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Analysis in Nutrition
Research
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Analysis in Nutrition
Research
Principles of Statistical Methodology
and Interpretation of the Results
Edited by
George Pounis
Nutrition Consultant in the Greek Food Industry, Athens, Greece
Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier
125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AS, United Kingdom
525 B Street, Suite 1650, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the
Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance
Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other
than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become
necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using
any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods
they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a
professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any
liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or
otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the
material herein.
v
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER 6 Statistical Analysis of Prospective Health and Nutrition Data ....... 145
George Pounis
6.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................145
6.2 Descriptive Statistics...............................................................................................146
6.3 Measures to Calculate the Occurrence of a Health Outcome................................146
6.3.1 Incidence....................................................................................................... 146
6.3.2 Relative Risk ................................................................................................ 148
6.4 Survival Analysis ....................................................................................................149
6.4.1 Basic Concepts ............................................................................................. 149
6.4.2 KaplaneMeier Analysis ............................................................................... 150
6.4.3 Log-Rank Test .............................................................................................. 152
6.4.4 Cox Regression Analysis ............................................................................. 155
References ...................................................................................................................... 159
CHAPTER 7 Meta-Analysis of Nutrition Studies .................................................. 163
Emmanouil Bouras, Konstantinos K. Tsilidis, George Pounis and
Anna-Bettina Haidich
7.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................164
7.2 Methodology of Meta-Analysis in Nutrition Research..........................................165
7.2.1 Defining the Search Strategy........................................................................ 166
7.2.2 Study Selection Procedure ........................................................................... 169
7.2.3 Quality Assessment ...................................................................................... 169
7.2.4 Data Extraction............................................................................................. 170
7.3 Statistical Methodologies Applied in Meta-Analysis of Nutrition Studies ...........170
7.3.1 Statistical Measures of Effect Included in Meta-Analysis .......................... 171
7.3.2 Choice of Meta-Analytical Method ............................................................. 173
7.3.3 Statistical Heterogeneity .............................................................................. 175
7.3.4 Small-Study Effects...................................................................................... 177
7.3.5 Software for Meta-Analysis ......................................................................... 178
7.4 Presentation and Interpretation of Results .............................................................178
7.4.1 Study Selection............................................................................................. 179
7.4.2 Study Characteristics.................................................................................... 179
7.4.3 Forest Plot..................................................................................................... 179
7.4.4 Assessing Heterogeneity .............................................................................. 182
7.4.5 Risk for Bias................................................................................................. 184
7.4.6 Funnel Plot ................................................................................................... 184
7.5 Limitations and Biases............................................................................................187
7.5.1 Challenges .................................................................................................... 189
References ...................................................................................................................... 191
CONTENTS ix
Claudia Agnoli
Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
Krasimira Aleksandrova
Nutrition, Immunity and Metabolism Senior Scientist Group, Department of Nutrition and
gerontology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Nuthetal,
Germany
Daria C. Boffito
Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
Emmanouil Bouras
Department of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Ock K. Chun
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
Michel de Lorgeril
Laboratoire Cœur et Nutrition, TIMC-IMAG, School of Medicine, University of Grenoble-Alpes,
Grenoble, France
Elaine Dennison
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Romina di Giuseppe
Institute of Epidemiology, University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Monica Dinu
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Pauline M. Emmett
Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School,
University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Konstantinos I. Gourgoulianis
Respiratory Medicine Department, University of Thessaly, School of Medicine, Larissa Greece
Anna-Bettina Haidich
Department of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Lisa T. Jansen
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
Louise R. Jones
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United
Kingdom
Stavros A. Kavouras
Hydration Science Lab, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States
xv
xvi LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Themis Koutsioukis
Respiratory Medicine Department, University of Thessaly, School of Medicine, Larissa Greece
Vittorio Krogh
Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
Sang Gil Lee
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Pukyong National University, Busan, Korea
Foteini Malli
Respiratory Medicine Department, University of Thessaly, School of Medicine, Larissa Greece
Technological Institute of Thessaly, Nursing Department, Larissa, Greece
Kate Maslin
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Dimitra Mastorakou
Leicester, United Kingdom
Melissa Melough
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
Kate Northstone
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United
Kingdom
Gregory S. Patience
Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
Paul A. Patience
Department of Electrical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
George Pounis
Alimos, Athens, Greece
Mikael Rabaeus
Geneva, Switzerland
Junichi Sakaki
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
Patricia Salen
Laboratoire Cœur et Nutrition, TIMC-IMAG, School of Medicine, University of Grenoble-Alpes,
Grenoble, France
Adam D. Seal
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
Hydration Science Lab, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States
Francesco Sofi
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Unit of Clinical Nutrition, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Onlus IRCCS, Florence, Italy
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xvii
Hyun-Gyu Suh
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
Hydration Science Lab, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States
LynnDee G. Summers
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
Caroline M. Taylor
Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School,
University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Konstantinos K. Tsilidis
University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece
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Preface
Analysis in Nutrition Research: Principles of Statistical Methodology and Interpretation of the Results
describes, in a comprehensive manner, the methodologies of the quantitative analysis of data origi-
nating specifically from nutrition studies. The book summarizes various study designs in nutrition
research, research hypotheses, the proper management of dietary data, and analytical methodologies,
with a specific focus on how to interpret the results of any given study. In addition, it provides a
comprehensive overview of the methodologies used in study design and the management and analysis
of collected data, paying particular attention to all of the available, modern methodologies and
techniques.
