Before You Get Started... The goal at the heart of the State-Fish Art Program is creating the future stewards of our lakes, rivers, streams and oceans ... our precious aquatic resources. We believe that EDUCATION through Fish On! Leads to the ACTION of entering the Contest which is a key to CREATING STEWARDSHIP! The Fish On! Lesson Plan is written for educators teaching grades four through twelve. It can easily be modified to include K-3. You can pick & choose which exercises you want to offer your students. On average it takes 2-4 class periods. THEN, TAKE ACTION After learning all about fish, their habitat and conservation needs you are ready to enter the State-Fish Art Contest. REMEMBER THE ENTRY DEADLINE IS MARCH 31 Fish On! using art as a springboard into the fascinating world of fish T HE A The Wildlife Forever® R T State-Fish Art™ Project Lesson Plan CONSERVA OF Open to Grades 4-12 interdisciplinary ~ multimedia environmental education Bringing aquatic conservation into classrooms Learn about fish species, their habitat and T …….. conservation needs ION Draw, paint, and sketch your way to free prizes, …….. fishing gear, and national recognition! ® Wildlife Forever 763.253.0222 5350 HWY 61 N, Suite 7 www.wildlifeforever.org White Bear Lake, MN 55110 www.statefishart.com Fish On! Objectives Students will: 1) Label the parts of a fish and describe their function. Subjects 2) Outline a simple aquatic food chain. 3) Explain several characteristics associated with fish adaptation ■ Language Arts including gills, fins, and scales. ■ Art 4) Describe specific examples of fish behavior including feeding and spawning. Skills 5) Identify their state-fish, its physical appearance, and its habitat ■ Identify requirements. ■ Research ■ Write Vocabulary ■ Illustrate Anadromous Lateral line Prey Camouflage Milt Redd Time Carnivore Omnivore Salt water ■ 2 to 4 class periods Cold-blooded Plankton Vertebrate Fresh water Predatory Background How many different species of fish are there? How are fish adapted to life under water? How do fish reproduce? How can you determine the age of a fish? What do fish eat? What kind of defense mechanisms do fish have? What is a group of fish called? (Note: the answers to these questions are found throughout the text. However, for quick reference turn to the procedure section.) There are over 25,000 different species of fish in the world and roughly 2,000 in North America. In fact, fish represent more Apache trout Illustration by Joseph Tomelleri Wildlife Forever • Fish On! 7 than half of all vertebrate animals. There are flat GILLS fish, skinny fish, and fish that crawl on land. Gills are thin, feathery-like membranes located There are flying fish, electric fish, and fish that live inside slit-shaped openings behind the head. Fish in schools. get oxygen from the water by passing it through Fish vary greatly in size and color. Some are their mouths and over their gills. Oxygen is tiny, measuring only two inches in length like the absorbed through the gill membranes and carbon Naked Goby. Others are giants. The Whale Shark dioxide is removed. measures some 50 feet. That’s longer than a school bus! Some fish are drab and mottled. Some are FINS patterned with stripes, bars, and spots. While Fins aid in maneuverability. Each fin has a others are aglow with brilliant color: red, yellow, particular function. orange, green, pink, silver, and blue. The tremendous s The pectoral fin is found at the side behind diversity among fish is a result of 400 million years the gills. It helps with diving, swimming to the of evolution and unique environmental conditions surface, and remaining stationary. associated with life in the water. s The dorsal fin is vertical from the back. It helps keep the fish from rolling. Adapting to life in the water: s The pelvic fin is a stabilizer. It helps with Gills, fins, scales balance. The caudal fin or tail helps to propel The oldest group of vertebrates, fish can be s and steer. A forked tail allows for increased found wherever there’s water. Three quarters of speed, whereas a broad tail allows for increased the Earth’s surface is covered by water, including maneuverability. salt water (oceans, tidal pools, and coral reefs) and The anal fin is located near the rear of the fresh water (lakes, cold mountain streams, and s belly. It helps with balance. slow-moving rivers). Fish are specially adapted to life in the water, they have permanent gills, and most have fins and scales. Wildlife Forever • Fish On! 8 Placoid scale (shark) Ganoid scale (gar) Ctenoid scale (perch) Cycloid scale (salmon) SCALES SIGHTS, SMELLS, AND SOUNDS Most fish have a flexible armor of protective The underwater world is often murky or cloudy, scales covering their bodies. There are four kinds which limits visibility to about 100 feet or less. of scales: placoid, ganoid, ctenoid, and cycloid. Although fish have good peripheral vision