Download - What are the Characteristics of Some Great Lakes Fish?€¦ · • Use similar characteristics of fish to group them into ... , you can make one that classifies real organisms

Objectives Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to:

• Describesomewaysfishdifferfromeachotherinappearance.• Usesimilarcharacteristicsoffishtogroupthemintocatego-

riesforclassification.• CommentonthediversityoffishintheGreatLakes.

PrOcedure

Regardlessofwhethertheyliveinanocean,lake,orstream,allfisharealikeinsomeways.Atypicalbonyfishhasscalesembed-dedinitsskin.Thesescaleshaveconcentricgrowthringsthatcanbecountedtodeterminetheageofthefish.Afewkindsoffishdo nothaveanyscales.

Ifyouknowhowtoconstructadichotomouskey,youcanmakeonethatclassifiesrealorganisms,somefishintheGreatLakes.Forthisactivityyouwillworkingroupsof3or4.Yourgroupwillconstructakeytoidentifysomefishfamiliesandlearnsomethingaboutthem.LakeEriehasalargervarietyoffishlifethananyoftheotherGreatLakes.Scientistsbelievethisisbecauseofthesouthernpositionofthelakeandbecauseitisshallow.LakeEriehas138speciesoffish.Thesespeciescanbegroupedinto27families.Allofthefishinagivenfamilysharecertaincharacteristics.Inthisexerciseyouwilllearnhowtousethesecharacteristicstoidentifythe27families.ThefisharealsofoundthroughouttheotherGreatLakes,alongwithothersthatprefercolderwater.

Source

OEAGLSEP-019,"Gettingtoknowyourlo-calfish"bySuzanneM.HartleyandRosanneFortner.

Earth Systems Understanding

ThisactivityfocusesonESU3,akeyisatoolusedbyscientiststoorganizeinformation.

Materials

•Fishpicturesandinformationaboutfishfamilies.

Teacher’s Notes

Gooverthefishcharacteristicswithstudentstomakesuretheyareawareofwhatdif-ferencestolookfor.Remindthemoftheglossary,notonlyforlookingupunfamiliarwords,butforchoosingdescriptivewordstouseintheirkey.

Followingthisactivityarepagesoffishforstudentteamstokey.Boththepicturesand the written descriptions can be used to describedifferences.

What are the Characteristics of Some Great Lakes Fish?

B13Life in the WaterCOSEE Greatest of the Great Lakes—A Medley of Model Lessons

ES-EAGLS—Life in the Great Lakes©The Ohio State University, 1997.

Fishalsohavegills.Thefish’smouthandcheeksactasapumptopushwateroverthegills.Aswaterpassesoverthegills,oxy-gendissolvedinthewaterisexchangedforcarbondioxidefromthefish’sblood.

Fishdifferfromeachotherinseveralcharacteristics.Studythefishcharacteristicsdiagramsoyoucanrecognizedifferenceswhenyougetyourfishpicturesfromyourteacher.RefertotheGLOSSARYtofinddefinitionsoftermsyoudonotunderstandfromthepictures.

1. Divideintofivegroups.EachgroupwillreceivepicturesanddescriptionsofagroupoffishcommontoLakeErie,whosefamiliesarealsofoundthroughouttheGreatLakes.Lookatthefishpictureswithyourgroup.Listthenamesofthefishyouareworkingwithonyouranswersheet.

2. Howareyourfishdifferentfromeachother?Listfourgen-eralways(headshape,spines,etc.).

3. Cutyourpicturesheetintosectionssothateachpiececon-tainsonlyonefish.Withyourteam,decidehowtodividethefishintotwogroupsbasedononecharacteristic.Putthefishpicturesintopilesaccordingtothatcharacteristic,whichwillbeStatement1ofyourkey.Onyouranswersheet,fillin1AandB,withthenextstepsoridentificationontherightside.[Ifyouhavenotdonetheactivity"Howdoesadichotomouskeywork?,"youshouldrefertoitforideashere.]

