Marine Vertebrates

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Ecology Notes Marine Vertebrates Name Phylum or Class Habitat Diet Predators Special Features Great White Chondrichthyes Coastal and Fish People Sense of smell Shark (cartilaginous offshore Mammals Orca Regrow teeth fish) waters Sea turtles Birds Cod Osteichthyes Cruises along Crabs People Strong jaws (bony fish) bottom Clams Salmon Actinopterygii Barnacles Other fish (ray-finned fish) Blue Whale Mammalia Migrate Baleen sifts Young killed by Largest animal Mexico to out krill orcas today Arctic Endangered Sea Turtle Reptilia Migrate vast Jellyfish Tiger shark Flippers for distances Crustaceans Eggs eaten by feet Lay eggs on raccoons and Endangered beach birds Gull Aves Along coast Scavenger: Adults have Noisy Near dumps Fish, crabs few Aggressive, live Garbage in colonies Sea Horse Osteichthyes Along calm Sucks in small Cod Swim upright (bony fish) coastal waters plankton Rays Male carries Actinopterygii Grassy seas Fish eggs Larger fish eggs until they (ray-finned hatch fish) Clown Fish Osteichthyes Live in Plankton Shark Immune to (bony fish) anemone Dead anemone Barracuda sting – Actinopterygii parts protective (ray-finned mucus fish) Flounder Osteichthyes Bottom of Worms Osprey One eye (bony fish) sandy coastal Small benthic Rays migrates – Actinopterygii seas organisms Cod camouflage (ray-finned fish) Manatee Mammalia Inner coastal Marine grass No natural Harmed by waterways and and weeds predators boats and bays pollution Endanged Sea Otter Mammalia Cold Pacific Sea star, Orcas Thick brown Coastal waters clams, crab, fur sea urchins Endangered Name Phylum or Class Habitat Diet Predators Special Features Tuna Osteichthyes Open seas Fish Predatory fish Fast swimmers (bony fish) Crustaceans Toothed Actinopterygii Squid whales (ray-finned fish) Shad Osteichthyes Born in & Smaller fish People Migrate like (bony fish) spawn in river salmon Actinopterygii Live mostly in (ray-finned ocean fish) Dolphin Mammalia Coastal and Fish Orcas Has beak open water Very intelligent Sea Lion Mammalia Many in Alaska Dive for fish Polar bears Thick come up on and squid Orcas insulating fur shore Endangered American Eel Osteichthyes Rivers, bays Other fish People Migrate (bony fish) Ocean to Insect larvae Bigger fish Actinopterygii spawn (ray-finned fish) Puffin Aves Cold, rocky Fish Hawks, large Plump, orange coastlines fish triangular beak, dive into sea Parrot Fish Osteichthyes Coral reefs Coral is Sharks Strong beak - (bony fish) crushed to get like jaws Actinopterygii algae and (ray-finned organisms fish) Orca Mammalia Coastal and Fish No natural Hunt in pods open seas Seals predators Sea Lions Otters Sting Ray Chondrichthyes Warm, shallow Worms Shark Can use stinger (cartilaginous bottom Crabs once fish) Osprey Aves Coastal- Salmon and No natural Nests high up marshy areas flounder predators Huge wing span Penguin Aves Southern Fish Aquatic Flightless hemisphere Crustaceans mammals Can drink salt Cephalopods water .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

American Eel (Anguilla Rostrata)
Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Animal Information Series American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) Do they have any other names? The names “glass eel” or “elver” are used to describe young, developing eels. Why are they called American eels? The closest relatives to the American eel are other freshwater eels found in Europe and Asia; therefore they are called American eels because they are only in America. Anguilla is the Latin name for eel and rostrata is Latin for “beaked,” in reference to the snout. What do they look like? American eels are a brownish-colored fish with a slender, snake-like body and a small, pointed head. The body appears smooth and mucousy; however there are small scales present. They have a long dorsal fin that is more than half the length of the body and attached to the tail and anal fins. American eels do not have pelvic fins, but do have pectoral fins (on the sides near the head). The lower jaw projects farther than the upper jaw and they have many small teeth. Photo Credit: Duane Raver/USFWS 2012-MLC Page 1 Where do they live in Indiana? American eels are rare in Indiana and are found in large streams and rivers. They can sometimes be found in ponds or lakes that are not connected to a river, although this seldom happens. What kind of habitat do they need? American eels are found in large streams or rivers with continuous flow and clear water. During the day eels like to stay near logs, boulders, or other cover.
