The Diversity of Fishes: Biology Evolution and

Ecology
Lecture Notes, Study Materials and Important questions answers

Subject : The Diversity of Fishes: Biology

Evolution and Ecology
Introduction
1. The science of ichthyology - Answer (click here)
2. What is a fish? - Answer (click here)
3. The diversity of fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Superlative fishes - Answer (click here)
5. A brief history of ichthyology - Answer (click here)

Systematic procedures
1. Species - Answer (click here)
2. Taxonomy versus systematics - Answer (click here)
3. Approaches to classification - Answer (click here)
4. Taxonomic characters - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Vertebrate classes - Answer (click here)
6. Units of classification - The Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature - Answer (click here)
8. PhyloCode - Answer (click here)
9. Name changes - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
10. Collections - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)

Skeleton skin and scales

1. Skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Neurocranium - Skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Branchiocranium - Skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Postcranial skeleton - Skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Appendicular skeleton - Skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
 6. Epidermis - Integumentary skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Scales - Integumentary skeleton of Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Scale morphology in taxonomy and life history - Integumentary skeleton
of Fishes - Answer (click here)

Soft anatomy
1. Muscles - Anatomy of Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Cardiovascular system of Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Alimentary canal of Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Gas bladder of Fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Kidneys of Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Gonads of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Nervous system of Fishes - Answer (click here)

Oxygen metabolism and energetics

1. Respiration and ventilation of Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Water as arespiratory environment - Respiration and ventilation of
Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Aquatic breathing - Respiration and ventilation of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
4. Air-breathing fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Gas transport of Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Metabolic rate of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Swimming of Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Buoyancy regulation of Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Energy intake of Fishes - Answer (click here)
10. Bioenergetics models of Fishes - Answer (click here)

Sensory systems
1. Mechanoreception - Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Lateral line system - Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Equilibrium and balance - Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Hearing in fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Electroreception - Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Electroreceptors - Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Electrical communication - Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Electrical attack and defense - Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Vision - Fishes - Answer (click here)
10. Visual adaptations for special habitats - Fishes - Answer (click here)
 11. Chemoreception - Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Magnetic reception - Fishes - Answer (click here)

Homeostasis
1. Coordination and control of regulation - Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Temperature relationships - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click here)
3. Coping with temperature fluctuation - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click
here)
4. Heterothermic fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Coping with temperature extremes - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click
here)
6. Thermal preference - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click here)
7. Osmoregulation, excretion, ion and pH balance - Fishes: Homeostasis -
Answer (click here)
8. Osmoregulation in different types of fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Control of osmoregulation and excretion - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer
(click here)
10. pH balance - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click here)
11. The immune system of Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Stress - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click here)
13. Indicators of stress - Fishes: Homeostasis - Answer (click here)

Functional morphology of locomotion and feeding

1. Locomotion: movement and shape - Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Locomotory types - Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Specialized locomotion - Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Swimming in sharks: the alternative approach - Fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Feeding: biting, sucking,chewing, and swallowing - Fishes - Answer (click
here)
6. Jaw protrusion: the great leap forward - Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Pharyngeal jaws - Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Dentition - Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Mouth position and function - Fishes - Answer (click here)

Early life history

1. Complex life cycles and indeterminate growth - Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Early life history:terminology - Fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Gametogenesis - Eggs and sperm of Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Fertilization - Eggs and sperm of Fishes - Answer (click here)
 5. Embryology - Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Meristic variation - Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Larvae - Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Larval feeding and survival - Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Larval behavior and physiology - Answer (click here)
10. Larval morphology and taxonomy - Answer (click here)
11. Getting from here to there: larval transport mechanisms - Answer (click
here)