Readers will find an overview of the recent challenges and debates in the field of nutrition research
that will define major hypotheses for research in the next 10 years. Nutrition scientists, researchers,
and undergraduate and postgraduate students will benefit from this thorough publication on the topic.
xix
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Acknowledgments
It is a pleasure to thank all of the people who made this title possible.
I am grateful to the contributors who kindly participated in preparing the various chapters of this
book and shared with us their knowledge, experience, and expertise.
I would not have achieved this ambitious goal without the support of Elsevier and I wish to thank
Megan Ball, who trusted me with the editorial role.
I want to extend my sincere gratitude to my colleagues from Elsevier, who supported me in the
various steps of this publication.
My final thoughts go to my family and Eleftheria. I would not have gone so far without their love
and encouragement.
Georgios
xxi
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PART
ANALYSIS IN
NUTRITION
RESEARCH 1
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CHAPTER
DESIGN OF OBSERVATIONAL
NUTRITION STUDIES
1
George Pounis
Alimos, Athens, Greece
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1.1 Introduction to Observational Nutrition Studies...................................................................................3
1.2 Ecological Nutrition Studies..............................................................................................................5
1.2.1 Description ..................................................................................................................5
1.2.2 Challenges...................................................................................................................5
1.2.3 Example of Ecological Study on Diet and Cancer.............................................................6
1.3 Cross-Sectional Nutrition Studies ......................................................................................................6
1.3.1 Description ..................................................................................................................6
1.3.2 Sampling.....................................................................................................................8
1.3.3 Challenges.................................................................................................................10
1.3.4 Example of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey .................................11
1.4 CaseeControl Nutrition Studies .......................................................................................................12
1.4.1 Description ................................................................................................................12
1.4.2 Sampling...................................................................................................................12
1.4.3 Challenges.................................................................................................................14
1.4.4 An Example in the Study of Hodgkin Lymphoma ...........................................................15
1.5 Cohort Nutrition Studies..................................................................................................................15
1.5.1 Description ................................................................................................................15
1.5.2 Sampling...................................................................................................................16
1.5.3 Challenges.................................................................................................................17
1.5.4 Example of the Nurses’ Health Study ...........................................................................18
References ............................................................................................................................................19
Systematic observation along with accurate and systematic measurement has been the basis for the
development of science in various fields from mathematics and physics to sociology and medicine.
Although nutrition science is relatively young compared with others, it has been firmly tied to
observation and the measurement since the mid-1950s, when the first evidence-based conclusions
regarding the association of nutrition and health were determined [1e13].
As part of nutrition science, nutritional epidemiology incorporates valuable information related to
the methodologies and techniques of observation and measurement applied to generate evidence-based
conclusions regarding the interaction between diet and health, among others. A considerable pro-
portion of dietary risk factors for various diseases have been identified and studied through epide-
miological health and nutrition studies.
An observational nutrition study may be defined as the detailed investigation and analysis of in-
formation provided by a retrospective or prospective systematic observation and measurement of a
sample’s dietary factors (exposures) and health characteristics (outcomes), in which the researcher
does not willingly influence the collected information.
Observational nutrition studies have an epidemiological character and aim to generalize conclu-
sions derived from the investigation and analysis of sample data from the reference population [6,14].
