Ichthyology and Fisheries Biology

Code:

MA311

Acronym:

IBP

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Applied Biology

Instance: 2022/2023 - 1T (of 12-09-2022 to 28-10-2022)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Aquatic Production
Course/CS Responsible:	Aquatic Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LCMA	31	Official Study Plan	3	-	5	49	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

This curricular unit intends that the students acquire, understand and apply a set of knowledge in the area of Ichthyology and Fisheries Biology, providing them with essential skills to a professional in the area of Aquatic Sciences. The curricular unit seeks to make students aware of the origin, evolution and differentiation of different groups of fish, with emphasis on their anatomical-physiological adaptations and the functional interconnection of the various organ systems that contribute to body homeostasis and environmental resilience. It is also intended to bridge the gap between two distinct disciplinary areas, with particular emphasis on a set of current concepts and tools of ichthyological interest with particular relevance in Fisheries Biology, which to a certain extent endow students with scientific-technological skills for understand the basis for a rational and sustained exploitation of fishery resources.

Learning outcomes and competences

In the theoretical sessions, the acquisition, understanding and application of basic knowledge will be privileged through face-to-face classes in which the teacher with the support of multimedia devices will teach the syllabus content always in a role of facilitator and organizer of themes, privileging an active exchange perspective with the students. Finally, in practical laboratory sessions, students will perform certain experimental procedures and develop a discipline project duly tutored.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Since “Ichthyology and Fishery Biology” is a course of the 3rd year of the BSc Degree in Sciences of the Aquatic Environment, the validation of knowledge prior to some UCs is advantageous, namely “General Ecology” and “Biology of vertebrates I”, both from the 1st year, and "Comparative Histology and Embryology I", "Aquatic Ecology", "Comparative Animal Physiology" and "Physiology of Aquatic Animals", 2nd year UC. Some of the concepts taught in this UC will also be important co-requirements for “Technology and Fisheries Management” for the 3rd year.

Program

The current program of the course comprises two distinct components.

Theoretical component:
1. Review the major taxonomic groups of "fish" (Agnatha, Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes), and their subgroups, and their main differentiating characteristics.
2. The respiratory system of fish (histo-anatomical structure of the gills, countercurrent flow and ventilatory process - passive and active in fish). Respiratory structures, alternative or complementary to the gills (e.g. mouth, intestine, integument, lungs and swimming bladder).
3. The circulatory system of fish (closed and simple and complete circulation) and the main differences between elasmobranchs and teleost.
4. Osmotic regulation in freshwater and marine teleost fish (e.g. role of gills, kidneys and ingestion process). Existence of alternative mechanisms of osmotic regulation in elasmobranchs (e.g. function of urea and trimethylamine oxide).
5. Know the bases of the digestive system of fish (digestive tube and attached glands). Identify the morphological adaptations in the digestive system of fish, depending on their feeding behavior. Understand the histophysiology of the liver and pancreas in fish. Recognize some anatomo-functional adaptations of the digestive system of cyclostomes, elasmobranchs and bone fish. Understand the feeding process of fish in their larval phase, and its implications in terms of life cycle.
6. Identify the main types of reproduction existing in fish (bisexual reproduction - oviparous, ovoviviparous and viviparous fish, hermaphroditism and parthenogenesis). Understand the evolutionary strategy of gametes production and fertilization processes in fish. Recognize the difference between dimorphism and sexual dichromatism. Differentiate sequential from synchronous hermaphroditism in fish. Understand the strategies of sexual maturation, spawning, fertilization and embryonic development in fish.
7. Classify fish according to whether their life cycle is spent in fresh, salt water or both (e.g. potadromes, oceanodromes and amphidromes). To identify and characterize the complexity of the life cycles of some echologically and commercially important migratory fish, particularly anadromic (e.g. salmon) and catadromic (e.g. eel) migratory fish.
8. Recognize the importance of calculating the maturation warhead, sex ratio and establishing the time of laying in fishing biology. Distinguish between fish with k and r strategies, their relationship with habitat, ecological strategies, population parameters and response to overfishing.
9. Recognize the importance of sexual determination and maturation stage in fisheries biology. Know the care to be taken in biological sampling to obtain the size and / or age of first maturation and estimate the laying season. Know the importance of the information obtained in the gonodosomatic, hepatosomatic and condition indices. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of macroscopic compared to microscopic identification in determining sex and maturation stage in fish. Know the current classification systems for fish maturation stages. Identify the importance of fertility, and ways of calculating, in fisheries biology.
10. Recognize the importance of age and growth studies in fisheries biology. Identify sclerochronological structures (e.g. otoliths, vertebrae and scales) commonly used to estimate age in fish. Understand the importance of age-length keys and growth curves (e.g. von Bertalanffy) in fisheries biology. Understand the concepts of precision and accuracy in age estimates. Know the ways to express the accuracy of the readings (e.g. percentage of agreement, coefficient of variation and average percentage error). Identify the methods used to estimate annual and / or daily ages using otoliths and / or scales. To know the validation methods (e.g. direct, semi-direct and indirect) of the deposition rate of the increments and ontogenetic marks in otoliths (e.g. larval hatching mark, first exogenous feeding and settlement).
11. Recognize the current importance of the structural, morphological and chemical properties of otoliths in the study of population structure, migration patterns and connectivity between habitats in fish.
12. Know how to classify fish according to their marine environment (e.g. pelagic, demersal and benthic). Briefly characterize the main current fishing gear (e.g. nets - trawls, seines, gill and trammel nets, longlines and traps). Understand the importance of the level of fishing and pattern of exploitation in the management of fish stocks. Know the advantages and disadvantages of the main measures of fisheries management: catch limits, minimum catch size, fishing ban, limitation of the size of the net-hook, and closed season.
13. Know the current concepts of fishing stock and recruitment. Identify the different methods of identification and discrimination of fish stocks, in particular the genotypic methods (e.g. mitochondrial DNA, microsatellites and others) and phenotypic methods (e.g. body geomorphometry, parasitic fauna, otolith chemistry, and others).
14. Understand the evolution of fisheries worldwide, as a result of the evolution of vessels, equipment, fishing devices and associated sectors. To characterize the fishing sector in Portugal from the point of view of the fishing fleet, associated fishing gear and labor. Identify the different types of aquaculture in Portugal, as a complement to fisheries.