4. Next,takethefishinonepileanddiscusshowtheydifferfromeachother.FillinStatement2AandB.

5. Continuedividingyourfishinthiswayuntileachgrouphasonlyonefishinit.Whenyoureachthispoint,theright-handcolumnshouldbefilledinwiththefish’sname.

Teacher’s Notes

Answerstoquestions1and2willdifferfromteamtoteam.Thequestionsaregivenmainlyasadvanceorganizersandtoguideyouinassessingstudentperformance.

The“KeytoGreatLakesFish”willalsodifferfromteamtoteam.AnexampleisgivenusingGroupIII.

Possible Key to Group III

Characteristic Nextsteporidentification1A.Lateralline.......................................................................................................................21B.NoLateralline..................................................................................................................42A.Forkedtail........................................................................................................................Salmon2B.Roundedtail.....................................................................................................................33A.Longdorsalfin.................................................................................................................Bowfin3B.Shortdorsalfin.................................................................................................................PiratePerch4A.Verticalstripesonsides....................................................................................................Killifish4B.Nostripes..........................................................................................................................55A.Longnarrowanalfin........................................................................................................Livebearer5B.Shortanalfin....................................................................................................................Mudminnow

B14ES-EAGLS—Life in the Great Lakes©The Ohio State University, 1997.

What are the Characteristics of Some Great Lakes Fish?COSEE Greatest of the Great Lakes—A Medley of Model Lessons

6. Checkyourfinishedkeywhenallyourfishhavebeenclas-sified.Youshouldbeabletopickupanyfishpictureandfollowthekeytofindthenameofthefish.

7. Exchangekeysandfishpictureswithanothergroup.Donotgivethelistoffishnamesfromtheoriginalsheettotheotherteam.Seeiftheycanidentifythefishusingonlyyourdescriptionsinyourkey.

8. Getyouroriginalfishpicturesandkeybackwhentheotherteamisfinished.ReadtheFishFamilyDescriptionsyourteacherhasgivenyou.Telltheclasshowyougroupedyourfishandalittleabouteachfish.

9. Fromthegroupreports,answerthesequestions.

A.Whatfishiscoveredwithbonyplates?

B. Howdosealampreysdamageotherfish?

C. Howdoesafilter-feedingfisheat?

D. Describeamajorcharacteristicofabowfin.

E. ListfiveGreatLakesfishthatarevaluableasfoodfor humans.

F. Howdidthesuckerfamilygetitsname?

G. NametwoGreatLakesfishthathavenoscales.

H. Howdidthefreshwaterdrumgetitsname? I. NametwokindsofGreatLakesfishthatareusedasbait

forfishing.

10.Iftimepermits,workwiththeentireclasstodevelopakeythatwillclassifyall27familiesofLakeEriefish.

11.Contactyourstate’sFisheriesofficeandfindoutwhatotherfamiliesoffisharefoundinyournearestGreatLake.Addapageofthosefishtothisactivity.

Answers

A. Sturgeonarecoveredwithbonyplates.B. Lampreysareparasitesthatattachto

otherfishwiththeirsuckermouthsandsuckouttheirbloodandbodyfluids.

C. Itfiltersmicroscopicorganismsfromthewaterbycollectingtheorganismsongillrakers.Thenthefishswallowsthesefoodorganisms.

D. Ithasalongfinthatarchesinabowalongitsback.

E. Sturgeon,yellowperch,whitebass,burbot, salmon, freshwater drum, white perch,walleye,andcatfisharevaluableashumanfood.

F. Thefishhaveanextendablesuckermouthforpickingorsuckinguporgan-isms.

G. Catfish,eelandsturgeonhavenoscales.H. Itmakesadrummingsound.I. Minnows,shiners,andchubsareused

asbait.