They are often named population-based studies. According to the nature of the collected data, they are
divided into retrospective and prospective studies [6,14,15]. Types of retrospective surveys include
ecological, cross-sectional, and caseecontrol studies whereas prospective surveys include follow-up
and longitudinal studies, which are generally labeled cohort studies.
All of these study designs provide valuable descriptive information about adherence to dietary
patterns, the consumption of foods and nutrients, the presence of certain dietary behaviors, and other
dietary characteristics in a population base. In addition, they aim to test hypotheses related to the
association of dietary exposures with health outcomes. Although by themselves these studies are not
enough to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between a dietary factor and a health outcome, as-
sociations observed mainly in cohort surveys assign the potential existence of causality. In these cases,
further investigation through intervention trials and meta-analysis is essential when it is ethically and
technologically feasible.
Evidence-based nutrition science or practice is well-promoted as the preferable and most accurate
methodology to make decisions in all related disciplines; it aims to maintain or improve the health of
individuals, groups, and populations [10]. Observational nutrition studies are a first and important step
in the evidence-based concluding chain of nutrition science.
All of the various types of observational nutrition studies have certain advantages and limitations
that derive from their nature, and which should be considered throughout the stages of the survey (i.e.,
design, implementation, analysis, presentation, and publication of results and conclusions). In addi-
tion, the methodology of the collection, the management and statistical analysis of data, and the
presentation and interpretation of the results vary among the different designs. These issues are
addressed in other chapters of the book (i.e., Chapters 3e8).
The following sections offer an overview of the various types of observational nutrition studies
illustrating their basic concepts and design methodologies, providing survey examples from the
literature.
1.2 ECOLOGICAL NUTRITION STUDIES 5
1.2.2 CHALLENGES
Among the major concerns for the designers of an ecological nutrition study is the identification of
appropriate population-based measures of the dietary characteristics and health status of the pop-
ulations under investigation.
Estimates of the population dietary intake are often retrieved from preexisting data generated by
systematic measures and evaluations performed for other reasons (i.e., economic studies, census).
Sources of dietary information include national and international data about the per capita
6 CHAPTER 1 DESIGN OF OBSERVATIONAL NUTRITION STUDIES
consumption of foods, data from household surveys, and individual survey data from representative
sample populations.
An important consideration for the survey’s investigators is a study of the methodology used for
data collection and management. The use harmonized national and international population-based
dietary data ensures their comparability. This purpose is assisted by using common data collection
and management methodologies.
Another challenge to conducting an ecological study is evaluating the level of accuracy of
population-based dietary data. Biases related to the methodology of data acquisition should be limited.
For instance, frequently, the data for the per capita consumption of food in a country are retrieved by
economic studies for food sales, imports, and exports. Because of their aims and methodology, these
surveys cannot control for the amount of food that is wasted. It may be true that a significant amount of
food that has been sold to consumers was not actually consumed. The percentage of wasted food
among countries with different socioeconomical standings may vary significantly. This may lead to
biased conclusions regarding variations observed in food consumption and the health status of pop-
ulations under investigation.
Cross-sectional studies in nutrition science provide descriptive results for the degree of exposure to
dietary factors of a sample population. They evaluate current dietary habits of participants and offer
valuable information about the consumption of foods and other dietary components. Energy, water,
and nutrient intake, adherence to dietary patterns, and other dietary factors can be estimated
[6,24e27]. Moreover, by collecting biological samples and biobanking [28,29], markers of food and
nutrient bioavailability and metabolism can be measured in the sample population base. Frequently,
participants undergo anthropometric screening and the related information is collected and analyzed
[30e32].
Because these studies run in parallel with other health-related studies, they provide important
information for the prevalence of a disease or health condition [33]. It is crucially important that the
diagnostic criteria used in the survey are the most up-to-date and in accordance with the recent
literature. There are several expressions of prevalence; a simple one is:
Number of diagnosed cases of a disease or a health condition
at a certain time point in the sample population
Prevalence ¼ 100
sample size
For example, when we read that the prevalence of obesity was 25% in November 2015 in a sample
population, we may understand that of the 100 participants who were screened at that specific time
point, 25 were obese.
During a cross-sectional nutrition survey, the degree of exposure to various potential risk factors
such as lifestyle, socioeconomic, environmental, genetic, and clinical is usually measured in parallel at
the same time point of the study sample’s recruitment [8,34e36]. The choice of the factor that will be
assessed depends on the aims of the survey. It is highly essential that all screening tools used to assess
the risk factors be valid and accurate.