Placoid are tooth-like. Ganoid are diamond due to the position of their eyes and many shaped. Ctenoid are comb-like, and cycloid have a scientists believe that they can see color, they rely rounded appearance. Ctenoid and cycloid are the predominantly on their senses of smell and sound. two most common scale types. In fact, most fish use smell to find food, locate a Scales vary in size from one species to another spawning site, and avoid danger. Nostrils, called and may be as large as a silver dollar. Scales do not “nares,” are prominently located on the snout. increase in number but grow as an animal grows. Many fish are carnivores and use smell Scales grow faster during the summer months to locate their prey. They feed on other fish, when food is abundant. Each year, an “annual marine invertebrates such as squid, amphibians ring” is laid down within each scale. Counting the such as frogs, and zooplankton, which are tiny, consecutive annual rings will provide an estimate microscopic animals. of the age of the animal. The scales are coated Some fish use smell to locate a preferred with a slimy layer of mucous that has antiseptic spawning site. Anadromous species such as properties, which protect the animal against salmon begin their lives in fresh water but migrate disease and parasites. to salt water where they live until they reach maturity. At spawning time, they use their sense of GAS BLADDER OR SWIM BLADDER smell to guide them back to the freshwater stream Most fish have a gas bladder or swim bladder, or river of their birth, in some cases which is an airtight sac or balloon-like organ in traveling thousands of miles. the gut area. The gas bladder or swim bladder selectively takes in gases from the bloodstream to regulate floatation and buoyancy. Some fish, including the shark and tuna, do not have a gas bladder or swim bladder, which is why they must remain in constant motion or they will sink. Chinook salmon Illustration by Joseph Tomelleri Wildlife Forever • Fish On! 9 Channel catfish Illustration by Joseph Tomelleri Fish also use smell to communicate, secreting to blend in with their weedy environment. Sole chemical scents called “pheromones,” which serve are flatfish with coloration that resembles pebbles as a means of communication between members or sand allowing them to virtually mimic their of the same species. For example, some species, environment. Further, most fish are patterned such as tuna, live together in a large protective with bars, stripes, or spots, which provide group called a “school.” When a member of the additional camouflage by breaking up an school is attacked by a predator, it secretes a otherwise distinctive silhouette. pheromone to warn the others of danger. Some fish can actually change color during Fish have ear-like openings on either side of the spawning season (breeding season) or as their head, which provide for excellent hearing. they age. Color can also vary according to water And some fish, such as catfish, have whisker-like temperature, sex, and even location. Generally, appendages with taste buds called “barbels,” which brightly colored fish are found in the tropics, fish provide added sensory capability as they probe the that live near the surface are bluish-green, and fish bottom for food. that live near the bottom are brownish. Counter shading, also called “obliterative LATERAL LINE: “A SIXTH SENSE” camouflage,” is a very common type of protective Fish have a unique system of sensory nerves coloring. Counter shading refers to fish that located in the skin called the lateral line, which have darker-colored backs and lighter-colored in many ways serves as their sense of touch. The undersides such as sharks, rays, billfish, trout, and lateral line extends from just behind the head cod. Counter shading provides a certain amount along to the tail on either side of the fish. The of protection and concealment from predators lateral line detects the slightest movement of water, above such as bald eagles and osprey and which helps a fish to avoid danger or to capture predators below such as other fish and otters. food in otherwise dark or cloudy water. COLD-BLOODED CAMOUFLAGE: PROTECTIVE COLORING Fish are cold-blooded or ectothermic animals, Most fish have some kind of protective coloring which means their body temperature depends called camouflage. Camouflage is an adaptation on their environment. As such, water temperature that enables fish to disguise themselves or to greatly affects distribution. Most fish are found in blend-in with their surroundings. Camouflage temperate areas. Amphibians and reptiles are also can take many forms. It can be a color that allows cold-blooded animals. In contrast, warm-blooded an animal to blend in with its environment or an or endothermic animals such as mammals and appearance that allows an animal’s shape to mimic birds are able to maintain a constant body its environment.