FISH ECOLOGY

FIS 307
LECTURE GUIDE

BY:

A.O. AGBONPh.D.,F.I. ADEOSUNPh.D.& N.B. IKENWEIWE Ph.D.

University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

FIS 307: FISH ECOLOGY (2 UNITS)

Lecture 1: Ecology and Management of Fisheries Resources

The management of aquatic ecosystems, particularly the inland water bodies has been of great concern
in the recent time. This is because these ecosystems, endowed with some unique natural resources are
being increasingly degraded leading to ecological instability and disappearance of valuable resources,
some of which are irreversible.
For an ecosystem approach, the fisheries and management systems may be compared using different
systems of boundaries relating to biomes, fishing areas, provinces, LMEs, ecoregions, EEZs, mangroves,
coral reefs, seamounts, estuaries, etc. The last slide reminds that theses ocean areas are more explicitly
tri-dimensional than continental ecosystems. These boundaries do not match, are often fuzzy and shift
seasonally, from year to year and with climate change.

The management of inland water bodies and conservation of fisheries resources in Nigeria has therefore
been principally in the traditional domain, where traditional strategies such as water tenure, taboos,
ritual prohibitions, magic, closed seasons, gear restrictions and flood plain intensification are employed.
According to Scudder and Connelly (1985), some of these traditional strategies (water tenure, taboos,
ritual prohibitions, magic etc.) are inadvertent or unintentional in that they were initially put in place for
reasons other than the management and conservation of the local fisheries, while others (gear
restrictions, closed reasons, flood plain intensification) were termed intentional because they were
designed to protect, conserve and increase some specific fisheries for particular events or reasons.

Ita (1993) reported some unintentional traditional strategies in some northern states of Nigeria, for
example in Sokoto and Kano, where seasonal rivers and flood ponds are closed for fishing in the rainy
season principally to protect the interest of full-time farmers, who return to part-time fishing in the dry
season rather than the protection of the fisheries. Ita (1993) also identified intentional traditional
strategies e.g. gear restrictions, closed seasons in the management of the Argungun fishing festival and
flood plain intensification in Lake Ndakolowu and the flood plains of Anambra and Imo Rivers.
In Edo State, some communities have various forms of traditional beliefs (ritual prohibitions and
taboos), restricting or preventing fishing activities and in some cases as in Ekpoma, even consumption of
the fishes from a local water body.

A CPFM (community practise on fisheries management) would be a dynamic community of people

involved in fisheries management and conservation, knowing each other and working in common ways,
learning jointly how to improve resources conservation and management in fisheries.

It would associate competencies from the necessary disciplines and stakeholder groups and recognize
the value of general concepts, the specificities of ecosystems, political and socio-economic conditions,
jurisdictions, etc. and the possibility to learn from their comparison

It would actively work towards developing a common information repository and memory (social
knowledge)

 We need to learn our new job faster

 We need to share more and faster

 For that, we need:

 To develop one or more Communities of Practice

 To support them with a more organized web information network

 Many elements exist on the web that need to be strengthened and interconnected.

 If we stay fragmented, fisheries will lose the biodiversity challenge

Freshwater fisheries management

River fisheries management

• Focus on maintaining native fishes, game and non-game

• Shenandoah River: Habitat modeling to inform water use decisions in Shenandoah Basin

• New River: Marker-assisted restoration of the native walleye stock

• Smith River: New operating regimes for Philpott Dam recommended based on 5 years of
population and habitat analyses
 Reservoir fisheries management

• Focus on sport fisheries

• Reproductive failure of bass in Virginia’s trophy lakes:

• Assessing and modeling individual growth and condition

• Protected spawning areas

• Management of striped bass in Smith Mountain Lake

Marine fisheries management

• Population dynamics and stock assessment for fishery resources

• Fisheries management

– design of management programs

– Adaptive management

• Develop new models and new modeling approaches in fisheries

• Groupers, hammerhead sharks, horseshoe crabs

 • Single-species management, move towards ecosystem management

Management of non-game species

• Landscape-scale models of fish distribution and abundance

• Habitat associations and causes of rarity in fishes

• Use of fish communities to assess water quality

• Development of risk-assessment tools for conservation planning

• ~300 freshwater mussel species in North America

• 35 sp. considered extinct

• ~70% listed as threatened or endangered

• Tennessee River system a biodiversity hotspot…

• What can we do to conserve freshwater mussels?

• Habitat protection, incl. host fishes, population transfer and augmentation

Human dimensions of fisheries management

• How best to involve the public in setting of management policy?

• Succession planning for the fisheries and wildlife profession

• Management effectiveness of state fish and wildlife agencies

• Evaluation of outreach efforts

• Continuing education—leadership development, public involvement

Lecture 2: Flora-algal Blooms and Eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process whereby water bodies become enriched by nutrients (Phosphorus and
Nitrogen) from both external and internal sources. It is considered as one of the most pressing
environmental problems in both the developed and the developing countries. Eutrophication and excess
blue-green algal (cyanobacteria) growth are one of the major water-quality problems.
Elevated nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems are normally derived from point sources (e.g. municipal
and industrial effluent) and non-point (diffuse) source (e.g. agricultural runoff from fertilised top soils
and livestock operation).

Effects of eutrophication on food web structure—Nutrient enrichment causes an intensification of all

biological activity and typically leads to dramatic changes in the composition and structure of aquatic
food webs. Two of the most consistent eutrophication effects are a shift in algal species composition
and an increase in the frequency and intensity of nuisance algal blooms, which in eutrophic freshwater
lakes are typically dominated by harmful cyanobacteria. One of the most important recent advances in
our understanding of freshwater eutrophication is the discovery that the biological responses of
producer organisms to nutrient availability can be strongly modified by consumer communities.