Juveniles adults age and growth

1. Juveniles - Answer (click here)
2. Transitions and transitional stages - Juveniles - Answer (click here)
3. Complex transitions: smoltificationin salmon, metamorphosis in flatfish
- Answer (click here)
4. Determination, differentiation, and maturation - Adults Adults - Answer
(click here)
5. Maturation and longevity - Adults Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Death and senescence - Adults Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Age - Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Growth - Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Body size, scaling, and allometry - Fishes - Answer (click here)
10. Ontogenetic differences within species - Fishes - Answer (click here)
11. Evolution via adjustments in development: heterochrony,
paedomorphosis, and neoteny - Fishes - Answer (click here)

A history of fishes
1. A history of fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Jawless fishes - A history of fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Subphylum Craniata, Infraphylum Vertebrata - A history of fishes -
Answer (click here)
4. Later evolution of primitive agnathous fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Gnathostomes: early jawed fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Class Placodermi - Gnathostomes: early jawed fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Advanced jawed fishes I: teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
8. Class Acanthodii - Advanced jawed fishes I: teleostomes (Osteichthyes)
- Answer (click here)
9. Class Sarcopterygii - Advanced jawed fishes I: teleostomes
(Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
10. Tetrapodamorphs: tetrapod ancestors - Advanced jawed fishes :
teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
 11. Class Actinopterygii - Advanced jawed fishes : teleostomes
(Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
12. Subclass Cladistia - Class Actinopterygii, Advanced jawed fishes :
teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
13. Subclass Chondrostei - Class Actinopterygii, Advanced jawed fishes :
teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
14. Subclass Neopterygii - Class Actinopterygii, Advanced jawed fishes :
teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
15. Division Teleostei - Class Actinopterygii, Advanced jawed fishes :
teleostomes (Osteichthyes) - Answer (click here)
16. Trends during teleostean phylogeny - Answer (click here)
17. Advanced jawed fishes II: Chondrichthyes - Answer (click here)
18. Subclass Elasmobranchii - Advanced jawed fishes: Chondrichthyes -
Answer (click here)
19. Subclass Holocephali - Advanced jawed fishes: Chondrichthyes - Answer
(click here)
20. A history of fishes: summary and overview - Answer (click here)

Chondrichthyes sharks skates rays and chimaeras

1. Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
2. Modern neoselachian diversity - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click
here)
3. Body size - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
4. Habitats - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
5. Movement and home ranges - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click
here)
6. Metabolism and growth rate: life in the slow lane - Subclass
Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
7. Feeding habits - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
8. Sensory physiology - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
9. Reproduction and development - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click
here)
10. Shark conservation - Subclass Elasmobranchii - Answer (click here)
11. Chimaeras - Subclass Holocephali - Answer (click here)

Living representatives of primitive fishes

1. Amphioxiforms - Jawless fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Hagfishes and lampreys: evolutionary relationships - Jawless fishes -
Answer (click here)
3. Myxiniforms - Jawless fishes - Answer (click here)
 4. Petromyzontiforms - Jawless fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Subclass Coelacanthimorpha: the living coelacanths - Primitive bony
fishes - Answer (click here)
6. The living coelacanths, at least for now - Answer (click here)
7. Subclass Dipnoi, Order Ceratodontiformes: the lungfishes - Primitive
bony fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Class Actinopterygii, Subclass Cladistia: bichirs and Reedfish -
Primitive bony fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Cladistian autapomorphic and synapomorphic traits - Answer (click here)
10. Class Actinopterygii, Subclass Chondrostei, Order Acipenseriformes:
sturgeons and paddlefishes - Answer (click here)
11. Acipenseridae - Class Actinopterygii, Subclass Chondrostei, Order
Acipenseriformes: sturgeons and paddlefishes - Answer (click here)
12. Polyodontidae - Class Actinopterygii, Subclass Chondrostei, Order
Acipenseriformes: sturgeons and paddlefishes - Answer (click here)
13. Subclass Neopterygii, Order Lepisosteiformes (or Semionotiformes): the
gars - Answer (click here)
14. Order Amiiformes: the Bowfin - Answer (click here)