[Show full text]
American Eel Anguilla Rostrata Contributor: John W
American Eel Anguilla rostrata Contributor: John W. McCord DESCRIPTION: Taxonomy and Basic Description The American eel, Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur 1817), belongs to the freshwater eel family, Anguillidae. Related species occur throughout the world, but the American eel is the only North American anguillid eel. Eels are snake-shaped and covered with a mucous layer that renders them slimy to the touch despite the presence of minute scales. A continuous, low fin runs from the middle of the back, around the tail, and ends behind the vent. Relatively small pectoral fins originate near the animals midline and immediately posterior to the head and gill-covers. Coloration varies with stage of maturity and habitat, but eels are generally dark olive, yellowish or slate-gray above and light below. Eels from dark, tannic acid streams are darker while those from clear streams and estuaries are lighter (pers. obs.). The American eel is catadromous; it spawns in oceanic waters but uses freshwater, brackish and estuarine systems for most of its developmental life. Sexually mature adults, called silver eels, migrate from freshwater to the sea in fall. Their destination for spawning is the Sargasso Sea, an expansive portion of the central North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bahamas and south of Bermuda. Adults are thought to die after spawning. The largest females produce nearly 20 million eggs (Barbin and McCleave 1997). Mature females in the southern portion of the eel’s range are generally smaller and carry as few as 400,000 eggs (Wenner and Musick 1974). Eggs hatch into a brief pre-larval stage before transformation into the active leptocephalus stage.
[Show full text]
American Eel Julia Beaty University of Maine
The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Maine Sea Grant Publications Maine Sea Grant 2014 Fisheries Now: American Eel Julia Beaty University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/seagrant_pub Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons Repository Citation Beaty, Julia, "Fisheries Now: American Eel" (2014). Maine Sea Grant Publications. 74. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/seagrant_pub/74 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine Sea Grant Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. (http://www.downeastfisheriestrail.org) American eel Fisheries Now: American eel By Julia Beaty Reviewed by Dan Kircheis, Fred Kircheis, James McCleave Watch “Harvester perspectives on alewives, blueback herring, and American eels in Downeast Maine (http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/oralhistoriesalewifeeel)” oral history video series. A complex life cycle The American eel is the only species in the Gulf of Maine that spends most of its life in fresh water but spawns at sea (a life cycle known as catadromy). American eels are born in the Sargasso Sea, a large area of the Atlantic Ocean south of Bermuda and east of the Bahamas. American eel larvae (known as leptocephali) are transported by ocean currents for nearly a year until they reach the east coast of North America. As they near the coast, leptocephali metamorphose into an early juvenile stage known as a glass eel. The timing of the arrival (http://www.downeastfisheriestrail.org/wp of glass eels along the coast of Downeast Maine is content/uploads/2014/11/eels_now_01.png) driven by water temperature and usually takes Elvers caught in the Union River in Ellsworth, Maine in 2011.
[Show full text]
American Eel Anguilla Rostrata
COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the American Eel Anguilla rostrata in Canada SPECIAL CONCERN 2006 COSEWIC COSEPAC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF COMITÉ SUR LA SITUATION ENDANGERED WILDLIFE DES ESPÈCES EN PÉRIL IN CANADA AU CANADA COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC 2006. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the American eel Anguilla rostrata in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. x + 71 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge V. Tremblay, D.K. Cairns, F. Caron, J.M. Casselman, and N.E. Mandrak for writing the status report on the American eel Anguilla rostrata in Canada, overseen and edited by Robert Campbell, Co-chair (Freshwater Fishes) COSEWIC Freshwater Fishes Species Specialist Subcommittee. Funding for this report was provided by Environment Canada. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: (819) 997-4991 / (819) 953-3215 Fax: (819) 994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Évaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur l’anguille d'Amérique (Anguilla rostrata) au Canada. Cover illustration: American eel — (Lesueur 1817). From Scott and Crossman (1973) by permission. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2004 Catalogue No. CW69-14/458-2006E-PDF ISBN 0-662-43225-8 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – April 2006 Common name American eel Scientific name Anguilla rostrata Status Special Concern Reason for designation Indicators of the status of the total Canadian component of this species are not available.