Eutrophication and grazing can also profoundly alter the biotic community structure of marine
ecosystems. Olsen et al. (2006) found that mesozooplankton dominated by doliolids (Tunicata), but not
by copepods, appeared to buffer the responses of autotrophs to high rates of nutrient loading. Among
the many factors that potentially modify the responses of marine primary producers to nutrients, they
suggested that the timescale over which the enrichment is made and the precise mode of nutrient
enrichment could be very important.

Effects of eutrophication on aquatic biogeochemistry— Nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems

typically results in significant alterations in biogeochemical cycling over both space and time. Elemental
fluxes can be followed with a variety of tools, including mass balance methods. Mass balance models is
an integral part of the eutrophication modeling process.

Lecture 3: Plankton, benthos, biomass assessment

Plankton
Live organisms, essentially microorganisms those drift, or are visibly mobile are referred to as plankton.
The term ‘plankton’ was coined by Victor Hensen in 1887.Plankton, by virtue of drifting habit and short
turnover period, constitutes the major link in the food chain in the reservoir ecosystem. Plankton
provides about 50% of total food required for the fish. Due to their balanced nutritional content,
plankters are referred to as ‘living capsules of nutrition’. These food organisms are broadly
categorized as phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the microscopic plant life of any water body which forms the primary producers
synthesizing the basic food to almost all the animals in an aquatic ecosystem. They form the basic live
feed to all the zooplankton and larval forms of crustaceans, molluscs and fishes. Their importance lies in
the fact that they are photosynthesizing organisms and serve as first link in the food chain. They belong
to the Class Algae which besides chlorophylls possess other characteristic pigments. Most phytoplankton
organisms are unicellular, some are colonial and filamentous in habit. Phytoplankton in reservoirs
include both pelagic and (attached) benthic algae that have broken off from the bottom. By major
taxonomic category, the following traits are characteristic of each major taxon:

Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae):
These mostly non-motile organisms may be pelagic(suspended in the water column) or benthic
(attached to or residing on the bottom of lakes). Diatoms are considered desirable because of their
value as food sources for the rest of the aquatic food web.

Chlorophytes:
These “green” algae are a diverse group that includes forms considered ecologically desirable (i.e.,
suitable for grazing by crustacean zooplankton) as well as those that are not (e.g., flagellated forms and
eutrophic indicator species such as Cladophora spp.). Some make colonies surrounded by a gelatinous
matrix that can be eaten by zooplankton, but pass through the gut undigested. It is difficult to generalize
regarding this group, as they range in size from very large to very small, some are mobile, and many are
not.

Blue-green algae (Cyanophyceae) :

This major category of phytoplankton known as the “blue-green algae” has certain species that may
produce toxins harmful to humans and animals in some circumstances. They are more bacteria-like than
plant-like, but since they may photosynthesize, they are included with the phytoplankton. They can alter
the entire structure of the food web in a lake when they become prevalent, and are generally
considered as less desirable or noxious species. Besides toxins, some forms are filamentous and
therefore less desirable for grazing by many forms of zooplankton. Extensive studies of these properties
have been conducted, but the factors that triggers or control toxin production and the suitability of
various types of blue-greens as crustacean zooplankton food are still a research issue. Blue-green algae
from the mainstay of plankton community in vast majority of the reservoirs studied. The overwhelming
presence of Microcystis aeruginosa in Indian reservoirs is remarkable. The productive water of Gangetic
plains, Deccan plateau, south Tamil Nadu and Orissa invariably has good standing crop of Microcystis.
The species is almost omnipresent in the southern Peninsula, except in the reservoirs of Karnataka and
Kerala, which tend to be oligotrophic and have poor plankton count with desmids and other green algae
as the main constituents.

Dinoflagellates: Dinoflagellates are motile, heterotrophic, or autotrophic forms that can be

considered midway between plant and animal kingdoms. They can form extensive blooms in fresh and
salt water, but are typically more of a problem in marine coastal areas where they may cause red tides
or harmful algal blooms.

Zooplantkon
Zooplankton are planktonic animals that are the primary consumers of phytoplankton. They are
important food web components in the reservoir ecosystem for larval, juvenile and even larger fishes.
The zooplankton communities in reservoir ecosystem are not species enriched. The principal
constituents of zooplankton are rotifers, cladocerans, copepods and protozoans. Some of the food
organisms include the rotifer ( Brachionus, Keratella ). Copepods (Diatoms and Cyclops) and cladocerans
(Daphnia and Moina ). They have high reproduction rate, short generation time and have the ability to
grow and live in crowded conditions.

Copepods: The copepods constitute one of the important components of the food chain in aquatic
ecosystem. Planktonic copepods consist of two major groups, the calanoids and the cyclopoids. Along
with cladocerans, they are the principal food of a whole series of freshwater fishes. The most common
and important ones are the Cyclops spp. And Diaptomus spp.

Rotifer : Rotifers are very small microscopic animals found in large numbers in the planktonic fauna.
When abundant in a water body they are generally indicative of detritus-based food webs that may be
eutrophic or approaching eutrophy. Most of the rotifer forms are well known food of freshwater fishes.
Fry and small fishes eat rotifers. Among them B. calcyflorus and B. rubusta have been proposed as food
for fishes. B. plicatilis have become one of the important components in fish hatcheries.