Teleosts at last I bonytongues through anglerfishes

1. Teleostean phylogeny - Answer (click here)
2. Subdivision Osteoglossomorpha - teleostean fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Subdivision Elopomorpha - teleostean fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Subdivision Otocephala (= Ostarioclupeomorpha), Superorder
Clupeomorpha - teleostean fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Subdivision Otocephala (= Ostarioclupeomorpha), Superorder
Ostariophysi - teleostean fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Subdivision Euteleostei - teleostean fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Subdivision Euteostei, Superorder Protacanthopterygii - teleostean fishes
- Answer (click here)
8. Neognathi - Answer (click here)
9. Acanthomorpha: thespiny teleosts - Answer (click here)
10. Superorder Lampriomorpha - Acanthomorpha: thespiny teleosts - Answer
(click here)
11. Superorder Polymixiomorpha - Acanthomorpha: thespiny teleosts -
Answer (click here)

Teleosts at last IIspiny rayed fishes

1. Superorder Acanthopterygii: introduction - Answer (click here)
 2. Series Mugilomorpha - Answer (click here)
3. Series Atherinomorpha - Answer (click here)
4. Series Percomorpha:basal orders - Answer (click here)
5. Series Percomorpha, Order Perciformes: the perchlike fishes - Answer
(click here)
6. Suborder Percoidea - Answer (click here)
7. Suborder Elassomatoidei - Answer (click here)
8. Suborder Labroidei - Answer (click here)
9. Suborder Zoarcoidei - Answer (click here)
10. Suborder Notothenioidei - Answer (click here)
11. Suborder Trachinoidei - Answer (click here)
12. Suborder Blennioidei - Answer (click here)
13. Suborders Icosteoidei,Gobiesocoidei, and Callionymoidei - Answer (click
here)
14. Suborder Gobioidei - Answer (click here)
15. Suborder Kurtoidei - Answer (click here)
16. Suborder Acanthuroidei - Answer (click here)
17. Suborder Xiphioidei - Answer (click here)
18. Suborder Scombroidei - Answer (click here)
19. Suborder Stromateoidei - Answer (click here)
20. Suborder Anabantoidei - Answer (click here)
21. Suborder Channoidei - Answer (click here)
22. Suborder Caproidei - Answer (click here)
23. Order Pleuronectiformes - Answer (click here)
24. Order Tetraodontiformes - Answer (click here)

Zoogeography
1. Marine fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Major ecological divisions - Marine fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Indo-West Pacific region - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer
(click here)
5. Western Atlantic region - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer
(click here)
6. Eastern Pacific region - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer
(click here)
7. Eastern Atlantic region - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer
(click here)
8. Mediterranean Sea - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes - Answer (click
here)
9. Arctic and Antarctic fishes - Marine zoogeographic regions fishes -
 Answer (click here)
10. Freshwater fishes - Answer (click here)
11. Nearctic region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Neotropical region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
13. Palearctic region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
14. African region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
15. Oriental region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
16. Australian region Freshwater Fishes - Answer (click here)
17. Archaic freshwater fish distributions - Answer (click here)
18. More recent freshwater fish distributions - Answer (click here)
19. Similarities between South American and African freshwater fishes -
Answer (click here)
20. Middle American freshwater fishes - Answer (click here)

