Topic: Zoology / Animals

Wednesday
Recap yesterday
Objectives for today
 learn the characteristics of Fish and the scientist that studies them
 learn the different type of fish
 learn about reproduction in fish
 learn about endangered fish

Session 1 : Introduction to fish – 30 mins

Today we will be talking about fish. Do you know the names of any fish ? Do you know
what a group of fish is called ? A group of fish is called a school. Some fish gather in
schools so they are harder to catch. A predator will get confused when attacking a school
and sometimes can't catch any fish at all. A loose grouping of fish is called a shoal.
But what makes a fish a fish? Does anyone know ? let’s watch this video to find out .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJN3gJoZqlY

Most fish are cold-blooded animals that live in the water.

This means they get their body temperature from the surrounding water.

Therefore, as body temperature is directly linked to water temperature, and changes in

body temperature have an effect on how the body works, these can be stressful or deadly.

when the water becomes warm it affects fish respiration and they have to move their gills
more rapidly to get the oxygen they need.

The only exception to this is the Tuna family and the Mackerel shark family because they
are warm blooded
They all are vertebrates and have gills

Fish use their gills to breathe under water

Just like humans and all of the other animals we have talked about so far, fish too need
oxygen to survive. The only difference is that while we get our oxygen from the air, the
fish gets theirs through the water. We use our lungs to breathe but our lungs would not
work for fish since they have to breathe under the water instead they use what is called
gills. Gills are feathery organs full of blood vessels. Fish take in the water into their mouth
and pass it through their gills just behind its head on each side. The dissolved oxygen from
the water is then absorbed into their bodies and carbon dioxide is released through the
water that passes out of their bodies. 
Activity
YOU WILL NEED:
Clear glass jar
Cup
Water
Coffee filter
Coffee grounds/ dirt
Rubber band
STEP 1: Fill a cup with water and mix in a tablespoon of coffee grounds/ dirt .  

Discuss how the coffee mixture is like water in the ocean. Here, the coffee filter
represents the gills, and the coffee grounds represent the oxygen. The coffee filter gill is
collecting the oxygen to send to the fish’s circulatory system.

STEP 2: Place a coffee filter over the top of your glass jar with a rubber band around the
top holding it on.

The coffee filter is like the gills on a fish

STEP 3: Pour the coffee ground and water mixture slowly in the top of the jar over the
coffee filter.
STEP 4: Watch the water filter through the coffee filter.
Discuss what has been left behind in the coffee filter.  Similarly, what do fish gills filter
from the water?  Where does the oxygen go?
They have scales
A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most fishes
is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage
through the use of reflection and colouration.

Activity- Make up your batch of salt dough, and then roll and make different scales

YOU WILL NEED:

 2 cups of flour

 1 cup of salt

 1 cup of water

 Baking pan

 Toothpick

STEP 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, water, and salt and mix well using a
hand

STEP 2: Form your dough into a small golf ball sized piece, break into 5 pieces and roll into
log shapes.

Step 3: make two of the different types scales

STEP 4: use the remaining dough to make a starfish : Stick the 5 log pieces together to
make a star.

STEP 5: Smooth out the star and use a toothpick to make a line into each star arm.

STEP 6: Use the toothpick to poke everywhere around the line indents on the star.

Step 7: place in the sun to dry and paint once dried

Fish have fins and tails which help them swim through the water stopping and changing
direction
Fish swim by flexing their bodies and tail back and forth. Fish stretch or expand their
muscles on one side of their body, while relaxing the muscles on the other side. This
motion moves them forward through the water. Fish use their back fin, called the caudal
fin, to help push them through the water.
The fish's other fins help it steer. Fish have 5 types of fins. They are the pectoral, pelvic,
dorsal, anal and caudal fins. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q7NQ7XrzS8

ACTIVITY -The Swimming Fish

Materials you will need:
• Water
• Bowl
• Liquid dish soap
• Cut out fish (cardboard)