Teacher’s Notes

Theexchangeofkeysandpictureswithanothergroupisagoodwaytofindoutifthekeyswillwork.Italsoexposesstudentstootherpossiblewaysofdistinguish-ingbetweenfish.Whenthestudentshaveconstructedtheirownkeyandtriedoutthekeymadebyanotherteam,theyshouldbewellawareofwhatdifferencestolookfor.Makingakeytoallthefishshouldnotbedifficultatthispoint.Ifyouwanttotrythis,wesuggestthatyouhavestudentswritethenameofeachfishonitspicture,thentapeallthepicturestotheblackboard.Havestudentsvolunteertodividethefishintogroupstocreateakey,onestepatatime.

Ifyouprefertousetheoverheadprojector,anincludedpage(31)haspicturesofallofthefish.Makeatransparencyofthatpageandcutitapartsoyoucanphysicallygroupthefishasthekeyisconstructed.Onepos-siblewaytogroupallthefishisshownonpage32.Agraphicwaytoshowthesameclassificationschemeisalsoprovidedonpage32.Itmayassiststudentswholearnbetterwithvisualcues.

B15What are the Characteristics of Some Great Lakes Fish?COSEE Greatest of the Great Lakes—A Medley of Model Lessons


GreatLakesFish

(PossibleKey)

Cha

ract

eris

tic

Nextsteporidentification

1A.

Snake-shaped..............................................................2

1B.

Shapedlikeafish........................................................3

2A.

Suckermouth..............................................................Lamprey

2B.

Nosucker.....................................................................Eel

3A.

Barbels........................................................................4

3B.

Nobarbels...................................................................7

4A.

Bonyplates.................................................................Sturgeon

4B.

Nobonyplates............................................................5

5A.

Onebarbel...................................................................Burbot

5B.

Twoormorebarbels....................................................6

6A.

Slimbody....................................................................Catfish

6B.

Fatbody.......................................................................C

arp

7A.

Twodorsalfins............................................................8

7B.

Onedorsalfin..............................................................17

8A.

Allfinraysconnected.................................................9

8B.

Fourtosixunconnectedspines...................................Stickleback

9A.

Seconddorsalfinlarge................................................10

9B.

Seconddorsalfinsm

all...............................................15

10A

.Dorsalfinsseparate.....................................................11

10B.Dorsalfinsjoined........................................................12

11A

.Horizontalstripes........................................................W

hitebass

11B.Verticalcolorbands.....................................................Yellowperch

12A

.Fan-shapedpectoralfin...............................................S

culpin

12B.Sm

alltriangularpectorals............................................13

13A

.Skinnybody.................................................................Silverside

13B.Roundbody..................................................................14

14A

.Mouthontop...............................................................Sunfish

14B.Mouthonbottom.........................................................Drum

15A

Nospines.................................................................................

15B

.Spineonside...........................................................................

16A

.Row

ofspots...........................................................................

16B

.Nospots..................................................................................

17A

.Shortnose...............................................................................

17B

.Longnose................................................................................

18A

.Forkedtail..............................................................................

18B

.Roundedtail...........................................................................

19A

.Forkedtail..............................................................................

19B

.Roundedtail...........................................................................

20A

.Regularmouth........................................................................

20B

.Suckermouth..........................................................................

21A

.Widebody...............................................................................

21B

.Narrowbody...........................................................................

22A

.Sm

oothbelly...........................................................................

22B

.Sawtoothbelly.........................................................................

23A

.Flathead..................................................................................

23B

.Roundhead.............................................................................

24A

.Longdorsalfin.......................................................................

24B

.Shortdorsalfin.......................................................................

25A

.Shortanalfin..........................................................................

25B

.Longanalfin...........................................................................

26A

.Lateralline(partial)................................................................

26B

.Nolateralline.........................................................................

27A

.Tw

obandsatbaseoftail........................................................

27B

.Manybandsattail...................................................................

