Fishionary

A blog about fish words!

By Abigail Lynch

A blog about fish words!

S

Substrate

November 8, 2019 by abby

Guest post: Bonnie Myers, North Carolina State University, USGS Substrate in streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean creates important fish habitat and plays an important role in multiple fish life history processes, daily activity, and prey availability. Substrate in aquatic habitats consists of surface and subsurface materials in the streambed, riverbed, or ocean bottom with different fish … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: habitat

Smoltification

May 19, 2017 by abby

Guest post by Emily Argo Each year adult salmon migrate upstream to spawn (lay eggs) putting into motion their offsprings’ journey from hatching to making their way back to the ocean as juveniles. In addition to being a spectacular event to witness, these migrations also play a central role in ecosystem health. Over 100 different … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: anadromous, parr, salmon, smolt

Scute

January 29, 2016 by abby

A scute is an external bony plate on the surface of a fish.  Scutes serve a protective function, acting as a body armor for fish against environmental abrasions and even predation. In some fishes, such as Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), scutes are a row of scales modified into sharp, protective plates.  In other fishes, like Shovelnose … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: body armor, scales, scute, sturgeon

Swim bladder

August 14, 2015 by abby

The swim bladder is an air filled organ used by some fish to maintain buoyancy at a desired depth and produce or hear sound. Physostomous swim bladders are directly connected to the gastrointestinal tract so that fish with these swim bladders, such as herrings, must “gulp” air to inflate their swim bladder and “burb” or … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: auditory, hearing, physoclistous, physostomous, swim bladder

Stenotherm

May 8, 2015 by abby

In contrast to eurytherms, senothermic fish can only function in a narrow range of water temperatures.  Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), for example, function optimally approximately between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius.  This thermoregulatory strategy requires that organs, enzymes, and metabolic processes operate in a small temperature band and makes these fish particularly vulnerable to environmental changes. … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: eurytherm, stenotherm, stenothermic, temperature, thermoregulation

Schreckstoff

October 31, 2014 by abby Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween! Schreckstoff, German for “scary stuff,” is a chemical compound, glycosaminoglycan chondroitin, that some fish species release when they are injured.  This “take-one -for-the-team” signal lets their conspecifics know that there is danger in the area.  But more than just an alarm signal, Schreckstoff also serves as an immune response for the injured individual, warding off parasites and … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: "scary stuff", glycosaminoglycan chondroitin, Schreckstoff

Strategies—Fish Mating

February 19, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

FISH MATING STRATEGIES In honor of Valentines Day, please enjoy the first series of post for this blog post on fish mating strategies!  Check back weekly for new additions to the “Fish-ionary.” Promiscuous: A mating system where both sexes have multiple partners during the breeding system.  In fishes, this is the most common mating system.  … [Read more…]

Posted in: S Tagged: fish mating, strategies

Fishionary Alphabet

  • Home
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Recent Posts

  • Alevin
  • Abyssopelagic zone
  • Kype
  • Fish conservation zones (FCZs)
  • Amphidromous
The views expressed in these posts are solely the views of the AFS member who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), its officers, or the U.S. Geological Survey. Both organizations make no representation on the accuracy of opinions expressed in this blog. AFS merely hosts voluntary blogs as a place for members to share their personal views with other AFS members and to engage in friendly exchanges on fish topics.

Copyright © 2023 Fishionary.

Church WordPress Theme by themehall.com