus on a particular group or groups of fishes, starting with those that have the longest evolutionary history to those that we think have most recently evolved. While other fish courses focus on systematics as a separate lecture topic, this course spends every week examining both systematics and phylogeny in terms of anatomy, physiology, behavior, and ecology.

We first focus on ancestral fishes and analyze the link between anatomy and phylogeny and the importance of viewing fishes as an early vertebrate rather than as a distinct paraphyletic group. Second, we focus on more derived fish groups and look at physiology and sensory capabilities. Third, we shift attention to fishes that are the most derived and look at reproduction, life history strategies, and evolutionary adaptations. We conclude with conservation and management issues and problem solving. Students learn to use phylogeny and systematics to develop coherent hypotheses addressing vertebrate evolution and conservation.

The Biology of Fishes course has been taught since 1997 and is one of few university-level courses taught at a major aquarium.

Course Mechanics:

The course meets once a week on Tuesday evenings for 15 weeks. Class will include a lecture on a relevant topic and often a related activity. Most class meetings will consist of a tour through the aquarium to view and sketch specific fishes. Students are asked to provide their own clipboard and colored pencils for sketching live fish.

Grades are calculated according to a 1000 point scheme based on a student’s best scores on three of four exams, a written report evaluating a current issue involving a fish or fishery; aquarium and laboratory activities, an interpretive tour of the NEAq’s fishes, and meeting deadlines and participation expectations.

Grading Scheme Points Examinations 300 Aquarium/Laboratory Activities 300 Written Report 200 Interpretive Tour 150 Attendance/Timeliness/Notification 50 Total 1000

Course Mechanics: (continued)

Exams are short-answer and designed to assess how a student integrates, relates, and synthesizes information. The written report provides students with an opportunity to conduct independent inquiry on a self-chosen topic and gain experience in writing.

Aquarium and laboratory activities provide weekly opportunities for developing observational skills and interacting with peers and aquarists. The interpretive tour asks students to highlight a single character or habitat that encompasses a wide range of phylogenetically diverse fish and develop a virtual tour of those fishes using the New England Aquarium. This summary assignment tests students on their understanding of phylogenetic and taxonomic tools and terminology and how to apply them to a collection of fishes.

Course Logistics:

Low-cost texts can be obtained through the Internet. The most current edition is preferable but past editions may be sufficient. Each student will receive a NEAq entry badge that allows entry into the main building during normal aquarium hours for the duration of the semester. Students are asked to return the badge at the end of the course. Student fees are collected by the Marine Studies Consortium (MSC) to cover costs of materials, equipment, adjunct personnel, and the field trip. Parking at the New England Aquarium (NEAq) is expensive and limited. Public transportation is the best option for arriving on time.

There will be a field trip to Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology Fishes Collection in Cambridge, MA, on a Sunday morning in March or April. The trip is highly recommended and strongly encouraged. Students will have access to collections and resources not available to the general public.

Course Expectations:

Students are asked to learn basic and advanced terminology. The course emphasizes both a precise and concise use of words and concepts. Students are expected to be on time for class and attend every class meeting unless they have informed the instructor of any special circumstances beforehand.

The course requires adherence to all academic standards of conduct. In all verbal and writing assignments, the student may use another person’s ideas or words ONLY if the student credits that person. Using another person’s ideas or words without crediting or referencing that person is plagiarism and punishable by law as well as by the student’s academic institution.

Caveat:

The students and instructor are fortunate to have weekly access to a nationally recognized aquarium with a spectacular collection of fishes and talented, experienced aquarists. At the NEAq, students can observe thousands of fish in full color, behavior, and diversity, and often go behind the scenes to see how fish are maintained and raised.

However, the NEAq has other obligations besides education. Special events are often scheduled at the last minute and can cause course location changes and conflicts. As a result, students and instructors must remain flexible in regards to both 1) location, and 2) the order of things.

NOTE: This syllabus represents a contract between the student and instructor. If a student is unable to meet an expectation, he/she must contact the instructor as far in advance as possible to discuss alternatives. Formal documentation of the sickness, accident, emergency, etc., may be required to avoid penalties.

Biology of Fishes/Spring 2010 Readings and NEAq Fishes by Week QS due = Question Set due that week for extra credit; does not always include all chapters listed. Text: Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, Moyle and Cech, 2004/5th Edition [4th Edition].