16 Salmon

Troutperch

Smelt

19 18 Paddlefish

Gar

20 24 21 Sucker

22 23 Mooneye

Gizzardsh

ad

Pike

Minnows

Bow

fin25 26 Livebearer

27 Mudminnow

Pirateperch

Killifish



references

Hubbs,CarlL.,andKarlF.Lagler.1983.Fishes of the Great Lakes Region.AnnArbor:TheUniversityofMichiganPress.

Trautman,MiltonB.1981.The Fishes of Ohio.Columbus:OhioStateUniversityPress.

ThereareseveralWebsitesregardingfishspeciesintheGreatLakes.Investigatethefollowing:

http://h2o.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/publications/FISH/LakeMichFishIndex.html

http://h2o.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/publications/FISH/LakeSupFishIndex.html

ContactyournearestSeaGrantofficeforfisherypublications. Addressesareonpage10.



FishCharacteristics1stdorsal

2nddorsal

tail

analfin

pelvicfin

pectoralfin

lateral line

Wherethefinsare:

Fintypes:

adipose dorsals separate

dorsalsjoined

round tail

forkedtail

suckermouth

Headfeatures:

barbels

top

bottom

Alsolookfordifferencesin: Bodyshapes Lateralline(presentorabsent) Spines(presentorabsent,andlocation) Spotsorstripes Headshapes Finshapes



GlOssary

AdiposeFin–Fleshyfinbehindthedorsalfin.

Anterior–Front.

Barbels(pronouncedbar-bulls)–Whiskersthathelpthefishdetectfood.

Carnivore–Flesheatinganimal.

CommercialFish–Fishcaughtforcommercialtrade.

Concentric–Havingacenterincommon.Example:growthringsonatree.

Dorsal–Pertainingtothebackortop.

FilterFeeder–Filtersmicroscopicplantsandanimalsfromthewaterforfood.

ForageFish–Fishusedasfoodbylargerfish.

LateralLine–Asensoryorganwitharowofporesrunningalongeachsideoftheheadandbodyofmostfish. Itlookslikeadottedline.

Omnivore–Ananimalthateatsanysortoffood,plant,oranimal.

Parasite–Anorganismlivinginoronanotherorganism(itshost)fromwhichitobtainsfood.

Posterior–Rear.

Scales–Flexibleoverlappingplatesthatcoverthebodiesofsomefish.Scaleshelptoprotectthefish.

Sportfish–Fishthatarecaughtbyindividualsforrecreation.

Ventral–Pertainingtotheundersideorbelly.

PosteriorAnterior

Dorsal

Ventral



I.

A.MooneyeFamily-Hiodontidae

Thesefisharesilverorgoldincolor.Theyeatinsects,insectlarvae,andsmallminnows.Theyprefertofeedinswiftlymovingwater,butliveincalmwater.Mooneyesarenotverygoodtoeat.

B.HerringFamily-Clupeidae

Herringshaveasaw-toothedorjaggedbelly.Theyfeedonplankton.Manylargerfishsuchaswalleyesofteneatgizzardshad,onememberoftheherringfamily.Alewives,anothermemberofthisfamily,havebeenintro-ducedtotheGreatLakes.Theyhavegreatpopulationexplosionsfollowedbyrapiddie-off.Theaccompanyingpictureisofagizzardshad.

C.PikeFamily-Esocidae

Pikeliveinlakes,ponds,andstreamswherethewateriswarmandfullofweeds.Theyareveryfierceandeatanythingtheycancatch.Somepikegrowtobe7feetlongandweighasmuchas35pounds.Pikepopulationshavedeclinedbecauseofdestructionofspawninggrounds.

D.SuckerFamily-Catostomidae

Suckersliveonthebottomoflakes,ponds,andstreams.Theyhavespecialmouthsthathelpthemtosuckupsmallanimalsandplants.Somesuckers,likethebigmouthbuffalo,growtobeverylarge.Manyfishermenliketocatchthesebigfish,whicharegoodtoeat.