Cladocerans: Cladocerans are one of the most important of the zooplankton groups, which is good
natural food for fishes. The lower crustacean is the principal food item of plankton and is eaten by fry
and young fish and also by adults in plankton eating fishes like Catla. Adult carnivorous fishes consume
the higher crustaceans. The most common and important ones are the Sida, Alona, Daphnia, and
Bosmina etc.

Benthos
The benthos occupies an important position in the reservoir ecosystem and it plays a key role in the
food chain, which in turn affects the cycling of minerals hence as a component of fish food in an aquatic
ecosystem, the benthos assumes great significance.

Benthic invertebrate fauna show an erratic distribution in Indian reservoirs. The main
factors that retard this community are the predominantly rocky bottom, frequent
water level fluctuation and the rapid deposition of silt and other suspended particles. In spite of this, a
number of reservoirs harbour rich communities of benthic invertebrates. The distribution of benthic
organisms depend on (i) physio-chemical characteristics of water (ii) the nature of sediment (iii) the
biological complexes such as food, predation and other factors. The benthic organisms are also
distributed according to the zones of l a k e f l o o r w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h r e e z o n e s viz . ,
s u b - l i t t o r a l a n d p r o f u n d a l . T h e v a r i o u s zoobenthos encountered in reservoirs of
India the freshwater ecosystem is generally divided into two categories – lotic and lentic type.

(a) Benthos of lotic system:

Benthic communities of lotic environments have gained considerable importance as it
contributes towards the organic production besides serving as main source of fish food.
The abundance of benthos is directly related to the availability of food supply in the form of decaying
organic matter. This is in consonance with the fact that the benthos, particularly
oligocheates are related to detritus and detritus in turn, to plant production. S e v e r a l
other factors like am ount of sunshine, dissolved calcium and vegetation are
further responsible for the increase of population, which ultimately constitute the fish
food.

(b) Benthos of lentic system:

The lentic benthos shows a remarkable decrease wi th the increase of al titude.
Certain other ecological factors like eutrophication, pollution, qu ality and quantity
of aquatic vegetation, texture of lake substratum the physico-chemical features of water etc affect the
distribution and relative abundance of benthos. The period of abundance of aquatic
Hemipterans coincides with the spawning period of some important fishes. Some of the macro
invertebrates occur in association with certain species of aquatic rooted plants
viz., Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum, Hydrilla and Potamogeton.

Phytobenthos: The phytobenthos comprises of epiphytic algae and aquatic soil fungi. The algae
consisted of Cyanophyceae Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, Xanthophyceae, Chrysophyceae,
Dinophyceae, Cryptophyceae and Euglenaceae.

Zoobenthos: The majority of zoobenthos in detritus food chain mostly exhibit diverse feeding habits
depending upon the trophic status. The basic source of food in the form of detritus is supplied by the
annual litter besides other important sources such as animal waste and organic matter transported to
the system. In the next level of trophic system are microbes like bacteria and fungi which act as primary
decomposers (directly feeding on detritus),forming an organic detritus microbe complex. The
quantitative role of decomposers onthe break down process is, however, unknown.
Besides primary decomposers (snail),zoobenthos (Chironomus ) partly takes the role of secondary
decomposers and thus some animals play the duel role of primary as well as secondary
decomposers (eg.Chironomus ). These animals are finally the source of food for benthic
predators thus completing the detritus food chain. The benthic community succession especially that
of chironomids is sometimes used to characterize habitat changes.
Chironomid larvae form the most important constituent of benthos, reported from all soil types and
geographic locations and depths. Gastropods and annelids from the next important groups.
Viviparus bengelensis enjoys countrywide distribution. The sequence of dominance of
benthic communities closely follows the soil fertility pattern, the pre-impoundment debris
often providing suitable habitats.

Factors affecting the abundance and distribution of benthos

High shoreline development, variable slopes and vegetation act as favourable f a c t o r s
for the devel opment of a rich assemblage of benthi c orga nisms. Besides the
physico-chemical parameters of water and soil, the morphometry and hydrography also influence the
benthic community. The water level fluctuations limit the colonisation of b o t t o m
inhabiting organisms. The annual water renewal as well as the
i n c o m i n g floodwaters affect and dislodge the bottom fauna. Some of the organisms, the population
is relatively high, but then species adopt to bottom dwelling the deeper profundal region is very small.
On the contrary, the shallow littoral zone has rich diversity of bottom fauna. Most of the
fishes including major carps and catfishes are feeding on the bottom at varying degrees of intensity.
Hence, a detailed knowledge of the composition, distribution and seasonal abundance of the
bottom fauna is prime requisites form the fisheries point of view.

The abundance of benthos is determined generally by weed infestation, sedimentation, and

pollution. Excessive deposition of sediment at the bottom of water h a m p e r t h e g r o w t h
o f b e n t h i c o r g a n i s m s . P o l l u t i o n f r o m i n d u s t r i a l , m u n i c i p a l a n d agricultural
effluents directly influence the bottom fauna. If any peripheral area of the lake or
reservoir is converted into agricultural field, a direct threat of pollution from pesticides is
definite.

Some group of animals whi ch have a wide bathymetri cal distribution

e g . Chironomids and Oligochaete, increase in their abundance in the total fauna, while
the l i t t o r a l g e t r e d u c e d . T h e p h e n o m e n a a r e d u e t o m i g r a t i o n , w h i c h m a y b e
a c t i v e o r passive, the latter case is influenced by other factors. The dissimilarity if any,
in the bathymetrical distribution is due to the mobility of the particular species. The gastropods mainly
utilize detritus and algae and adapt themselves to thin depth zone.

