lecture #1 - introduction to ichthyology, august 25, 2008. 1. roll 2. introduction to the course. a)...

Lecture #1 - Introduction to Ichthyology, August 25, 2008.

1. Roll

2. Introduction to the course.a) syllabusb) laboratory guidec) extra-creditd) student expectations

3. Introduction to ichthyologya) What is a fish?b) General patterns in fish abundance and distributionc) Systematics review

4. 5-10 minute discussion with graduate students

course website: http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/463/

IB Student Picnic Hosted by the School of Integrative Biology

Thursday, Sept 4

5-8 PM

Illini Grove Pavilion

(corner of Lincoln and Pennsylvania Ave)

Free Food

Free T-shirt

Meet Faculty

Find out what SIB is all about and meet other IB majors!

Illini Grove Pavilion5-8 pm

• Food served 5:30 to 7:30 pm

• Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, veggie burgers

• Ranch beans, potato salad, watermelon

• Cookies

• Pop and water

• RSVP to Debbie Lanter, 333-3044 or email dlanter@life.uiuc.edu

Important Points

1. Textbook for the course.

- there will be assigned readings from the book. Most materialwill be covered in lecture, but not all. You will be held responsible for readingthe book.

2. Lab packet. - Will be ready in the next few weeks. We won’t use it until the latter half of the semester. Today, I will take requests from students to cover certain fishes.

- We cover Illinois fish to genus-species.

-We cover fishes of the world to family.

Think about which fishes you would liketo cover.

Course Objectives

1. Know your fishes! -- Systematics and taxonomy of the major groups of fishes.

2. Know how your fishes work in their environments. -- Form and function of fishes.

3. Understand what controls the abundance and diversity of fishes. -- Ecology, evolution, and conservation of fishes.

We will mix up these topics somewhat.

Required Work

1. Three exams. - short answer, essay, quantitative problems,

illustrations, etc. - note, I will post a set of review questions at least 1

week prior to each test. Also, at the end of each lecture, there will be review questions for that section.

2. Fish Friday presentation.- starting on September 19, we will have students lead

the class. Students will get into pairs and prepare a 20 minutepresentation on a group of fish. We will sign up for slots nextFriday (August 29). More details will be coming.

Required Work (cont’d.)

3. Lab practical. On December 8, you will have a lab practical. You will

be expected to identify the fish covered in the lab manual. Wewill have several small, practice practicals leading up to the actual practical.

4. Written paperUndergraduates will write an opinion paper on a topic

of concern in ichthyology. I have listed several potential topicson the handout. Papers will be approximately 6-10 pagesdouble-spaced.

Graduate students - We will discuss possible paper assignments at the end of this class period.

Grade Assignments

There are 6 graded assignments - 3 tests, 1 lab practical, 1 Fish Fridaypresentation, 1 written paper. Each assignment counts for 50 points and 1/6 ofyour total grade.

GradingA = 90 -100%B = 80 - 90%C = 70 - 80%

The rest we won’t discuss in polite company.

I may choose to scale the grades at the end if I feel that this is necessary.

This shouldn’t be necessary because there are multiple opportunities for extra-credit.

Ichthyology Lab - Field Work

5 days in the field

tomorrow, August 26, 1-5 pmSaturday, September 6 - all day (7 am until late)

Tuesdays, September 9, 16, and 23

What to wear - old clothes that can get wet; waders are available; shorts & t-shirts are fine, too.

Please do not wear sandals in the water. Closed toe shoes. You may change into sandals for the ride home if you wish.

Tomorrow - Please meet on the west side of NHB. We will get the waders and dipnets and leave at 1 pm. Daniel and I will load the nets and buckets, but we need a couple of volunteers to help us unload when we return.

What to bring: water, snack (if you get hungry), towel, sunscreen

Saturday, September 6 - Field trip to Illinois River Station at Havana.

All day field trip. Meet at 7 am at NHB. Drive to Havana, IL. Go out on boats, seine along the Illinois River, etc. We will see lots of cool stuff.

What to bring: waders, water, sunscreen, towel, a change of clothes, lunch.

We will stop on the way home for dinner, so bring $$. (or you can pack a dinner).

http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/caec/ltrm/photoindex.html

Extra-Credit Opportunities

1. Attend seminars on fish. I will remind you of these asthey come closer. (5 points each)

2. Visit the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. (5 points)

3. Visit one of the state run fisheries. (10 points)

4. Visit Twin Caves State Park in Indiana and see the northern blind cavefish. (10 points)

5. Buy a fish, boil it so that the tissue detaches from the bones, and glue the skeleton back together. (20 points)

Student Expectations

1. Are there specific subjects (pertaining to fish) that you would like to learn about?

2. Are there certain groups of fish that you would like to learn about?

3. What year are you (junior, senior, grad)?

4. What do you want to do when you finish your schooling?

What is a fish?

DIVERSITY OF FISHES

Total estimate of all known species =1.4 -1.6 million species

Approx. 55,000 chordates -mammals -fishes -birds -reptiles and amphibians

Homology - Possession by two or more species of a trait derived, with or without modification, from their common ancestor

Turtle Human Horse Bird Bat Seal

Phalanges

Humerus

Radius and ulnaCarpalsMetacarpals

Review Questions

1. Define “fish”. Does fish refer to a monophyletic group? Why or why not?

2. Define monophyletic, polyphyletic, and paraphyletic. Give an example of eachtype of group and explain why it meets the definition.

3. Define homology and synapomorphy. Why are these types of traits importantfor systematics?

4. How many fish are there? How many occur in freshwater vs. saltwater? Does this match the distribution in the total amount of fresh vs. saltwater on theearth? Can you postulate why we see the types of patterns we see?

5. In what areas of the planet do we see the highest diversity of fish species? Can you postulate why we see these patterns? How many species are there in the eastern/southeastern US?