All fish are oviparous which mean they lay eggs

These eggs are part of the fish life cycle

1. Eggs – are laid by the female into the water column and fertilized by the male
(some types of fish lay 1000’s of eggs at one time).
2. Embryos – which are the fertilized eggs
3. Larvae – oviparous fish often spend large amounts of time as larvae in the water
column before leaving the column as juvenile fish. Many do not survive as the
larvae is food for other predators.
4. Juvenile Fish – the larvae that do survive develop into juvenile fish who seek out
food to continue growing.
5. Adult Fish – lay eggs or fertilize eggs and the fish life cycle is repeated over and
over again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8cED6PQmPA

This entire process is known as the life cycle of a fish. Most species follow this cycle,
although there are some species who reproduce in a completely different way.
Activity – draw out the fish life cycle

How do fish sleep and what do they eat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbcY4GOZu6I

As seen in the video, different fish sleep in different ways and the same can be said for
what they eat Some fish eat plant life. They may scrape algae off rocks or eat plants that
grow in the ocean or sea. Some fish, called predators, prey on other fish and animals. The
shark is a noted predator that hunts for prey. Other predators lay in wait for their prey by
hiding in the sand or rocks in order to ambush their prey.

Session 2
Types of Fish
Before, we would have told you guys about the different types of Ecosystems. Can you
guess the two types of ecosystems you think fish would be found in? Answer: Freshwater
Ecosystem and Marine Ecosystem.

Both these ecosystems contain plants and organisms for the fish to eat , water for them to
breath and sand to help with digestion

Type of freshwater fish

Freshwater fish are fish that live in lakes, rivers and ponds, which are bodies of
freshwater.
Some of the common freshwater fish that you may know are goldfish, guppies, angelfish
and bass fish. But here are some unique freshwater fish you may be interested to see;
Zebra Plecos (Pleh-kows) – This fish is known for its black and white stripes similar to that
of a Zebra.
The guppy, also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely
distributed tropical fish .

Bull sharks are distinguished from other sharks by their body’s high width-to-length ratio,
giving them a stout appearance.
Type of saltwater fish
Saltwater fish are fish that live within the Marine Ecosystems, which would be in the Seas
and Oceans. Fish commonly known to live in the ocean are clownfish, puffer fish, Bluefin
tuna, salmon, grouper, marlin, red snapper, and barracudas. We also consume most of
these fish.

Here are some unusual fish that we normally would not eat;
Leafy Sea dragon –These marine creatures are poor swimmers and they cannot move very
fast, so they rely on the plant-like appearance to camouflage so that they can avoid
predators.  
Additionally , different types of fish will live at different depths in the ocean and their
structure will change as a result of it. In the nineteenth century, scientists believed that
marine life could not exist below 550 metres. That view was changed when a telegraph
cable laid in the ocean bottom at 1,800 metres deep was found covered with many forms of
marine life. In 1960, a swimming animal, resembling a sole or other flatfish about a foot
long, was spotted at 11,000 metres deep.
The ocean’s deepest fish doesn’t look like it could survive in harsh conditions thousands of
feet below the surface. Instead of giant teeth and a menacing frame, the fishes that roam
in the deepest parts of the ocean are small, translucent, lacking many scales — and highly
adept at living where few other organisms can.

Meet the deepest fish in the ocean, a new species named the Mariana snailfish by an
international team of scientist that discovered it

Some other deep sea fish include

Viperfish (Chauliodus species)

Depth: 400m to 1km

The viperfish is a fierce predator, with fangs so big that its mouth can't close over them.
Instead, they slide up the front of the fish's face when it shuts its mouth.

Black seadevil (Melanocetus johnsonii)

Depth: 250m to 2km

Females have big teeth and a light-organ on a stalk between their eyes. Males are much
smaller and have enormous nostrils they use to sniff out their mates in the dark.

Rattail, also called grenadier (species in the family Macrouridae)

Depth: 22m to 2.2km

This fish normally lives close to the seabed, in the relatively shallow waters nearer the
coast.  It is highly sensitive to vibrations in the water that could be made by prey such as
shrimps or small squid and fishes.