Fish genetics
1. Fish genomics - Answer (click here)
2. Molecular ecology - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
3. Population genetics - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
4. Dispersal and population structure - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
5. Pelagic larval duration and population structure - Fish genetics - Answer
(click here)
6. Habitat preference - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
7. Complex population structure - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
8. Fish genetics: Phylogeography - Answer (click here)
9. Dispersal and vicariance revisited - Fish genetics: Phylogeography -
Answer (click here)
10. Freshwater fishes - Fish genetics: Phylogeography - Answer (click here)
11. Anadromous fishes - Fish genetics: Phylogeography - Answer (click here)
12. Marine fishes - Fish genetics: Phylogeography - Answer (click here)
13. Transarctic interchange between the North Pacific and North Atlantic -
Fish genetics: Phylogeography - Answer (click here)
14. Molecular evolution - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
15. The deepest vertebrate radiations: are you a fish? - Answer (click here)
16. The history of ray-finned fishes - Answer (click here)
17. Mapping an evolutionary innovation in parrotfishes - Answer (click here)
18. Cryptic evolutionary diversity: the case of the bonefishes - Answer (click
here)
19. The cichlid radiation of Lake Malawi - Answer (click here)
20. Conservation genetics - Fish genetics - Answer (click here)
21. Molecular identification in the marketplace - Fish genetics - Answer (click
here)
Special habitats and special adaptations
1. The deep sea - Answer (click here)
2. Physical factors affecting the deep sea - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
3. Convergence in the deep sea - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. The open sea - Answer (click here)
5. Adaptations to the open sea - Answer (click here)
6. Foraging - Answer (click here)
7. Life history patterns in pelagic fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Flotsam - Answer (click here)
9. Evolution and convergence - Deep sea - Answer (click here)
10. Polar regions - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
11. Antarctic fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Adaptations and constraints of Antarctic fishes - Answer (click here)
13. Arctic fishes - Answer (click here)
14. Deserts and other seasonally arid habitats - Diversity of Fishes - Answer
(click here)
15. North American deserts - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
16. Strong currents and turbulent water - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
17. Caves - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
18. Adaptations to cave living - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
19. Preadaptation, evolution, and convergence in cave fishes - Answer (click
here)

Fishes as predators
1. Search and detect - Fishes as predators - Answer (click here)
2. Pursuit - Fishes as predators - Answer (click here)
3. Attack and capture - Fishes as predators - Answer (click here)
4. Handling - Fishes as predators - Answer (click here)
5. Scavengers, detritivores, and herbivores - Fishes as predators - Answer
(click here)
6. Optimally foraging fishes - Fishes as predators - Answer (click here)

Fishes as prey
1. Avoiding detection: Camouflage - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
2. Avoiding detection: Invisible fishes - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
3. Avoiding detection: Early detection - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
4. Avoiding detection: Shoaling and search - Fishes as prey - Answer (click
 here)
5. Evading pursuit - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
6. Preventing and deflecting attacks - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
7. Discouraging capture and handling - Fishes as prey - Answer (click here)
8. Balancing foraging against predatory threat - Fishes as prey - Answer
(click here)

Fishes as social animals reproduction

1. Reproductive patterns among fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Lifetime reproductive opportunities - Reproductive patterns among
fishes - Answer (click here)
3. Mating systems - Reproductive patterns among fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Gender roles in fishes - Reproductive patterns among fishes - Answer
(click here)
5. Sexual selection, dimorphism, and mate choice - Fishes as social
animals: Courtship and spawning - Answer (click here)
6. Spawning site selection and preparation - Fishes as social animals:
Courtship and spawning - Answer (click here)
7. Courtship patterns - Fishes as social animals: Courtship and spawning -
Answer (click here)
8. Spawning site selection and preparation - Fishes as social animals:
Courtship and spawning - Answer (click here)
9. The spawning act - Fishes as social animals - Answer (click here)
10. Extent and diversity of care - Parental care of Fishes - Answer (click here)
11. The gender of care-givers - Parental care of Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. The costs of care - Parental care of Fishes - Answer (click here)
13. Alternative mating systems and tactics - Fishes as social animals -
Answer (click here)

