Biogeography is the study of patterns in distribution of fish (or other) species. Biogeography provides an understanding of where populations are currently present and can help infer evolutionary relationships at a broad scale, including historic population isolation and colonization events. Geologically, many species patterns can be tracked with plate tectonics. The study of biogeography can … [Read more…]
BRD is an acronym for bycatch reduction device. Bycatch is non-target catch within any fishery. For certain fisheries, these modifications to the gear (i.e., BRDs) can help lower the amount of bycatch. For example, a turtle excluder device (TED) is a specific type of BRD designed to help turtles escape trawl nets. Especially in cases where fisheries have bycatch … [Read more…]
Bioluminescence is a chemical process by which some fish species can produce their own source of light. They have light producing organs known as photophores. The light is emitted from specialized cells called photocytes or from symbiotic fluorescent bacteria that are cultured by the fish in photophores. Most fish bioluminescence is blue (because blue-green light transmits … [Read more…]
Bycatch is non-target catch within any fishery. Bycatch can be either different species from the target of the fishery or individuals from the target species, generally juveniles, which are not of a marketable size. Most bycatch is tossed back because it is illegal to possess or it has no commercial value. In certain fisheries, however, … [Read more…]
The benthic zone is region of a body of water (lake, river, or ocean) that is near the bottom. It includes the surface and some of the sub-surface layers of the sediment. The sediment can sand, mud, rocks, coral, among other substances. Benthos are organisms living in the benthic zone. These organisms are predominately invertebrates, … [Read more…]