Activity- Aquascope

What You'll Need:

 Half-gallon milk carton

 Knife
 Plastic wrap
 Large rubber band
 Heavy tape
How to Make an Awesome Aquascope:
Step 1: Take an empty half-gallon milk carton, and cut the bottom and top off the carton.
Step 2: Stretch clear plastic wrap over one end of the carton. Use a big rubber band to hold
it in place tight, or use heavy tape. You just made your own aquascope.
Step 3: Head for that pond or stream. If the water is deep, have an adult along with you.
Hold the plastic-covered end of your aquascope just under the surface of the water, and
look through the other end. What's going on down there? Be careful not to harm any of the
wildlife.
If the aquascope still doesn't get you a close enough look, keep reading to learn how to
observe water organisms with a pond net instead.

Types of fish found in Barbados waters

As we all know, the great flying fish is the national fish of Barbados. However, most of our
fish have been packing up and moving to Trinidad and Tobago, or as us scientists would
say, migrating. The fish that now populates Barbados’ water is.. (Can anyone guess?) ..
Answer: The barracuda!

There is another fish that is important to us as a nation. They may not be many here any
more but they are so important that we decided to put it on our dollar. Do you know what
fish it is? It is the flying fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk7McNUjWgw

Even though flying are not endangered , they are not as plentiful as they once were. Why
do you think that is ?
Just after the completion of the Bridgetown Harbor / Deep Water Harbor in Bridgetown,
Barbados had an increase of ship visits, linking the island to the world. The overall health
of the coral reefs surrounding Barbados suffered due to ship-based pollution. Additionally,
Barbadian overfishing pushed them closer to the Orinoco delta, no longer returning to
Barbados in large numbers. 
What does the term Endangered fish mean?

 This simply means that certain fish are facing “a very high rise of extinction”.

What makes a fish species Endangered?

 If the species is threatened by predators or disease 
 If a huge percentage of the species has been destroyed 
 If a species has been consumed by recreational , scientific or commercial use.
 
There are approximately 16, 306 endangered fish species threatened with extinction
according to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Most endangered fish in our ocean - The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Examples 

Endangered fish in saltwater that are found in Barbados

 Crossband rockfish-

 Donkey fish

Endangered fish in saltwater (South Africa)

 Spotted Rock Catfish
  Border Barb 

Endangered fish in freshwater (Philippines)

 True loaches 

 Suckers 
  Paddlefish
 

Causes of Endangered fish 

 Overfishing 
 Pollution 
 Competition of water/ habitat alteration 

Solutions to prevent the Endangerment of fish species 

 dispose of trash properly such as the releasing of balloons into the air. 
 prevent soil and sediment from running into creeks 
 if fishing afterwards, discard hooks, net lines and weights responsibly. 

Activity – make https://youtu.be/UmZgsnY8fMQ and paint a fresh water or salt water

background to stick it onto .

Fish as Pets- Does anyone here has a pet fish? What kind of fish is it? What do you do to
take care of it?
A lot of people like to have fish as pets. There are special aquariums and food you can get
to take care of your fish. They can be fun to have and also beautiful to look at. Although
they are fairly easy to take care of as pets, you will need to do some work. You need to
keep the aquarium clean and make sure to feed your fish the proper amount each day.

Fun fact even though they are called , they aren’t really fish . Do you know why ? Because
a fish's anatomy is centered around its backbone, whereas the jellyfish is a dome-shaped
invertebrate but never the less they are part of the marine environment

Activity -Jellyfish in a bottle

The importance of fish

Fish as Human Food:
Fish have formed an important item of human diet. Nearly all fish freshwater and marine
are edible and have been an important source of protein, fat and vitamins A and D for
many years. In most fishes, the flesh is white, contains about 13 to 20% of protein and has
a food value of 300 to 1600 calories per pound.
The most important fishery by-product is that of the fish oil, which is of two kinds- body oil
and liver oil. The oil extracted from the whole body of the fish is called fish body oil, while
that obtained from liver of certain fish is called the fish liver oil. Liver oil contains vitamin A
and D, while the body oil contains them in traces.

Medicines and Disease Control:

The refined oils extracted from livers of cods and sharks are rich in vitamins A and D.
Pituitary glands yield important extracts for medicines.

Fish and all aquatic life play a vary important role in our society so let us do our best to
care for them.

Conclusion and goodbye