E. Paddlefish-Polydontidae

Paddlefishliveinsiltyriversandfloodplainlakes.Somegrowtobe6feetlongandweighupto150pounds.Theygettheirnamefromtheirpaddle-shapedsnouts.Paddlefisheatbyswimmingwiththeirmouthsopen.Foodwashesintotheirmouthsastheyswimalong.Fishthateatthiswayarecalledfilterfeeders.Paddlefishareendangeredbecausedamsalongriverspreventmigrationandspawning.

F. GarFamily-Lepisosteidae Thesefishhavebonyplatescoveringtheirbodies.Garshavesharp,strong

teethandeatallkindsoffish,bothlivinganddead.Theyaresohardtocatchthatfishermenhavegar-rodeosandusewiresnaresinsteadoffishingpolestocatchthefish.Garsprefertoliveinthecalmwatersofbaysratherthanintheopenlake.

30-38cm

48-94cm

51-122cm

31-41cm

30-65cm

41-91cm



19-41cm

11-30cm

9-15cm

7-10cm

II.

A. SculpinFamily-Cottidae Sculpinshavelargespinyheads.Theyhavenoscales.Sculpinsliveonthe

deepbottom,feedingonsmallfish.

B. SilversideFamily-Atherinidae Silversidesgettheirnamebecauseoftheirverylightcolor.Theyfeednear

thesurfaceofthewaterandoftenskipintheairforshortdistances.TheSilverside'snumbersaredecreasing.

C. SunfishFamily-Centrarchidae Therearemanytypesoffishinthisfamily.Largemouthbass,smallmouth

bass,andbluegillsareallsunfish.Theyeatsmallerfish,frogs,andothercreaturessuchascrayfish.Sunfishareprotectedfromcommercialfishing.

D. PerchFamily-Percidae Thisgroupincludesthewalleyeandtheyellowperch,bothofwhichare

importantinsportfishing.Theyarealsoimportantcommercially.Walleyeliveincold,cleanwater.Yellowpercharesmallerthanwalleyeandcanliveinwarmerwater.

E. TemperateBasses-Percichthyidae ThewhitebassandthewhitepercharethetemperatebassesfoundinLake

Erie.Thesefishliveinquietwateroversandandgravelbottoms.Schools,orgroups,ofwhitebassareoftenseenjustunderthesurfaceofthewater.Theyfeedonsmallerfish,includingtheirownyoung.

4-10cm



III.

A. MudminnowFamily-Umbridae Mudminnowseatmanykindsoffood,bothplantsandanimalsliving.

Mudminnowswilldiveintothemuddybottomtoescapefromdanger.Becauseotherfishliketoeatmudminnows,anglersoftenusethemasbait.

B. KillifishFamily-Cyprinodontidae Killifishhavemouthsthatopenalongtheupperfrontoftheirheads.This

helpsthemfeedatthesurfaceofthewater.Killifishliveinclear,shallowwaterwheretherearemanyplants.Anglersusekillifishaslivebaitbecausemanylargerfisheatthem.

C. PiratePerchFamily-Aphredoderidae Thesearesmallfish,upto4incheslong.Theyeatsmallerfishandaquatic

insects.Theyarerarelycaught.

D. BowfinFamily-Amiidae Bowfinsgettheirnamefromthelongfinthatarchesovertheirbacks.They

liveinquietwaterwheretherearemanyplants.Bowfinseatfish,frogs,andcrayfish.

E. LivebearersFamily-Poeciliidae Livebearersdonotlayeggs.Thebabyfisharebornalive.The"mosquito-

fish"Gambusiafeedsonthemosquitolarvaethatlivenearthesurfaceofthewater.

F. TroutandSalmonFamily-Salmonidae Salmonandtroutbelongtothesamefamily.Thesefishhaveanextrafatty

fincalledtheadiposefin.Fishermenlikethembecausetheyarelargeandgoodtoeat.SalmondonotlivenaturallyinLakeErie.TheDepartmentofNaturalResourcesstocksthelakewithsalmonforthefishermentocatch.