The bottom fauna distributed in Karnataka was mainly chironomus followed by Molluscs
(Lamellidens marginalis, L. corianus, Viviparus bengalensis, Thiara tuberculata, Lymnea luteola, L.
acuminata and Indoplanorbis exustus ), oligochaetes and prawns. Insect group included mainly
mayfly nymphs, dragonfly nymphs,Chaoborus and Caddisfly larvae. These forms are well
utilized by fishes particularly P . k o l u s , P . sarana, P. dubius
and catfishes like M. aor, M. seenghala, M. cavasius and S. childreni as food items.

Benthic Organism: An organism that lives on or in the bottom of an aquatic ecosystem. It feeds on the
sediment at the bottom of a water body such as an ocean, lake, or river.

Definition of Benthic Zones:The word "benthic" is an aquatic term that's used in association with
anything at the bottom of a body of water. Animals and plants that live on or in the bottom are called
benthos, and there are innumerable habitants that occupy the different depth levels of the water floor.
The levels are divided into zones called, Benthic Zones, and each zone is home to specific habitats and
plants, and each bears its own characteristics that come with the particular depth.

How Zones are Determined : The zones of the marine benthic habitats are mapped out according to the
depth of the water. These zones include the Hadal zone, which is over 6,000 meters deep; the Abyssal
zone, which is 2,000 to 6,000 meters; the Bathyal zone, which is 200 to 2,000 meters, and the Nearshore
and Estuarine zones which are less than 200 meters.

Why Benthic Zones are Important: Each zone is part of the big picture in nature's life cycle and the
ecology of wildlife. The shallow zones, which support spawning, are a nursery, a refuge and foraging
grounds for fisheries species. Other zones produce coral reefs and eelgrass beds that shelter and protect
other species. The recycling of habitats acts as a water filter, removing water contaminants and helping
to keep the body of water as a whole clean. The Near shore zones are not only nesting grounds for small
organisms--they are the food sources for the other zones as well as for birds.

Biomass

Definition (2):

1. Quantity or weight of all living matter in a given area or biological community.

2. Organic matter available on renewable basis, such as agricultural crops, aquatic plants, animal,
municipal, and wood wastes.

Lecture 4: Food and Feeding Habits of Fish

Food habits and feeding ecology research are a fundamental tool to understand fish roles within their
ecosystems since they indicate relationships based on feeding resources and indirectly indicate
community energy flux (Yánez-Arancibia & Nugent 1977, Hajisamaea et al. 2003), which allows inferring
competition and predation effects on community structure (Krebs 1999). Other resources such as space
and time have also been important for community ecology and the ecological theory predicts that
resource partitioning at spatial, temporal and trophic level may increase tolerance of
niche overlap reducing competition pressure between co-occurring species. Ross (1986) identified that
in aquatic environments food is the main factor and that its partition defines functional groups within
the community, which get together in guilds according to trophic similarity.

These trophic guilds (Root 1967) seem to be a consequence of such resource partitioning, which could
explain how several species can coexist in the same space by differing in use of several resource
dimensions. Several studies have focused on competitive exclusion and resource partitioning in teleost
fishes (Zaret & Rand 1971, Hixon 1980, Ross 1986) and have found that habitat partitioning could be
related to high dietary overlap among competing species or to interactive competition, where
competing species have the same preference by preys (Hixon 1980, Jansen et al. 2002).
Feeding habits of some important fishes
Food relationships do at least in part determine the population levels, rates of growth
and condition of fish. They serve as a partial basis for determining the status of v a r i o u s
predatory or competing forms. For any species, food habits change with the
season, life history changes and the kind of food available. Food composition in the gut
of fishes are very important basic inputs in various modeling tools and could provide
useful information in positioning of the fishes in a food web in their environment and in formulating
management strategy options in multi species fishery. The data on stomach c o m p o s i t i o n o f f i s h
i s v i t a l i n p r o v i d i n g s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d m o d e l s o f s t o m a c h c o n t e n t dynamics.

Catla catla
Catla is predominantly a planktophagi c surface feeder having preference
f o r crustaceans and algae. Based on periodic availability of food, catla changes over to more p l a n t
food from animal food and vice versa. For plankton feeding habit a
g r e a t inters-pecific food competition is seen in catla with almost all the inhabiting species at fry stage
as they all mainly prey upon the plankton. The minnows and clupeids are the main competitors of catla
in reservoirs.

Labeo rohita
Rohu is predominantly a surface feeder and planktivore in the fry stage. Rohu forms a great
inter-specific competitor with almost all other inhabiting carp species at the earlier stages of life.
But this competition is considerably reduced from fingering stage o n w a r d s w h e n r o h u
c h a n g e s t h e f e e d i n g h a b i t a n d h a b i t a t , b e c o m e a c o l u m n - b o t t o m feeder and
start consuming food mainly the filamentous algae, mud and sand. Rohu is found to be a
herbivorous fish, consuming more than 75% plant food (unicellular algae a n d
filamentous algae) and the remaining represented by animal food
( b r y o z o a n s , rotifers, insect larvae and crustaceans). The dominant occurrence of algae and
submerged vegetation in the gut indicates the column feeding habit while the presence of
decayed organic matter and mud supports the bottom feeding habit too.