The time frame of a cross-sectional study is limited to a time point, so it is impossible to identify
cause-and-effect relationships between dietary exposures and health outcomes [33,37,38]. The defi-
nition of causality in an observed association requires at least that the dietary exposure occurred before
the diagnosis of a disease or health condition [6,14,15]. This condition is not confirmed by a cross-
sectional design.
Statistical methodologies are available to evaluate the association of a dietary exposure and a health
outcome and they are also widely used by researchers, such as linear regression modeling and
generalized linear modeling (see Chapter 5). However, the interpretation of significant associations in
cross-sectional settings should be limited by the study’s inability to express causality. When these
associations are supported by literature data (i.e., in vitro or other studies) that offer biological
plausibility, they may guide further hypothesis testing and studies in other survey designs (i.e., cohort
studies, meta-analyses, and randomized control trials).
Weakness points of this type of observational study also relate to dietary assessment methodologies
and tools, which sometimes fail to evaluate the dietary habits of participants accurately. In particular,
bias related to the recall of dietary information from sample members is evident whereas potential
alterations of long-term dietary habits resulting from the previous presence of a disease or a health
condition cannot be thoroughly investigated. Thus, the observed statistical associations between di-
etary exposures and health outcomes may be biased. These issues are addressed in detail in Chapter 3,
where the collection and management of dietary data are discussed.
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LESSON XLIII.
HOW THEY BEHAVE.
FOOTNOTES:
[32] See Nature Reader, No. 1, Lesson 8.
LESSON XLIV.
FRY AND SCHOOL.
A fish comes from an egg, as a bird does. There are one or two
kinds that are born as little live fishes. But the rule is that the fishes
hatch out of tiny eggs. The mother fish drops these eggs in the
water, or carefully lays them in some place which she prepares for
them.
A CURIOUS CRADLE.
After they are laid, these eggs are called spawn. Before they are
laid, they lie in a solid mass together. There are many thousands of
them in each mass, and they are then called roe. I have told you of
the wonderful number of eggs laid by insects. But fish surpass even
the insects in the number of eggs.
These eggs are subject to very many dangers. Fish, crabs, and
water-fowls eat them. The waves may dash them ashore, and so
they will be dried up. Therefore it is needful that there should be a
great many, so that after all disasters a large number may hatch.
The eggs of fish are of a pearly white, or a cream color. They are
covered with a kind of glue, so that they stick together. They also
stick to weeds, or rock, or sand, where they are laid.
There are very few fish that carry their eggs about with them, after
they are laid. The fish presses its body against the eggs, which stick
to it, and are carried about, until they hatch. You have read of the
crab which took care of its eggs in this way.[33]
As the little fish grows within the egg, the soft skin-like case
becomes very thin. When the time comes for hatching, the little fish
breaks the case, and comes out. As a general rule, the little fish, just
out of the egg, looks and acts like the parent fish. But there are some
that change much between their first and their full-grown states.
Let us now look at some curious fish eggs and fish nests. Of all the
fin family, the dog-fish has the most curious cradle for its young. The
egg-case of the dog-fish is a horny bag, or purse. It is of a gray or
blackish color, about an inch wide, and two inches long. At each of
the four corners, it has a long, stiff, curly stem.
The mother dog-fish swims near the shore to lay her eggs. She
selects a weed, branch, or piece of tree, lying in the water. To this
she ties her egg-cases by means of their long stems, or strings. She
does this by swimming round and round the twig to which she means
to fasten the case. As she drops the case in the water, she ties it, or
binds it, by drawing with her the curly ends, as she swims, about the
branch.
She lays a number of these purses in a place. Then she swims off
and leaves them. It is lucky that she does, for if she stayed near
them, she would eat the little fish as soon as they came out!
I have seen a dog-fish tying its eggs to a branch lying under water,
and it was a queer sight. When the baby fish has grown large
enough to leave the case, it makes a little opening on one end, and
creeps out.
The skate, that is a cousin of the dog-fish, lays a case much like this.
But the case of the skate is of a shape more nearly square. It has
four sharp, curved horns, not long, curly ends; and the little skate
comes out of a hole in the middle, never at the end.
