How long can loaches live without food?

Why are fish so diverse?

One reason fish are so diverse is that 70 percent of the planet is covered in water. The animals in this group live in a variety of habitats ranging from coral reefs and kelp forests to rivers, streams, and the open ocean. Another is that fish are very old on the evolutionary scale.

How many families of fish are there in the world?

A third of these species fall within the nine largest families; from largest to smallest, these families are Cyprinidae, Gobiidae, Cichlidae, Characidae, Loricariidae, Balitoridae, Serranidae, Labridae, and Scorpaenidae. About 64 families are monotypic, containing only one species.

What is the best book on the diversity of fish?

“Catalog of Fishes”. California Academy of Sciences. Helfman, G.; Collette, B.; Facey, D.; Bowen, B. (2009). The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Are fish able to navigate?

Although previous studies have shown that fish can navigate within aquatic environments, the authors suggest this study shows the ability to navigate – which is essential for animal survival in many domains including for finding food, shelter and mates – is universal to all species and independent of the environment.

How has the Shannon Diversity Index for fish and invertebrates increased?

The Shannon diversity index for fish and invertebrate significantly increased in most of the bays, and occupancy probably of the majority of fish and invertebrate species increased over time.

How has species diversity changed across the coast of Texas?

Our results show that 90 species increased their occupancy probability, while 33 decreased (remaining species neither increase or decrease), and the ranges of many species expanded. Using rarefaction analysis, which allows for the estimation of species diversity, we show that species diversity has increased across the coast of Texas.

How do bays affect the diversity of fish and invertebrates?

The diversity index for fish increased significantly in five of the nine bays and did not decline significantly in any of the bays (Fig. 2 ). Similarly, the diversity index for invertebrates increased significantly in four bays and did not decline in any (Fig. 3 ).

Why are we so interested in fish?

A more obvious reason for interest in fishes is their role as a moderate but important part of the world’s food supply. This resource, once thought unlimited, is now realized to be finite and in delicate balance with the biological, chemical, and physical factors of the aquatic environment.

What can fish teach us about disease research?

Zebrafish play an important role in research at Johns Hopkins. Frazer Matthews and Hannah Edelman take us on a tour of the facility where 30,000 fish help researchers unlock clues to disease. For many years, fruit flies were the species of choice for genetics researchers, sharing better than 61 percent of genes with humans.

What is the ISBN number for the diversity of fishes?

ISBN 9780412429309. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Helfman, G.; Collette, B.; Facey, D. (1997). The Diversity of Fishes (1st ed.).

What are the best books about fish?

“Catalog of Fishes”. California Academy of Sciences. Helfman, G.; Collette, B.; Facey, D.; Bowen, B. (2009). The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-2494-2. Moyle, Peter B. (1993) Fish: An Enthusiast’s Guide University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91665-4 – good lay text.

What is the range of fish species diversity?

Fish range in size from the huge 16-metre (52 ft) whale shark to the tiny 8-millimetre (0.3 in) stout infantfish . Fish species diversity is roughly divided equally between marine (oceanic) and freshwater ecosystems. Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific constitute the center of diversity for marine fishes,…

Is species diversity increasing in the Texas Coast Bays?

Similarly, the diversity index for invertebrates increased significantly in four bays and did not decline in any (Fig. 3 ). The results suggest that species diversity is generally increasing in the bays along the Texas coast.

Why are there so many fish in coral reefs?

Fish communities in coral habitats are the most former, complex and diverse in the world, and their abundance and distribution are linked to the environmental traits and the feeding requirements of each species 56.

What is the Shannon Diversity Index of a fish?

The local fish database has available per point the total number of captured individuals (N), Species Richness (S) and Shannon diversity index (H), see Table 24. Shannon-Winer Index was described by Fedor & Spellerberg (2013) as generally based on the concept of evenness or equitability.

What is the Shannon Wiener index?

Species diversity is widely used in monitoring ecological change and is often used in the form of an index. The Shannon–Wiener index is one of many indices of species diversity and is one based on the concept of evenness or equitability (i.e., the extent to which each species is represented among a sample).

Why are invertebrates less diverse in Eichhornia?

In this study, stands with dominance of Eichhornia presented lower richness and diversity of invertebrates, probably due to the lower oxygen concentration as well as a limited variety or inaccessibility of resources (Toft et al., 2003; Schultz & Dibble, 2012 ).

Should we use a diversity index in coral reef fish ecology studies?

Our study revealed that choosing a diversity index is often not considered as a key feature in coral reef fish ecology studies. However, the complex and multicomponent aspects of biodiversity clearly imply that using one index rather than another is not meaningless and can strongly alter our perception of biodiversity patterns and responses.

How do animals navigate?

Animal navigation is the ability of many animals to find their way accurately without maps or instruments. Birds such as the Arctic tern, insects such as the monarch butterfly and fish such as the salmon regularly migrate thousands of miles to and from their breeding grounds, and many other species navigate effectively over shorter distances.

Do goldfish navigate?

The scientists say their study shows that goldfish, and perhaps other animals, may have the ability to navigate environments that are radically different from their own. This is important, since navigation is crucial to animal survival.

Do fish have a high environmental tolerance in coastal coastal habitats?

However, our results show that fish communities in the coastal habitats within a region of the Galapagos Islands have a high environmental tolerance, which allows them to persist in their habitat despite drastic seasonal changes in sea temperature.

How do substrate and temperature affect the diversity of fish communities?

While the diversity patterns were more strongly related to the type of substrate, followed by the combination of substrate and depth, and the sea temperature had less influence. These findings were related to the ecological traits of the fish communities and their mobility between habitats.

Why are Coastal Plains ecosystems in Texas threatened?

Coastal plains ecosystems may be threatened by saltwater intrusion. Texas has a rich natural heritage, which raises the stakes for risks from climate change and other factors. For example, Texas ranks third in the nation for endemic vertebrate species, with 126 such species found nowhere else on the globe.

Why do fish persist in their habitats despite sea temperature changes?

Temporal changes in fish community diversity and composition were not detected at all sites, suggesting that these species have high fidelity to their habitats and a high environmental tolerance that allows them to persist in their habitats despite strong changes in sea temperature on the Galapagos archipelago.