Great
for ages 6 - 18.
Participants
will observe the importance of specialized adaptations as they study the
different shapes of fish heads, tails, and bodies. Examine fish
scales under the microscope and take home a real gar scale.
If you take some time to watch fish, you’re
likely to observe a variety of behaviors, from swimming to eating, and
resting to defending a territory. You’ll see that different fish
behave in different ways. You may also notice that fish do what they do
for a reason.
Some fish are territorial and will defend
their domain vigorously. The territory may be the fish’s home crevice
in a coral reef, or the cranny where its mate is resting. It can even
be a secret hiding place where its eggs are developing. Fish that guard
a territory can appear quite fierce, often attacking aggressors many times
their size.
Some fish change colors to blend into their
environment or to signal a message. Flatfish, such as flounder, can alter
the color and pattern of their markings to match the sand in which they’re
lying. Groupers flash colors while spawning en masse.
No one know
whether fish truly sleep or if they just rest. Most fish spend at least
part of the time in a quiet state. At night, bass and perch rest on or
under logs. Parrotfish slip into a crevice and secrete a protective mucus
blanket. Nocturnal (night-active) fish rest, too. You can often find squirrelfish
or soldierfish resting in a dark cave by day.
Some fish swim in schools. A school is
a group of fish, all swimming together in the same direction. Watch a
school and you’ll be amazed how all the fish turn at once. A school
may consist of a few fish or millions of fish, swimming as if they were
one organism. Anglers like to fish for schooling species because once
they find a school, and the fish start to bite, the bounty can be quite
rich.
For fish, swimming
in schools can be a smart idea. Schooling reduces: predation (there is
safety in numbers), increases reproductive success (there is always a
mate to be found), helps fish find food (more eyes on the lookout means
more chances of spotting a meal), and it makes swimming easier (each fish
swims in the wake of the fish ahead of it, reducing drag).
Adaptations, whether physical or psychological,
aid in the survival of fish in the wild. The structure of a fish helps
them partition resources. Partitioning resources allows many different
species of fish to live in the same area of a habitat.
Do
You Know???
What
are adaptations?
What special structures and/or adaptations enable you to successfully
compete in different environments?
How are some fish adapted to their specific environment?
How do fish compete for resources in an ecosystem?
How
many different kinds of scales are there?
This activity meets the following Florida Sunshine State Standards:
| LA.A.1.3.3 |
|
LA.C.1.2.5 |
|
LA.C.3.3.2 |
|
SC.F.2.3.3 |
|
SC.G.2.2.1 |
| LA.A.2.3.5 |
|
LA.C.1.3.4 |
|
SC.D.2.3.1 |
|
SC.F.2.3.4 |
|
SC.G.2.3.2 |
| LA.B.2.3.1 |
|
LA.C.1.4.1 |
|
SC.D.2.3.2 |
|
SC.G.1.2.2 |
|
SC.G.2.3.3 |
| LA.B.2.4.2 |
|
LA.C.1.4.3 |
|
SC.F.1.2.3 |
|
SC.G.1.3.2 |
|
SC.G.2.3.4 |
| LA.C.1.2.1 |
|
LA.C.2.2.1 |
|
SC.F.1.3.1 |
|
SC.G.1.3.4 |
|
SC.G.2.4.3 |
| LA.C.1.2.3 |
|
LA.C.2.2.5 |
|
SC.F.1.3.7 |
|
SC.G.1.4.1 |
|
SC.G.2.4.5 |
| LA.C.1.2.4 |
|
LA.C.3.2.2 |
|
SC.F.1.4.1 |
|
|
|
|
Click to
register on-line.
For more information or to register
please call (954) 924-4309, fax (954) 924-4333, e-mail
or mail to:
IGFA
Attn: Education
Department
300 Gulf Stream
Way
Dania Beach,
FL 33004
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