Week 1 Preface; Chapters 1, 12

Week 2 (QS 1, 2 due) Chapters 13, 14

Week 3 (QS 3 due) Chapters 2, 13, 15

Chondrichthyes—shark, skate, stingray


Osteichthyes—lungfish, bichir, gar, sturgeon


Teleostei—arawana, tarpon, eel, shad, menhaden


Ostariophysi—minnow, characin, catfish, electric eel

Week 7 (QS 7 due) Chapters 5, 6, 7, 19, 28, 29

Protacanthopterygii—smelt, salmon, trout

Week 8 (QS 8 due) Chapters 20, 35

Neoteleosts—codfish, goosefish, lizardfish

Week 9 (QS 9 due)

Chapters 10, 21, 32

Atherinomorpha—silverside, needlefish, sheepshead, mummichog, killifish, four-eyed fish

Week 10 (QS 10 due) Chapters 8, 9, 22, 31

Percomorpha— squirrelfish, flashlight fish, trumpet fish, tube-snout, cornetfish, snipefish, seahorse, sea dragon, rockfish, lionfish, stonefish, sculpin, lumpfish, sea raven, greenling, gurnard.

Week 11 (QS 11 due) Chapters 11, 23 (p. 377–384 [313–319]), 27, 33

Percoidei—yellow perch, sea bass, grouper, anthid, sunfish, big eye, cardinal fish, jack, permit, palometa, snapper, grunt, drum, goatfish, moonfish, archerfish, butterfly fish, angelfish

Week 12 (QS 12 due) Chapters 23 (p. 386–389 [320–322]), 30

Labroidei—cichlid, surfperch, damselfish, wrasse, parrotfish

Week 13 (QS 13 due) Chapter 23 (p. 389–403 [323–334]), 26, 36

“Other”-oidei—eelpout, prickleback, gunnel, wolffish, wolf eel, sandlance, jawfish, gobies, blennies, surgeonfish, scat, spadefish, barracuda

Week 14 (QS 14 due) Chapters 24, 37

Pleuronectiformes and Tetraodontiformes— flounder, filefish, triggerfish, cowfish, trunkfish, puffer

Biology of Fishes/Spring 2010 Question Set 1 (Due Week 2)

This assignment is based on 5th edition [4th edition] text readings for Week 1 (Chapters 1, 12) and will help you focus on important points in the course and in the text. Make answers legible, short , and to the point on a separate piece of paper. Submit by Week 2 if you want to receive credit (Week 3 with Instructor OK).

Chapter 1

1) What are some reasons why fishes are the most diverse and numerous vertebrate group? What is the text’s estimate of species number?

2) What would you predict a Physiology of Fishes course would have to cover to illustrate the range of habitat adaptations?

3) How many major groups of fishes are recognized today, and how far can each lineage be traced? What “fish” is not a fish and why not?

4) Edit your text (5th Edition only): In the 3rd paragraph on page 1, cross out the words in the following sentence that are underlined: “The first unquestioned vertebrates were a loose group of jawless fishes (ostracoderms) that are represented in the modern fauna by lampreys (Petromyzontiformes, 40+ species). Note: Lampreys are not ostracoderms.

5) According to the footnote on page 1, the word “primitive” implies “inferiority” and the word “advanced” implies “superiority.” Do you agree? What do the replacement words, “ancestral” and “derived” each imply in your opinion?

6) A tetrapod such as yourself is thought to come from which lineage of jawed fishes? Find your group in Figure 1.1 and classify yourself in terms of the groups to which you belong.

7) How does saltwater and freshwater compare in terms of area and volume? How do the numbers of saltwater and freshwater fish compare? Where do you find the majority of saltwater fish?

8) How does water compare with air in terms of density, compressibility, solvency, and light absorbency?

9) Give both an advantage and a disadvantage to fishes living in such a medium of increased density, compressibility, solvency, and absorbency.

10) Who is the considered the “Father of Ichthyology” and why? Who did he influence?

11) What two ichthyologists opposed the idea that organisms evolved?

12) How might the notion that all species were created at once and are fixed in time have influenced their approach to classification?

13) How important are evolutionary ideas to classification schemes we use today?

Biology of Fishes/Spring 2010 Question Set 2 (Due Week 2)

This assignment is based on 5th edition [4th edition] text readings for Week 2 (Chapters 13, 14) and will help you focus on important points in the course and in the text. Make answers legible, short, and to the point on a separate piece of paper. Submit by Week 2 if you want to receive credit (Week 3 with Instructor OK).

Chapter 13

1) The term “chordate” gets its name from what anatomical feature? What exactly is the “basic vertebrate organization?”

2) In trying to determine how vertebrates, i.e., fishes, evolved, we look at invertebrates that may have what rudimentary character?

Note that “neotenous forms” are species that may have evolved from the larval form of another species. Neoteny is a process in which reproductive capability occurs in the larval stage rather than in the adult stage. Paedomorphosis is the condition in which the adult (reproductive) stage retains some larval features.

3) How far back in the fossil record do we see invertebrates that have characteristics of chordates? What do these animals lack that the teeth of extinct conodonts appear to have?

4) The now extinct ostracoderms were clearly vertebrates based on what two features? What makes them distinct from other jawed vertebrates?

5) What distinct feature does the now extinct placoderms have that the ostracoderms lack?

6) What biochemical feature defines the Class Chondrichthys? How far back and in what aquatic environments have they been found?