Cirrhinus mrigala
Mrigal is predominantly a bottom feeder in adult stage but surface and mid-water feeder in fry and
fingerling stages. The long intestinal coil in the adult is found to be more suitable for
digestion of the vegetable matter and detritus in the food item. The gut contents are mainly comprised
of decayed organic and vegetable debris, phytoplanktonic organisms and mud.
Cyprinus carpio
Common carp is an omnivorous and it has wide food spectrum. It can adjust the dietary
habit according to the local availability of natural food. It is not usually a plankton f e e d e r b u t t h e y
are sometimes found feeding on zooplankt on if it is abundant in the
environment. It has in general a preference for bottom flora and fauna (Chironomidae,
Ephemeridae, Crustacea, Mollusca and Trichoptera). Fingerlings normally switch over tocolumn and
bottom dwelling food organisms. Feeding intensity is found to vary with thewater temperature.

Ctenopharyngodon idella
Grass carp at larval stages feeds on plankton with preference to nanoplankton, rotifers and
small-sized cladocerans. But they quickly switch over their feeding habits on macrophytes entirely. The
feeding intensity during post spawning months is high and the adults consume
Hydrilla, Vallisneria, Najas, Utricularia and soft leaves of Eichornia.

Hypothalamicthys molitrix
Silver carp is a planktivore. The young and adult exhibit almost similar feedingh a b i t s
w i t h m a j o r d e p e n d e n c e o n Spirulina, Oscillatoria, Chlorella, Microcystis and dominance
on Desmidium, Cosmarium, Staurastrum, Synedra, and Fragilaria.

Puntius spp.
The presence of wide variety of food items in the diet of these cyprinids, indicates a n o m n i v o r o u s
feeding habi t. Detailed dietary composition also showed that all are
omnivorous, but more dependent on benthi c food items. But the presence of
i n s e c t matters, microbenthos, molluscs and crustacean in large biovolumes indicates
that both P . c h o l a and P. dorsalis are insectivorous, and benthivorous fish, while P .
s a r a n a is molluscivorus and insectivorous. Furthermore, the preference on benthic
matter by P.chola and P. dorsalis indicate their bottom feeding habit. The preference on mollusc and
insect matter in P. sarana indicates their ability to feed throughout water column.

Mystus spp.
M. aor in general is a zooplankton feeder at an early stage but the feeding a bit changes to
animal organisms (fishes, may-fly nymphs, molluscs and oligochaetes) in the adult stage. Juveniles
are mostly insectivorous and marginal feeders.

M. seenghala is a bottom and column feeder, predominantly a carnivore right from the advanced fry
stage t o a d u l t . F i s h i s t h e m a i n f o o d i t e m t h o u g h i t c o n s u m e s g o o d
q u a n t i t y o f i n s e c t s depending upon the availability in the environment during different
seasons.

Wallago attu
This is an extremely voracious carnivore, feeds predominantly on fish. Insects, crustacea
and algae are sometimes encountered in the gut. Fingerlings consume insects, other fish fry
and fingerlings. The food of freshwater fish species is a subject of continuous research because it
constitutes the basis for the development of a successful fisheries management programme on
fish capture and culture.
Lecture 5: Food chains and Food Web

Every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live. For example, plants get energy from the sun,
some animals eat plants, and some animals eat other animals.

A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain
nutrition. A food chain starts with the primary energy source, usually the sun or boiling-hot deep sea
vents. The next link in the chain is an organism that make its own food from the primary energy source -
- an example is photosynthetic plants that make their own food from sunlight (using a process called
photosynthesis) and chemosynthetic bacteria that make their food energy from chemicals in
hydrothermal vents. These are called autotrophs or primary producers.

Next come organisms that eat the autotrophs; these organisms are called herbivores or primary
consumers -- an example is a rabbit that eats grass.

The next link in the chain is animals that eat herbivores - these are called secondary consumers -- an
example is a snake that eat rabbits.

In turn, these animals are eaten by larger predators -- an example is an owl that eats snakes.

The tertiary consumers are are eaten by quaternary consumers -- an example is a hawk that eats owls.
Each food chain end with a top predator, and animal with no natural enemies (like an alligator, hawk, or
polar bear).

The arrows in a food chain show the flow of energy, from the sun or hydrothermal vent to a top
predator. As the energy flows from organism to organism, energy is lost at each step. A network of many
food chains is called a food web.

Trophic Levels:
The trophic level of an organism is the position it holds in a food chain.

1. Primary producers (organisms that make their own food from sunlight and/or chemical energy
from deep sea vents) are the base of every food chain - these organisms are called autotrophs.
2. Primary consumers are animals that eat primary producers; they are also called herbivores
(plant-eaters).
3. Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. They are carnivores (meat-eaters) and
omnivores (animals that eat both animals and plants).
4. Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers.
5. Quaternary consumers eat tertiary consumers.
 Food chains "end" with top predators, animals that have little or no natural enemies.

When any organism dies, it is eventually eaten by detrivores (like vultures, worms and crabs) and
broken down by decomposers (mostly bacteria and fungi), and the exchange of energy continues.

Some organisms' position in the food chain can vary as their diet differs. For example, when a bear eats
berries, the bear is functioning as a primary consumer. When a bear eats a plant-eating rodent, the bear
is functioning as a secondary consumer. When the bear eats salmon, the bear is functioning as a tertiary
consumer (this is because salmon is a secondary consumer, since salmon eat herring that eat
zooplankton that eat phytoplankton, that make their own energy from sunlight). Think about how
people's place in the food chain varies - often within a single meal.