[Show full text]
American Eel (Anguilla Rostrata )
American Eel (Anguilla rostrata ) Abstract The American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) is a freshwater eel native in North America. Its smooth, elongated, “snake-like” body is one of the most noted characteristics of this species and the other species in this family. The American Eel is a catadromous fish, exhibiting behavior opposite that of the anadromous river herring and Atlantic salmon. This means that they live primarily in freshwater, but migrate to marine waters to reproduce. Eels are born in the Sargasso Sea and then as larvae and young eels travel upstream into freshwater. When they are fully mature and ready to reproduce, they travel back downstream into the Sargasso Sea,which is located in the Caribbean, east of the Bahamas and north of the West Indies, where they were born (Massie 1998). This species is most common along the Atlantic Coast in North America but its range can sometimes even extend as far as the northern shores of South America (Fahay 1978). Context & Content The American Eel belongs in the order of Anguilliformes and the family Anguillidae, which consist of freshwater eels. The scientific name of this particular species is Anguilla rostrata; “Anguilla” meaning the eel and “rostrata” derived from the word rostratus meaning long-nosed (Ross 2001). General Characteristics The American Eel goes by many common names; some names that are more well-known include: Atlantic eel, black eel, Boston eel, bronze eel, common eel, freshwater eel, glass eel, green eel, little eel, river eel, silver eel, slippery eel, snakefish and yellow eel. Many of these names are derived from the various colorations they have during their lifetime.
[Show full text]
Fishes Scales & Tails Scale Types 1
Phylum Chordata SUBPHYLUM VERTEBRATA Metameric chordates Linear series of cartilaginous or boney support (vertebrae) surrounding or replacing the notochord Expanded anterior portion of nervous system THE FISHES SCALES & TAILS SCALE TYPES 1. COSMOID (most primitive) First found on ostracaderm agnathans, thick & boney - composed of: Ganoine (enamel outer layer) Cosmine (thick under layer) Spongy bone Lamellar bone Perhaps selected for protection against eurypterids, but decreased flexibility 2. GANOID (primitive, still found on some living fish like gar) 3. PLACOID (old scale type found on the chondrichthyes) Dentine, tooth-like 4. CYCLOID (more recent scale type, found in modern osteichthyes) 5. CTENOID (most modern scale type, found in modern osteichthyes) TAILS HETEROCERCAL (primitive, still found on chondrichthyes) ABBREVIATED HETEROCERCAL (found on some primitive living fish like gar) DIPHYCERCAL (primitive, found on sarcopterygii) HOMOCERCAL (most modern, found on most modern osteichthyes) Agnatha (class) [connect the taxa] Cyclostomata (order) Placodermi Acanthodii (class) (class) Chondrichthyes (class) Osteichthyes (class) Actinopterygii (subclass) Sarcopterygii (subclass) Dipnoi (order) Crossopterygii (order) Ripidistia (suborder) Coelacanthiformes (suborder) Chondrostei (infra class) Holostei (infra class) Teleostei (infra class) CLASS AGNATHA ("without jaws") Most primitive - first fossils in Ordovician Bottom feeders, dorsal/ventral flattened Cosmoid scales (Ostracoderms) Pair of eyes + pineal eye - present in a few living fish and reptiles - regulates circadian rhythms Nine - seven gill pouches No paired appendages, medial nosril ORDER CYCLOSTOMATA (60 spp) Last living representatives - lampreys & hagfish Notochord not replaced by vertebrae Cartilaginous cranium, scaleless body Sea lamprey predaceous - horny teeth in buccal cavity & on tongue - secretes anti-coaggulant Lateral Line System No stomach or spleen 5 - 7 year life span - adults move into freshwater streams, spawn, & die.