7) The now extinct acanthodians share features with both classes of living fishes. They are currently thought to be a sister group with which class?

8) What biochemical feature defines the Class Osteichthyes? How far back and in what aquatic environments have they been found?

9) What anatomical feature distinguishes the two subclasses of the Class Osteichthyes? Which subclass are you classified in? (See your answer to QS 1; Ch. 1; Q 6).

10) The text discusses 2 groups of sarcopterygians and 2 groups of early actinopterygians in which representatives are alive today. Using common names, give an example from each of the 4 groups.

11) According to the last section in the chapter, are the terms “primitive” and “advanced” helpful in predicting whether an ancestral or derived fish will ultimately survive?

BIOLOGY OF FISHES SPRING 2010

COURSE SCHEDULE (continued): Week Fishes of Focus Related Topics Date Assignments Due Exams break Assignments Returned Activity Week 8 Early Neoteleosts: Review Mar. 9 cods and anglerfish Exam 2 Stonehill Interpretive Tour Topic due Written Report draft returned

Week 9 Atherinomorphs: Sensory Systems Mar. 16 silversides and killifish Label and Table Practice Suffolk Exam 2, Tour Topic returned UMassB Wheaton Week 10 Early Percomorphs: Reproduction and Development Mar. 23 seahorses and sculpins Sexual Systems Worksheet Tufts Revised Written Report due Wellesley Sunday, March 28, 10 am to 1 pm: Field Trip to Harvard University Fishes Collection, Cambridge, MA Week 11 Percoids: perch, groupers, Adaptation and Behavior Mar. 30 butterflyfish, and angelfish Video Analysis Interpretive Tour Outline due Week 12 Labroids: cichlids, Review Apr. 6 damselfish, and wrasses Exam 3 Revised Written Report returned Week 13 “Other”-oids: wolfish, gobies, Habitat and Exploitation Apr. 13 tunas, and billfish Group Problem-Solving 1 Exam 3, Tour Outline returned Week 14 Pleuronectiformes and Tetraodontiformes: Conservation and Management Apr. 20 flatfish and puffers Group Problem-Solving 2 Complete Interpretive Tour due Week 15 Course Evaluation Review Apr. 27 Complete Interpretive Tour returned Exam 4 Week 16 Make-up Date May 4 NOTE: Course schedule moves forward one week for each postponement due to weather

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Harvard UniversityFishes Collection

a part of the MCZMuseum of Comparative Zoology

Located at the HMNHHarvard Museum of Natural History

Fishes Collection

Karsten Hartel, Curator, Fishes Collection, Harvard University

Biology of Fishes 2010 Outline of Fish Groups (terminology you should know) Week 2 Extinct: Ostracoderms, Acanthodians, Placoderms Extant:

Class Cephalaspidomorphi (Lamprey) Not a fish: Class Myxini (Hagfish) Week 3 Class Chondrichthyes (Elasmobranchii and Holocephali) Week 4 Class Osteichthyes Subclass Sarcopterygii Subclass Actinopterygii Week 5 Sub/Div. Teleostei Infradiv. Osteoglossomorpha Infradiv. Elopomorpha Infradiv. Clupeomorpha

Infradiv. Euteleostei Week 6 Superorder Ostariophysi Order Cypriniformes Order Characiformes Order Siluriformes Order Gymnotiformes Week 7 Superorder Protacanthopterygii Order Esociformes Order Osmeriformes

Order Salmoniformes Week 8 Neoteleostei Superorder Stenopterygii

Superorder Scopelomorpha Superorder Paracanthopterygii

Order Percopsiformes Order Ophidiiformes Order Gadiformes Order Batrachoidiformes

Order Lophiiformes Superorder Acanthopterygii

Week 9 Series Atherinomorpha Order Atheriniformes Order Beloniformes Order Cyprinodontiformes Week 10 Series Percomorpha Order Beryciformes Order Gasterosteiformes Order Scorpaeniformes

Order Perciformes Week 11 Suborder Percoidei Week 12 Suborder Labroidei Week 13 “Other-oidei” Suborder Zoarcoidei Suborder Notothenioidei Suborder Blennioidei Suborder Gobioidei Suborder Acanthuroidei Suborder Scombroidei Week 14 Order Pleuronectiformes Order Tetraodontiformes

a. Lampreys: ...Class Cephalaspidomorphi...Class Petromyzontida = “Class Lamprey”b. Hagfish: Class Myxini but not a vertebrate, so not a fish...c. Not Ostracoderms...

Class Lamprey

2010

Marine Studies Consortium’s Biology of Fishes 2010 at the New England Aquarium with Dr. Rae Barnhisel.

Documents

floor gallery

fishes collection slide

class lamprey slide

harvard university slide

rae barnhisel slide

floor ramp entrance

floor ramp elevatorstairs

main lobby west wing