Numbers of Organisms:
In any food web, energy is lost each
time one organism eats another.
Because of this, there have to be many
more plants than there are plant-
eaters. There are more autotrophs
than heterotrophs, and more plant-
eaters than meat-eaters. Although
there is intense competition between
animals, there is also an
interdependence. When one species
goes extinct, it can affect an entire
chain of other species and have
unpredictable consequences. herbivores, decreasing the herbivore population. It then becomes harder
and harder for the carnivores to find herbivores to eat, and the population of carnivores decreases. In
this way, the carnivores and herbivores stay in a relatively stable equilibrium, each limiting the other's
population. A similar equilibrium exists between plants and plant-eaters.

Lecture 6: Habitat selection, Population, Niche Concept

Aquatic fisheries science is currently undergoing a conceptual shift in understanding of fish-habitat
linkages, assessment, and management. In the present models, habitat is identified using relatively
static indicators: e.g. depth, cover, substrate, and to a lesser extent velocity, which depend on geology,
physiography and landscape – variables used in the Aquatic Ecosystem Classification.

Emerging science links aquatic species life history traits and rate processes – hatching success, growth
rate, survival – to dynamic habitat features that influence species more directly – temperature, light and
water movements (currents, turbulence etc.). These dynamic habitat features are energy based and are
driven by climate and hydrological processes and phenomena and draw more explicit links between
physiology and habitat.

Every organism has a place to live in nature, a functional role in that place, and a complex set of
adaptations for reproducing its kind. On the surface, this observation might seem to be obvious, even
trivial. However, in order to understand our biological world—the biosphere, how it operates and
ultimately how to protect it—we need to understand at a deep level how organisms interact with each
other and with their physical environment.

The most fundamental and perhaps most difficult of these concepts is that of the ecological niche. A
niche refers to the way in which an organism fits into an ecological community or ecosystem. Through
the process of natural selection, a niche is the evolutionary result of a species’ morphological
(morphology refers to an organism’s physical structure), physiological, and behavioral adaptations to its
surroundings. A habitat is the actual location in the environment where an organism lives and consists
of all the physical and biological resources available to a species.

Linking Habitat Selection, Emigration and Population Dynamics: A Conceptual Model

One of the most important attributes of fish and other mobile animals is the ability to move away from
unsuitable conditions. However, for mobility to have its greatest adaptive advantage, organisms must be
able to assess biotic and abiotic conditions such that exploratory behaviour is triggered ‘on’ by
inadequate or unsuitable conditions, and triggered ‘off’ when individuals encounter suitable conditions
(Sale 1969a; Bell 1991). To do this, animals must be able to perceive environmental features that, over
evolutionary time, have been associated with survival and reproductive success for the species (Kristan
2003).

During habitat selection, animals respond by remaining in areas that hold the proper suite of
environmental cues, but continuing to search more widely when these cues are not present in a local
area, even if this requires that they move through areas unsuitable for the species (Matter et al. 1989;
Bonte et al. 2004). Cues that trigger exploratory behaviour may include unfavorable environmental
conditions, inadequacy of resources, or unacceptable interactions with resident animals, including intra-
and interspecific competitors and predators (Bell 1991). In this way, movement is viewed as a condition-
dependent trait that can be triggered by many different cues (Ims & Hjermann 2001).

Sale (1969a) provided an early conceptual model linking resource availability, motivation, and
exploratory behaviour in fish (Fig. 1). Sale theorized that habitat selection is a continually active process
governed by the intensity of exploratory (appetitive or searching) behaviour via a negative feedback
loop, with exploratory behaviour governed by the interaction of internal drives (motivation) for needed
resources (A) with the perceived availability of those resources in the environment (B). External and
internal stimuli perceived by the central nervous system serve to regulate exploratory behaviour (C).

Sale hypothesized that exploratory behaviour leads to variation in the immediate environment (D)
experienced by an individual, which, in turn, leads to changes in the level of stimuli (B) animals use to
assess availability or access to needed resources. Thus, the model predicts that exploratory behaviour
will be most intense when environments are perceived as less adequate (E), and exploration will
diminish when an environment is perceived as suitable (F), leading to residency (G). As a result of this
process, the intensity of exploratory behaviour (movement rate) is inversely proportional to the quality
of available habitat (Winker et al. 1995). Furthermore, the model suggests that exploratory behaviour
can be triggered by a host of factors affecting both resource needs and availability. Tests of the model in
the laboratory with manini (Acanthurus triostegus sandvicensis), a tropical reef fish, confirmed that the
intensity of searching behaviour varied greatly dependent on water depth and presence of cover.
Searching behaviour was lowest when fish had access to shallow water with cover, the preferred habitat
of manini in the field (Sale 1969b).

Sale did not address emigration directly in his model, so the question remains: How does exploratory
behaviour relate to emigration? We hypothesize that emigratory behaviour can be viewed as a more
intense form of exploratory behaviour (H). This is analogous to Sale’s observation that searching
behaviour was expressed nearly continuously in the presence of deep water with no cover- the least
preferred conditions in the field. Thus, emigration events are likely to occur when environments that
lack adequate resources (or access thereof) trigger continued exploration until animals eventually
emigrate from an area in search of suitable conditions elsewhere. Experiments with several different
animals support this hypothesis (Matter et al. 1989; Nelson et al. 2002). Viewed in this way, the decision
to stay in an area or emigrate represents two ends of a continuum of complementary behavioural
responses that may be elicited from any individual of a mobile animal species in response to the
adequacy of the site currently occupied. The summation of the many such individual behavioural
responses of fish to local conditions in relation to their environmental and physiological requirements
will not only be a key determinant of the density of individuals occupying a site but, in turn, the resulting
emigration will drive the larger scale spatial (I) and temporal (J) population dynamics within a landscape
(Fig. 1) (Lidicker 2002; Humston et al. 2004; Kritzer & Sale 2004).

