Ichthyology

Ιntroduction to General Morphology of Pisces and their Systematic, Biology of Reproduction, Growth and Nutrition and Ecology and Ethology of Pisces, the study of fish populations and finally Fisheries and Management Inventory. The course is chosen and taught in the Department of Biology Undergraduate Curriculum, in VII semester with cognitive background prerequisite compulsory courses of Zoology I and II. The course is based on theory lectures and laboratories. The lectures of the theory lasts two hours a week and the laboratories last three hour each and they are 10 in total. An educational visit to Keratsini auctions.

Objectives

Ν/Α

Prerequisites

Zoology I and Zoology II

Syllabus

General Morphology of Fish - Systematics (4 Hours): External morphology and systematic characters. Internal structure and evolutionary relationships of the various systems.. Reproduction (4 Hours): Anatomy of the Reproductive system, maturity, fecundity, gametogenesis, sex-determination, hermaphroditism and reproductive strategies. Embryological and early development in Fishes. Feeding, Nutrition and Growth (6 Hours): Feeding strategies and morphological adaptations. Mechanisms of food intake. Nutrition. Age, growth and von Bertalanffy equation. Ecology and Behavior (8 Hours): Zoogeography of Fishes. Factors affecting the distribution. Adaptations to extreme environments. Locomotor responses to stimuli. Swimming. Communication and interactions. Symbiosis, predation and parasitism. Shoaling. Migrations. Fish Population Studies (4 Hours): Characteristics of fish populations. Exponential and logistic increase of population. Fishing and natural mortality. Stock evaluation models. Fish marking techniques. Fisheries and stock management (2 Hours): Fishing technology, fish production and fishing effort. Fishery impact on the stocks and marine ecosystems. Management. Practicals: 1. External anatomy of a bony fish, meristic and morphometric measurements. 2. Taxonomy and fish identification. 3. Internal anatomy of a bony fish, gonad maturity stages (microscopic and macroscopic study). 4. External anatomy of a shark, meristic and morphometric measurements. 5. Internal anatomy of a shark, gonad maturity stages and fecundity. 6. Age estimation methods and techniques. Otolith extraction. 7. Estimation of growth parameters (von Bertalanffy equation). 8. Size distributions, length-weight relationships. 9. Applications of FishBase. 10. Observing fish behavior (aquarium study). 11. Sampling and study of fish (field and laboratory exercise). 12. Class presentations and written report due. Educational excursion: Visit Keratsini fish auction - Sampling.