The most common fish in the sea is likely a fish that you’ve never seen or even heard of…
Category: Fun Fish Fodder
Minnow misconceptions
Just like they say, ‘more species, more problems’…well, we’ve got lots of problems. The minnow family—Cyprinidae (Sy-Prin-I-Dee)—is the largest freshwater fish family in the world, boasting over 3,000 species from ~370 genera. But because of that great diversity, minnows are one of the most misunderstood groups of fishes on the planet. As a scientist who…
Great Lakes, Great #SciComm
Co-authored by Katie O’Reilly, Nicole Wood, and Solomon David #SocialGreatLakes: Communicating Great Lakes Science through Social Media was a special session at the 60th annual meeting of the International Association for Great Lakes Research held in Detroit, Michigan, from May 15-19, 2017. During #SocialGreatLakes, eleven speakers from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines shared their…
What is Bowfishing?
Guest Author: Jason Emmel Editor: Patrick Cooney WHAT IS BOWFISHING? It’s not really fishing in the traditional sense. It’s not really bowhunting either. Bowfishing is somewhere in-between and the basic principle is quite simple. You spot a fish lurking in the shallows, carefully move in closer, draw back your specially equipped bow and arrow, take…
Top 5 Most Dangerous Sea Creatures
A while back we covered the most venomous fish. And even though we are the Fisheries Blog, we still report on other aquatic critters now and then. Given the interest in our list of venomous fish, we wanted to expand to include other things in the ocean that can ruin your day. We are also not requiring that…
Beavers are fish? During Lent they are, and so are other weird creatures.
By Patrick Cooney We know just how important fish are for all you folks waking up this morning with a raging headache after a Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday bender. Just ask McDonalds how important fish are during this time of year…they sell 25% of all Filet-o-Fish sandwiches during the 40 day Lent period. Besides fish, did…
Predators reject yellow perch egg skeins
Yellow perch produce eggs in gelatinous ribbons, but so far nobody knows why. We explored this peculiar trait by conducted some experiments to see if these ribbons protect eggs from predators. Helpless and delicious. Fish eggs and larvae are an energy-rich meal for predators. For some species, predator consumption of eggs and larvae can reach up…
The 7 Wonderful Pikes, Pickerels, and Muskies of the World!
Guest Author: Sasha Doss Editor: Patrick Cooney Artist: Hannah Dean White Sox, Red Sox, Esox. People obsess more about one of these three “sox” than the other two. Only fisherpeople will know which one prevails. Studying Muskellunge has been such a wonderful experience. Many of my days over the past few years as a graduate…
Dananananananana BAT RAY
Like Gotham’s caped crusader, Bat Rays soar through their surroundings. The Bat Ray is a key benthic predator and a model example of unique sensory adaptations, making the Bat Ray a hero in its own right!
Black Bass Diversity and Conservation: The Challenge Continues
Guest writer: Andrew Taylor Editor: Patrick Cooney I. The Species Question In a recent article, The Fisheries Blog asked the question: How many black bass (genus Micropterus) species are there? As it turned out, the article demonstrated that the answer is quite complicated. That previous post highlighted the nine species that the majority of black…
Fish biodiversity by the numbers
I was recently asked why I study stream and river fishes. Of course I rattled off several of the high points about threatened habitats, high biodiversity, and simply cool fish. But that question prompted me to reflect on why I do what I do, and I decided to go back to ‘square one’– the well-accepted…
Fused Jaws and Male Pregnancy: The fascinating world of horses and dragons of the sea
Guest Author: Paul Anderson, PhD, Research Scientist, Mystic Aquarium Artist: Hannah Dean Editor: Patrick Cooney It is an honor to be invited to share my passion for a very unique group of fish here with you on The Fisheries Blog! In ancient Greek, syn = together, gnathos = jaws, and formes = of similar form….
How long can fish live?
While a pet Goldfish has a typical lifespan of 6-7 years, your average aquarium fish cannot compare to these short-lived and long-lived species!
Do fish have ears? And if so, what impacts do people have on their ability to hear?
By: Dana Sackett At first glance, fish don’t appear to have ears, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear. While there are usually no openings on a fish’s head for sound to enter, they do have inner ears that pick-up sound through their body. In fact, many fish rely on their ears to find habitat…
Perch, bream, and sunfish–what’s the difference?
Perch, bream, and sunfish—same thing right? WRONG. Local names vary for these popular sport fishes, and this post is aimed to clear the water on such a confusing subject. So just what is a “sunfish”? Technically, a sunfish is any species in the freshwater fish family Centrarchidae (sin-tr-ark-i-day). These include black basses, rock basses, crappies, banded sunfishes,…
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