5-10cm

4-11cm

4-7cm

2-3cmmales 5-6cmfemales

38-63cm

50-110cm



IV.

A. TroutperchFamily-Percopsidae Troutperchhaveroughscales.Theyhaveanadiposefinlikethetroutand

spinyfinsliketheperch.Manyotherfisheatthetroutperch.

B. SmeltFamily-Omeridae Smeltaresmallfishwithsmoothscales.Theymaygrowtobe9inches

long.Smelthaveanadiposefin.Theyalsohaveteethontheirtongues.Theyeatsmallerfishandothercreaturessuchascrayfish.

C. MinnowFamily-Cyprinidae Minnowsareimportantasfoodformanylargerfish.Theyarealsowidely

usedforbait.Thisfamilyalsoincludesthecarpandgoldfish.Minnowsliveinwarm,organicallyrichwaters.

D. SticklebackFamily-Gasterosteidae Sticklebacksgettheirnamefromthestiffspinesontheirbacks.Theylive

inthecold,quietwatersofstreamsandbogs.

E. DrumFamily-Scianenidae Thesefishgetstheirnamefromthedrummingsoundtheymake.Theyhave

alaterallinethatextendsallthewayacrosstheirtailfins.Somefishermencallthisfishthe"sheepshead."Othercommonnamesincludesilverbass,graybass,andreefbass.Theyeatcrayfish,aquaticinsects,andsmallfish.

8-13cm

30-76cm

8-18cm

18-25cm

4-6cm



76-102cm

15-63cm

41-81cm

31-76cm

28-76cm

51-140cm

V.

A. CodFamily-Gadidae Codhaveonelongfeeler,orbarbel,undertheirchins.TheGreatLakes

representativeofthecodfamilyistheburbot.Itisnotcommerciallyvalu-ablelikeitsmarinecousins.

B. CatfishFamily-Ictaluridae Catfisheatbothplantsandanimals.Theyhavefeelers(barbels)neartheir

mouthstohelpthemfindfood.Theyhavenoscales.Bullheadsaresmallcatfish.Theyliveinmuddypondsandstreams.Theycansurviveevenwhenpondsdryup.Themalebullheadwatchesthenestandguardstheyoung.Theflatheadcatfishcanweighupto100pounds.Fishermenlikecatfishbecausemostofthemaregoodtoeat.

C. MinnowFamily-Cyprinidae Minnowsareimportantasfoodformanylargerfish.Theyarealsowidely

usedforbait.Thisfamilyalsoincludesthecarpandgoldfish.Minnowsliveinwarm,organicallyrichwaters.

D. SturgeonFamily-Acipenseridae Thesefishhavebonyplatescoveringtheirbodies.Sturgeonshavespecial

mouthsforsuckingupfoodfromthebottomofthewater.Feelersontheirmouthshelpthemtofindfood.Peopleliketoeatcaviarmadefromsturgeoneggs.Sturgeonsdonotspawnuntiltheyreach20yearsofage.Theirnumbershavedecreasedsharplysince1916duetolossofspawninggrounds.

E. EelFamily-Anguillidae Eelseatbothplantsandanimals.Theyhavetruejaws.Theyarelongand

thinlikesnakesandhavenoscales.Eelsfeedatnightandhuntbysenseofsmell.Theycansurviveinpollutedwater.

F. LampreyFamily-Petromyzontidae

Younglampreysliveinthemudonthebottomofstreams.Ittakesupto7yearsfortheyounglampreystogrowup.Lampreyshavesuckingmouthsandsharpteeth.Someadultlampreysareparasites.Theyusetheirsuckingmouthstoattachthemselvestootherfishandsucktheirblood.Lampreyshavenojaws.



TeacherPage.Foruseasanoverheadtransparency.



Download - What are the Characteristics of Some Great Lakes Fish?€¦ · • Use similar characteristics of fish to group them into ... , you can make one that classifies real organisms

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