[Show full text]
New York and New York and Long Island Field Offices Strategic Plan
New York and Long Island Field Offices Strategic Plan FY2012 Table of Contents Page Strategic Plan Introduction 6 New York Focal Area Map 8 ALLEGHENY FOCAL AREA 9 Allegheny Focal Area Map 10 Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 11 Broad-winged Hawk Species Action Plan 19 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 27 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 35 Clubshell Species Action Plan 43 Eastern Hellbender Species Action Plan 51 Rayed Bean Species Action Plan 63 Spotted Darter Species Action Plan 70 FINGER LAKES ONONDAGA FOCAL AREA 78 Finger Lakes/Onondaga Focal Area Map 79 American Hart’s-tongue Fern Species Action Plan 80 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 86 Bog Turtle Species Action Plan 95 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 103 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 113 Chittenango Ovate Amber Snail Species Action Plan 122 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 129 Lake Sturgeon Species Action Plan 139 Leedy’s Roseroot Species Action Plan 148 Massasauga Rattlesnake Species Action Plan 154 GREAT LAKES FOCAL AREA 160 Great Lakes Focal Area Map 162 American Woodcock Species Action Plan 163 ii Bald Eagle Species Action Plan 173 American Black Duck Species Action Plan 182 Bobolink Species Action Plan 192 Bog Turtle Species Action Plan 199 Broad-winged Hawk Species Action Plan 205 Brook Trout Species Action Plan 212 Cerulean Warbler Species Action Plan 221 Common Tern Species Action Plan 229 Houghton’s Goldenrod Species Action Plan 237 Indiana Bat Species Action Plan 244 Lake Sturgeon Species Action Plan 253 Massasauga Rattlesnake Species Action Plan 262 Piping
[Show full text]
Class Wars: Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes Dominance in Chesapeake Bay, 2002-2012
Class Wars: Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes dominance in Chesapeake Bay, 2002-2012. 01 July 2013 Introduction The objective of this analysis was to demonstrate a possible changing relationship between two Classes of fishes, Osteichthyes (the bony fishes) and Chondrichthyes (the cartilaginous fishes) in Chesapeake Bay based on 11 years of monitoring. If any changes between the two Classes appeared to be significant, either statistically or anecdotally, the data were explored further in an attempt to explain the variation. The Class Osteichthyes is characterized by having a skeleton made of bone and is comprised of the majority of fish species worldwide, while the Chondrichthyes skeleton is made of cartilage and is represented by the sharks, skates, and rays (the elasmobranch fishes) and chimaeras1. Many shark species are generally categorized as apex predators, while skates and rays and some smaller sharks can be placed into the mesopredator functional group (Myers et al., 2007). By definition, mesopredators prey upon a significant array of lower trophic groups, but also serve as the prey base for apex predators. Global demand for shark and consequential shark fishing mortality, estimated at 97 million sharks in 2010 (Worm et al., 2013), is hypothesized to have contributed to the decline of these apex predators in recent years (Baum et al., 2003 and Fowler et al., 2005), which in turn is suggested to have had a cascading effect on lower trophic levels—an increase in mesopredators and subsequent decrease in the prey base (Myers et al., 2007). According to 10 years of trawl survey monitoring of Chesapeake Bay, fish species composition of catches has shown a marked change over the years (Buchheister et al., 2013).
[Show full text]
Natural Mortality and Size Structure of Introduced Blue Catfish in Virginia Tidal Rivers
Introduced Blue Catfish Mortality and Size Structure . Hilling et al. Natural Mortality and Size Structure of Introduced Blue Catfish in Virginia Tidal Rivers Corbin D. Hilling, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Aaron J. Bunch, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Charles City, VA 23030 Robert S. Greenlee, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Charles City, VA 23030 Donald J. Orth, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Yan Jiao, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Abstract: In the 1970s and 1980s, blue catfish Ictalurus( furcatus) were introduced to the tidal rivers of Virginia. Current abundances and uncertainty about population characteristics of blue catfish generated concern for other economically important and imperiled species. We estimated natural mor- tality and size structure of blue catfish for four tidal river systems (i.e., James, Mattaponi, Pamunkey and Rappahannock). Using common empirical estimators with pooled data from the period 2002–2016, we calculated five estimates of natural mortality. Proportional size distributions were used to examine changes in size structure over time. Maximum observed age of 25 years indicated mature populations. Estimated mean instantaneous natural mortality (M) from five empirical estimators ranged from 0.13–0.19 in the four rivers. Temporal trends in size structure differed among rivers, likely due to differences in stocking timing and riverine productivity. Proportions of memorable and trophy size blue catfish appear to have recently declined in three of four rivers, but size-structure indices demonstrated continued viability of the James River trophy fishery.
