Midterm I Review (With Sample Questions)

Midterm I review (with sample questions)

Taxonomy

Know how species are defined and named; understand how taxonomic nomenclature is used

Know the taxonomic categories of fishes covered in class (superclasses, classes, sub-classes, and orders)

Be able to identify characteristics and common names of fishes in the orders we have covered (given a choice of orders, select a few to answer questions about them)

Know how to ‘read’ taxonomic descriptions

Recognize primitive (older) versus advanced (recent) traits in fishes

·  Give an example of a meristic measurement that could be used in a taxonomic description of a fish.

·  How many classes/orders/species of fish are there?

·  What is a nomen praeoccupatum?

·  What is a paraphyletic group?

Fish Anatomy

Be familiar with the external and internal structures of fishes, and how they vary functionally and taxonomically

be familiar with the parts of a fish skeleton and their function

know the names and varying locations of fins and their functions

know the names of fish body shapes

know the types of scales

·  Circle the fins than may bear spines in one or more species: anal, dorsal, pelvic, pectoral, adipose, caudal

·  Where are the pelvic fins located in more advanced fishes, relative to more primitive orders?

·  Define or describe the following: ceratotrichia opercule

·  What type of mouth location and tooth structures might be found in a fish that eats crayfish?

Swimming

Understand the physical characteristics of water that affect swimming efficiency – density, viscosity, boundary layers, turbulence

Understand the physics of movement in fluids – lift, drag, laminar flow, boundary layers

Understand the various modes of fish propulsion, factors that affect their efficiency, and representative orders/species that use them

·  Describe the characteristics that you would expect to find in fast-swimming fish.

·  Describe a non-swimming form of locomotion and a fish (common name or order) that uses it.

Buoyancy

Understand the options for achieving neutral buoyancy, and their relative advantages or disadvantages.

Know how a rete mirable works

Respiration

Know the constraints on acquiring oxygen (e.g., availability in water)

Be familiar with the various options for acquiring oxygen

Know how ‘breathing’ is accomplished in gilled fishes