Although this habitat selection-emigration model is conceptually simple, we believe it provides a useful
explanatory tool for linking individual behaviour to population dynamics. To date, habitat selection has
been explained primarily through the optimization models based on ideal-free and ideal-despotic
theories. According to optimization models, well summarized for fishes by Kramer et al. (1997),
population density in concert with habitat quality is the main driver of the decision of individuals to
settle in or move away from habitat patches of differing quality. These models have been used
profitably to predict local fish distributions in the field based on balancing survival and net energy
functions (e.g., Hughes 2000; Railsback & Harvey 2002). However, in these studies it is frequently
unclear which proximate environmental cues or stimuli individual animals are using to assess habitat
suitability (Grossman et al. 1995). Also, few habitat selection studies have explored the relationship of
local movement within habitat patches to emigration and larger-scale population dynamics (Doncaster
2000). Furthermore, an important assumption of optimality models is that animals ‘sample’ all available
habitats before settling, yet animals often leave a site, in some cases moving across expanses of
unsuitable conditions, without knowledge of the quality nor availability of other sites (McMahon & Tash
1988; Matter et al. 1989; Bonte et al. 2004). Our model suggests that the quality of the local site in
relation to current resource needs and access is the primary driver of habitat selection and exploration
decisions, rather than information about conditions at distant sites.

Detailed observations of fish habitat selection and movement in nature also show a great deal of
complexity and individual variation (e.g., Armstrong et al. 1997, 1999; Smithson & Johnston 1999; Diana
et al. 2004) that are not readily explained by optimization models (Thorpe et al. 1998). For example,
marked seasonal habitat shifts of fishes during autumn may occur abruptly, without any apparent
changes in food availability or habitat quality (Riehle & Griffith 1993; Jakober et al. 1998). Similarly,
nutritional or hormonal state can trigger movement away from a site of residence (Forseth et al. 1999),
movement that is not strictly dependent on density or resource availability per se, but rather reflects
changes in physiological needs of individuals (Bell 1991). Thus we believe that our model complements
current habitat selection theory by extending it to include the underlying motivations and proximate
environmental cues that govern habitat selection, and to explore the population dynamics
consequences of habitat selection and movement patterns (see also Grossman et al. 1995).

The degree to which fish movement is a rather fixed trait has been the subject of much discussion
among fish ecologists (Gowan et al. 1994; Rodríguez 2002), and the idea that there are ‘mobile’ and
‘resident’ factions among individuals within populations is common (see Gowan et al. 1994 for
discussion). Indeed, dispersal has generally been viewed as an adaptive trait that evolved for
colonization of new environments, prevention of inbreeding depression, or risk spreading in stochastic
environments (e.g., Kisdi 2002; Hendry et al. 2004). In our model, individual differences in access to
resources or changes in environmental or physiological requirements could elicit variation in movement
among individuals from very limited to very mobile, thereby accounting for the wide variation in
movement observed both within and among fish populations (Smithson & Johnston 1999; Gowan &
Fausch 2002; Rodríguez 2002; Hilderbrand & Kershner 2004). Experiments with fishes and other animals
demonstrating that individual emigrants readily become residents when needed resources are supplied
and that residents become emigrants when resources are limited (Matter et al. 1989; Nelson et al.
2002), lend support to this inherent flexibility in switching between residency and emigratory behaviour.
We hypothesize that emigration is primarily an adaptive response to the inadequacy of conditions at the
site of residency, and other benefits of movement to species persistence (risk spreading, gene flow,
colonization of open habitat, rescue effect in metapopulations) accrue largely as a byproduct of the
movement resulting from habitat selection decisions as portrayed in our model.
Lecture 7: Reproductive Behaviour and Life Cycle of Selected Species
1) Tilapia: Life History and Biology

The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was one of the first fish species cultured. Illustrations from
Egyptian tombs suggest that Nile tilapia were cultured more than 3,000 years ago. Tilapia have been
called Saint Peters fish in reference to biblical passages about the fish fed to the multitudes. The Nile
tilapia is still the most widely cultured species of tilapia in Africa.

Positive aquacultural characteristics of tilapia are their tolerance to poor water quality and the fact that
they eat a wide range of natural food organisms. Biological constraints to the development of
commercial tilapia farming are their inability to withstand sustained water temperatures below 50 to
52o F and early sexual maturity that results in spawning before fish reach market size. Following is a
discussion of the characteristics and culture of non-hybrid tilapia.

Taxonomy

Tilapia is the generic name of a group of cichlids endemic to Africa. The group consists of three
aquaculturally important genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon and Tilapia. Several characteristics
distinguish these three genera, but possibly the most critical relates to reproductive behavior. All tilapia
species are nest builders; fertilized eggs are guarded in the nest by a brood parent. Species of both
Sarotherodon and Oreochromis are mouth brooders; eggs are fertilized in the nest but parents
immediately pick up the eggs in their mouths and hold them through incubation and for several days
after hatching. In Oreochromis species only females practice mouth brooding, while in Sarotherodon
species either the male or both male and female are mouth brooders.