Fishes as social animals aggregation aggression and cooperation

1. Visual communication of Fishes - Fishes as social animals - Answer (click
here)
2. Acoustic communication of Fishes - Fishes as social animals - Answer
(click here)
3. Chemical communication of Fishes - Fishes as social animals - Answer
(click here)
4. Tactile communication of Fishes - Fishes as social animals - Answer (click
here)
5. Electrical communication of Fishes - Fishes as social animals - Answer
(click here)
6. Agonistic interactions of Fishes - Answer (click here)
 7. Behavioral hierarchies - Agonistic interactions of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
8. Territoriality - Agonistic interactions of Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Home ranges - Agonistic interactions of Fishes - Answer (click here)
10. Aggregations Shoaling of Fishes - Answer (click here)
11. Optimal group size - Aggregations of Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Parasitism - Interspecific relations of Fishes: symbioses - Answer (click
here)
13. Mutualism and commensalism - Interspecific relations of Fishes:
symbioses - Answer (click here)
14. Interspecific shoaling - Interspecific relations of Fishes: symbioses -
Answer (click here)

Cycles of activity and behavior

1. Light-induced activity patterns - Fishes: Diel patterns - Answer (click here)
2. Vertical migrations - Fishes: Diel patterns - Answer (click here)
3. Circadian rhythms - Fishes: Diel patterns - Answer (click here)
4. Tidal patterns - Fishes: Diel patterns - Answer (click here)
5. Semilunar and lunar patterns - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Activity and distribution - Seasonal patterns of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Reproductive seasonality - Seasonal patterns of Fishes - Answer (click here)
8. Seasonal reproduction: proximate and ultimate factors - Seasonal
patterns of Fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Annual and supra-annual patterns: migrations of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
10. Diadromy - Annual and supra-annual patterns: migrations of Fishes -
Answer (click here)
11. Mechanisms of migration - Annual and supra-annual patterns:
migrations of Fishes - Answer (click here)
12. Representative life histories of migratory fishes - Answer (click here)

Individuals populations and assemblages

1. Life histories and reproductive ecology of Fishes - Answer (click here)
2. Population dynamics and regulation - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click
here)
3. Production of Fishes - Answer (click here)
4. Genetic structure of populations - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
5. Hybridization - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
6. Assemblages - Diversity of Fishes - Answer (click here)
7. Niches and guilds: the ecological role of a species - Diversity of Fishes:
 Assemblages - Answer (click here)
8. Habitat use and choice - Diversity of Fishes: Assemblages - Answer (click
here)
9. Habitat choice and spatial structure: zonation - Diversity of Fishes:
Assemblages - Answer (click here)
10. Competition - Diversity of Fishes: Assemblages - Answer (click here)
11. Predation - Diversity of Fishes: Assemblages - Answer (click here)
12. Synthesis: what determines assemblage structure among coral reef
fishes? - Answer (click here)

Communities ecosystems and the functional role of fishes

1. Community-level interactions between fishes and other taxonomic
groups - Answer (click here)
2. The effects of fishes on plants - Answer (click here)
3. Effects of fishes on zooplankton - Answer (click here)
4. Effects of fishes on benthic invertebrates - Answer (click here)
5. Turnover rates and the inverted food pyramid - Effects of fishes - Answer
(click here)
6. Fishes in the ecosystem - Answer (click here)
7. Indirect effects and trophic cascades - Fishes in the ecosystem - Answer
(click here)
8. Nutrient cycling and transport by fishes - Answer (click here)
9. Fishes in food webs - Answer (click here)
10. Fishes as producers and transporters of sand, coral, and rocks - Answer
(click here)
11. Influence of physical factors and disturbance - Diversity of Fishes -
Answer (click here)

Conservation and the future of fishes

1. Extinction and biodiversity loss - Answer (click here)
2. Threatened and endangered fishes - Extinction and biodiversity loss -
Answer (click here)
3. General causes of biodiversity decline - Answer (click here)
4. Habitat loss and modification - General causes of fish biodiversity
decline - Answer (click here)
5. Species introductions - General causes of fish biodiversity decline -
Answer (click here)
6. Pollution - General causes of fish biodiversity decline - Answer (click here)
7. Commercial exploitation - General causes of fish biodiversity decline -
Answer (click here)
8. Global climate change - General causes of fish biodiversity decline -
Answer (click here)
9. What can be done against fish Biodiversity loss? - Answer (click here)