Another sea-fish, the mackerel, has no such protection for its eggs. It
drops thousands of them on the water, and they look like tiny pearl
beads. They sink to the bottom. As they are sticky, they cling
together, and to the sand, until they hatch.
That prettiest of fish, the trout, which lives in so many clear, shady
streams, where there are deep, quiet pools to bask in, is very careful
of her eggs. The mother trout sinks to the bottom of some clean
stream, and selects a nice sandy place. Then, with her tail, she fans
out all the coarse sand and gravel. If there are larger bits of pebble,
she carries them off in her mouth.
When she has made a nice smooth little nest, like a cup, she drops
her eggs into it. Then she covers them lightly with gravel, so that
they will not be floated away. When she has finished one nest, she
swims off to make another.
The black bass of our lakes and ponds makes a smooth bed for its
eggs. It prepares this bed in the shadow of a stone or sunken log.
Several bass will go together, and select and clear out such a bed.
Then they will lay their eggs there, and for days, until the eggs hatch,
will swim about near, to keep watch over them. Eels, cat-fish, perch,
and suckers, come to eat these eggs, and the big bass drive them
away.
The pretty perch does not take such care as this of her eggs. She
drops them in long chains, among grasses, and leaves of water-
plants, at the edge of the pond. When the yellow cowslips are in
bloom, you can find these eggs among the water-plants, like strings
of fairy beads.
When the baby perch come from the eggs, they are very nimble, and
begin at once to eat. When they are no longer than the nail of your
little finger, it is funny to see them in the water, darting after the living
atoms that serve them for food.
They see and know these tiny things in the water, and pounce upon
them with wide-open mouths.
The little fish, from the time they are out of the egg, until they are
about half grown, are called fry. Some fish, as the salmon, get
different names at different periods of their growth. A great many fish
together are called a school. Thousands of fish will come leaping,
rolling, and tumbling along in the water, and we say it is a school of
fish.
FOOTNOTES:
[33] Nature Reader, No. 1, Lesson 3.
LESSON XLV.
SCALES AND TEETH.
I told you that most fish had scales, and that these scales clothed
them in a gleaming, flexible suit of armor. Most of the beautiful color
of fish is found upon their scales. Many of the scales are iris or
rainbow hued. That is, they have the gleam of many colors,
according as the light strikes them. Have you not seen such colored
light in a glass prism?
The scales of different fish vary in shape, size, color, and hardness.
In general, they are horny like your finger nail, but thinner. Their
shape is nearly round, much like a rose petal. They are fastened by
the smaller edge to the skin of the fish. Then each scale laps over
the next one, and so on.
Scales are always so set that they turn or lap, from the head toward
the tail. In the middle of each scale, on the lateral or side line of the
fish, is a little groove or canal. It runs in the direction of a line from
head to tail. Let us see what it is for.
Have you noticed how slippery fishes are? Is it not hard to hold
them? If you rub your finger hard down their bodies, you rub off a
quantity of slime, or stuff like glue, or thin paste. This glue-like stuff is
made near the mouth of the fish. It is supplied to the scales by little
tubes near the mouth. It runs through that little canal in each scale in
a line upon the side of the fish.
This slimy stuff helps the fish to slide easily through the water. It
keeps the scales limber and healthy. It keeps the body supple. It
helps the fish to slip away from creatures that seize it. Also, I am
sure, it helps the fish to slide easily down the throats of birds,
animals, or fish that capture it!
The fact that the scales all lie turned from the head to the tail of the
fish, also makes it easy for birds or other fish to swallow it. But if a
fish is partly swallowed, it cannot be readily cast out, for its scales
rising, make a rough surface, and hinder it. I suppose that was why
the alwife duck I told you of could not get the partly swallowed fish
out of her throat.
Each kind of fish has its own especial shape and color of scales.
Some are pointed, some are rounded, some are flat, some are
curved, some are three-cornered. Some fish have no scales. Some
have such tiny ones that you will not notice them unless you look
sharp. Some fish, as the sturgeon, have great bony plates, like large
limpet shells, laid in lines up and down the body.
Fish not only have their own especial shape of scales, but their
especial color, and such colors have their especial place on the fish.
One flat, brown fish has all the under side of its body white, but spots
of red, like sealing wax, are laid all over the brown side, as if you had
dropped red wax upon it.