[Show full text]
Systematic Morphology of Fishes in the Early 21St Century
Copeia 103, No. 4, 2015, 858–873 When Tradition Meets Technology: Systematic Morphology of Fishes in the Early 21st Century Eric J. Hilton1, Nalani K. Schnell2, and Peter Konstantinidis1 Many of the primary groups of fishes currently recognized have been established through an iterative process of anatomical study and comparison of fishes that has spanned a time period approaching 500 years. In this paper we give a brief history of the systematic morphology of fishes, focusing on some of the individuals and their works from which we derive our own inspiration. We further discuss what is possible at this point in history in the anatomical study of fishes and speculate on the future of morphology used in the systematics of fishes. Beyond the collection of facts about the anatomy of fishes, morphology remains extremely relevant in the age of molecular data for at least three broad reasons: 1) new techniques for the preparation of specimens allow new data sources to be broadly compared; 2) past morphological analyses, as well as new ideas about interrelationships of fishes (based on both morphological and molecular data) provide rich sources of hypotheses to test with new morphological investigations; and 3) the use of morphological data is not limited to understanding phylogeny and evolution of fishes, but rather is of broad utility to understanding the general biology (including phenotypic adaptation, evolution, ecology, and conservation biology) of fishes. Although in some ways morphology struggles to compete with the lure of molecular data for systematic research, we see the anatomical study of fishes entering into a new and exciting phase of its history because of recent technological and methodological innovations.
[Show full text]
Fish I.D. Guide
mississippi department of wildlife, fisheries, and parks FRESHWATER FISHES COMMON TO MISSISSIPPI a fish identification guide MDWFP • 1505 EASTOVER DRIVE • JACKSON, MS 39211 • WWW.MDWFP.COM Table of Contents Contents Page Number • White Crappie . 4 • Black Crappie. 5 • Magnolia Crappie . 6 • Largemouth Bass. 7 • Spotted Bass . 8 • Smallmouth Bass. 9 • Redear. 10 • Bluegill . 11 • Warmouth . 12 • Green sunfish. 13 • Longear sunfish . 14 • White Bass . 15 • Striped Bass. 16 • Hybrid Striped Bass . 17 • Yellow Bass. 18 • Walleye . 19 • Pickerel . 20 • Channel Catfish . 21 • Blue Catfish. 22 • Flathead Catfish . 23 • Black Bullhead. 24 • Yellow Bullhead . 25 • Shortnose Gar . 26 • Spotted Gar. 27 • Longnose Gar . 28 • Alligator Gar. 29 • Paddlefish. 30 • Bowfin. 31 • Freshwater Drum . 32 • Common Carp. 33 • Bigmouth Buffalo . 34 • Smallmouth Buffalo. 35 • Gizzard Shad. 36 • Threadfin Shad. 37 • Shovelnose Sturgeon. 38 • American Eel. 39 • Grass Carp . 40 • Bighead Carp. 41 • Silver Carp . 42 White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis) Other Names including reservoirs, oxbow lakes, and rivers. Like other White perch, Sac-a-lait, Slab, and Papermouth. members of the sunfish family, white crappie are nest builders. They produce many eggs, which can cause Description overpopulation, slow growth, and small sizes in small White crappie are deep-bodied and silvery in color, lakes and ponds. White crappie spawn from March ranging from silvery-white on the belly to a silvery-green through May when water temperatures are between or dark green on the back with possible blue reflections. 58ºF and 65ºF. White crappie can tolerate muddier There are several dark vertical bars on the sides. Males water than black crappie. develop dark coloration on the throat and head during the spring spawning season, which can cause them to be State Record mistaken for black crappie.
[Show full text]
The Absence of Sharks from Abyssal Regions of the World's Oceans
Proc. R. Soc. B (2006) 273, 1435–1441 doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3461 Published online 21 February 2006 The absence of sharks from abyssal regions of the world’s oceans Imants G. Priede1,*, Rainer Froese2, David M. Bailey3, Odd Aksel Bergstad4, Martin A. Collins5, Jan Erik Dyb6, Camila Henriques1, Emma G. Jones7 and Nicola King1 1University of Aberdeen, Oceanlab, Newburgh, Aberdeen AB41 6AA, UK 2Leibniz-Institut fu¨r Meereswissenschaften, IfM-GEOMAR, Du¨sternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany 3Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA 4Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen Marine Research Station, 4817 His, Norway 5British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK 6Møre Research, Section of Fisheries, PO Box 5075, 6021 Aalesund, Norway 7FRS Marine Laboratory, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen AB11 9DB, UK The oceanic abyss (depths greater than 3000 m), one of the largest environments on the planet, is characterized by absence of solar light, high pressures and remoteness from surface food supply necessitating special molecular, physiological, behavioural and ecological adaptations of organisms that live there. Sampling by trawl, baited hooks and cameras we show that the Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimaeras) are absent from, or very rare in this region. Analysis of a global data set shows a trend of rapid disappearance of chondrichthyan species with depth when compared with bony ﬁshes. Sharks, apparently well adapted to life at high pressures are conspicuous on slopes down to 2000 m including scavenging at food falls such as dead whales.
[Show full text]