During the last half century fish farmers throughout the tropical and semi-tropical world have begun
farming tilapia. Today, all commercially important tilapia outside of Africa belong to the genus
Oreochromis, and more than 90 percent of all commercially farmed tilapia outside of Africa are Nile
tilapia. Less commonly farmed species are Blue tilapia (O. aureus), Mozambique tilapia (O.
Mossambicus) and the Zanzibar tilapia (O. urolepis hornorum). The scientific names of tilapia species
have been revised a lot in the last 30 years, creating some confusion. The scientific name of the Nile
tilapia has been given as Tilapia nilotica, Sarotherodon niloticus, and currently as Oreochromis niloticus.

Physical characteristics

Tilapia are shaped much like sunfish or crappie but can be easily identified by an interrupted lateral line
characteristic of the Cichlid family of fishes. They are laterally compressed and deep-bodied with long
dorsal fins. The forward portion of the dorsal fin is heavily spined. Spines are also found in the pelvis and
anal fins. There are usually wide vertical bars down the sides of fry, fingerlings, and sometimes adults.
Banding Patterns and Coloration

The main cultured species of tilapia usually can be distinguished by different banding patterns on the
caudal fin. Nile tilapia have strong vertical bands, Blue tilapia have interrupted bands, and Mozambique
tilapia have weak or no bands on the caudal fin. Male Mozambique tilapia also have upturned snouts.
Color patterns on the body and fins also may distinguish species. Mature male Nile tilapia have gray or
pink pigmentation in the throat region, while Mozambique tilapia have a more yellow coloration.
However, coloration is often an unreliable method of distinguishing tilapia species because
environment, state of sexual maturity, and food source greatly influence color intensity.

The red tilapia has become increasingly popular because its similar appearance to the marine red
snapper gives it higher market value. The original red tilapias were genetic mutants. The first red tilapia,
produced in Taiwan in the late 1960s, was a cross between a mutant reddish- orange female
Mozambique tilapia and a normal male Nile tilapia. It was called the Taiwanese red tilapia. Another red
strain of tilapia was developed in Florida in the 1970s by crossing a normal colored female Zanzibar
tilapia with a red-gold Mozambique tilapia.

A third strain of red tilapia was developed in Israel from a mutant pink Nile tilapia crossed with wild Blue
tilapia. All three original strains have been crossed with other red tilapia of unreported origin or with
wild Oreochromis species. Consequently, most red tilapia in the Americas are mosaics of uncertain
origin. The confused and rapidly changing genetic composition of red tilapia, as well as the lack of head-
to-head growth comparisons between the different lines, make it difficult for a producer to identify a
best red strain. Other strains of tilapia selected for color include true breeding gold and yellow
Mozambique lines and a Rocky Mountain white tilapia (a true breeding line originating from an aberrant
Blue tilapia, subsequently crossed with Nile tilapia). Most strains selected for color do not grow well
enough for food fish culture.

Identifying the species of an individual fish is further complicated by natural crossbreeding that has
occurred between species. Electrophoresis is often used to determine the species composition of a
group of tilapia.

Reproduction

In all Oreochromis species the male excavates a nest in the pond bottom (generally in water shallower
than 3 feet) and mates with several females. After a short mating ritual the female spawns in the nest
(about two to four eggs per gram of brood female), the male fertilizes the eggs, and she then holds and
incubates the eggs in her mouth (buccal cavity) until they hatch. Fry remain in the females mouth
through yolk sac absorption and often seek refuge in her mouth for several days after they begin to
feed.

Sexual maturity in tilapia is a function of age, size and environmental conditions. The Mozambique
tilapia reaches sexual maturity at a smaller size and younger age than the Nile and Blue tilapias. Tilapia
populations in large lakes mature at a later age and larger size than the same species raised in small
farm ponds. For example, the Nile tilapia matures at about 10 to 12 months and 3/4 to 1 pound (350 to
500 grams) in several East African lakes. Under good growth conditions this same species will reach
sexual maturity in farm ponds at an age of 5 to 6 months and 5 to 7 ounces (150 to 200 grams). When
growth is slow, sexual maturity in Nile tilapia is delayed a month or two but stunted fish may spawn at a
weight of less than 1 ounce (20 grams). Under good growing conditions in ponds, the Mozambique
tilapia may reach sexual maturity in as little as 3 months of age, when they seldom weigh more than 2 to
4 ounces (60 to 100 grams). In poorly fertilized ponds sexually mature Mozambique tilapia may be as
small as 1/2 ounce (15 grams).

Fish farming strategies that prevent overcrowding and stunting include: 1) cage farming where eggs fall
through the mesh to the pond bottom before the female can collect them for brooding; 2) polyculture
with a predator fish, such as fingerling largemouth bass, at 400 per acre; and 3) culture of only males
(monosex). All-male culture is desirable in ponds not only to prevent overpopulation and stunting but
also because males grow about twice as fast as females. Methods of obtaining predominately male fish
include: 1) manually separating the sexes based on visual examination of the genital papilla of juvenile
fish (hand-sexing); 2) hybridizing between two selected species that produce all-male offspring (for
example, Nile or Mozambique females crossed with Blue or Zanzibar males); 3) feeding a male hormone-
treated feed to newly hatched fry for 3 to 4 weeks to produce reproductively functional males (sex
reversal); or 4) YY male technology (currently under development and not yet a commercial option).

The sex of a 1-ounce (25-gram) tilapia fingerling can be determined by examining the genital papilla
located immediately behind the anus (Fig. 1). In males the genital papilla has only one opening (the
urinary pore of the ureter) through which both milt and urine pass. In females the eggs exit through a
separate oviduct and only urine passes through the urinary pore. Placing a drop of dye (methylene blue
or food coloring) on the genital region helps to highlight the papilla and its openings.