When you see a smoked and salted herring hung up for sale, you
are not likely to guess what a beautiful thing it was, when living in its
water home. It had a coat of blue, green, and silver, and gem-like
eyes. The eye of a dead fish is sunken and dull. The eye of a living
fish is full, and gleaming with light.
There is a little fish called a wrasse which looks as if made out of a
rainbow. It is dressed in bright blue, gold, bronze, and white.
The red bream is of a fine rose-red color, with silver sides. Its
luminous eyes are set in golden rings. The perch has dark, shining
bands on its silver coat, and it has gay, red fins. The gray mullet is a
quaker fish, trim, grave, quiet in its style, but lovely in its shape and
in the rainbow lights along parts of its body.
Once I saw in the water a fish called a gurnard. He seemed to have
borrowed a sunset to dress himself in. His scales were deep red and
bronze. There was a vivid blue on the edges of his fins. The fins
were in shape and coloring like a butterfly’s wings.
I never saw a boy who did not think that a trout was one of the
prettiest things ever made. Very much of the beauty of fishes lies in
the wonderful scales.
But you must examine scales for yourselves. If you have a
microscope to look at them with, you will be full of delight and
surprise at what you see. Once I looked through a very powerful
microscope, and thought I was looking at a lump of half-melted gold
set full of fine jewels. But it was the scale of a fish.
I will now leave the scales, and tell you a little about the teeth of fish.
Fish have a great many teeth. Their mouths are for the most part
hard and horny, and so covered with teeth that it is not likely that
they have very much sense of taste. Still there are some kinds of fish
that are almost, if not quite, toothless.
If you open the mouth of a sea-trout you will find that it is set entirely
round, with sharp, strong teeth. Then if you stretch the mouth open
and look into it, you will see that there is another row of teeth set all
round a bone inside the upper jaw. Look still farther in, and you will
see a row of teeth on the middle bone in the roof of the mouth. Look
still beyond, and you will see a row of teeth on each side of the
tongue.
Some fish, besides all these teeth, have the tongue quite covered
with teeth. Others, that eat vegetables, have little fine teeth all down
the sides of the throat. The French call such teeth as these, “teeth in
the velvet.” Some fish have the entire mouth and throat lined with
teeth.
These teeth may all be alike, not some “double” and some “single”
as you have. But sometimes fish have teeth of different patterns. The
most common form of teeth in fish that live on fish or other animal
food, is that of a slim cone, bent a little inward to hold firmly the fish
caught, so that it cannot slip away.
The fish that feed on weeds have short, roundish teeth with a flat
top, to make a good mill with which to grind or crush their food. Fish
that eat insects do not need such large teeth. They have a great
number of little teeth almost as fine as hairs. Rows of these teeth
look like a little brush.
Some fish are said to have “mill” teeth, as the carp, because their
large flat teeth roll upon each other like the stones of a mill grinding
grain.
The ray fish, that feed on crabs, shell-fish, and flat fish, need very
strong teeth for crushing such food. If you should look into their
mouths, you would see that they are made like a mill, and the upper
and under teeth roll against each other and crush fine all that is
between them. By looking at the mouth of fish and examining its
teeth, you can find out what kind of food it used, just as by looking at
the beak and claws of a bird, you can tell what were its habits and
food.
Some fish have the inside of the stomach thick and furrowed, very
like the gizzard of a fowl. This is to aid in cutting or grinding up the
food. The teeth of a carp have much the appearance of the teeth of
sheep and cows, only they are much smaller. They work against a
plate of gristle in the roof of the mouth and reduce the food to pulp.
The strong, sharp teeth of fish are used not only for eating their food,
but for biting and fighting other fish. Two great salmon have been
known to fight until one was killed. The dead one was found to be
badly wounded and torn by the teeth of its enemy.
Pike have very sharp, strong teeth, and a big pike has been known
to seize hold of the foot or nose of a dog, fox, or other animal, that
came to the water’s edge to drink.
The mouth of a dog-fish is set back on the under side of the head.
This mouth has a row of strong, sharp teeth all round it. When the
fish seizes its prey or its enemy with its teeth, it whirls itself over, and
this action enables it to tear out a large piece of the flesh held by its
teeth.
LESSON XLVI.
BIG AND LITTLE BROTHERS.
Yesterday, as I was going along the street, I saw a large globe full of
tiny fish. They were from one to two inches long. I stopped to
examine them. They were sticklebacks. You must know that little Mr.
Stickleback is a very pretty and curious fellow, and well worth buying.