Practical-Laboratory Component:

1. Practical laboratory class on care to be taken in biological sampling and body measurements (e.g. TL, SL and FL) in fish.
2. Practical laboratory class on the removal, cleaning, preparation of parts (whole or sectioned) and age estimation in fish by reading annual increments (using a binocular loupe) and daily increments (under a light microscope) on hard structures (eg otoliths and scales) of fish.
3. Practical laboratory class on the identification of the sexual gender and stage of maturation of fish from macroscopic observation (e.g. Oncorhynchus mykiss) and histological preparations of gonads (e.g. Danio rerio and Chelidonichthys lucerne) stained with hematoxylin-eosin.
4. Practical-laboratory class on body geomorphometry (Truss networks): anatomical landmarks and morphometric distances.
5. Practical-laboratory class on shape analysis in otoliths: shape indexes and Fourier descriptors.
6. Practical-laboratory classes under a tutorial orientation for the writing and public defense of a scientific-technological group work in the area of ​​fisheries and / or aquaculture.

Mandatory literature

Burton D, Burton M.; Essential Fish Biology : Diversity , Structure , and Function, Oxford University Press, 2017
Cochrane KL, Garcia SM; A Fishery Manager's Guidebook, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
Hart PJB, Reynolds JD; Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries, Blackwell Science Ltd, 2002
Helfman GS, Colette BB, Facey DE, Bowen BW; The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1997
Hickman C, Keen S, Eisenhour D, Larson A , I‘Anson H; Integrated Principles of Zoology, McGraw-Hill, 2020
Moyle PB, Cech JJ; Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology, Pearson, 2015
Royce WF; Introduction to the Practice of Fishery Science, Academic Press, 1996

Complementary Bibliography

Anónimo; Estatísticas da Pesca 2019, INE, 2019
Cadrin SE, Froedland KD, Waldman JR; Stock identification methods: applications in Fishery Science, Elsevier, 2005
Lucas MC, Baras E, Thom TJ, Duncan A, Slavík O; Migration of Freshwater Fishes, Blackwell Science Ltd, 2001
Morais P, Daverat F; An Introduction to Fish Migration, CRC Press, 2016
Perry SF, Tufts BL; Fish Respiration, Academic Press, 1998
Satchell GH; Physiology and Form of Fish Circulation, Cambridge University Press, 2006

Teaching methods and learning activities

The curricular unit will privilege the usual teaching-learning methods in a classroom environment, with theoretical typology (projection of slides and videos) and laboratory-practice (activities with experimental protocol), favoring the acquisition of skills centered on the student, being the teacher is a mere agent that facilitates learning. Field trips and guided visits to research centers will also be considered according to the availability of the students' schedules and the logistical means made available by the institution. All activities that bring you closer to real everyday situations will be stimulated.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Teste	25,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Frequência das aulas	49,00
Estudo autónomo	56,00
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Total:	135,00

Eligibility for exams

According to the academic regulations in force for the current academic year, students are required to attend at least 75% of classes of practical and laboratory type.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final classification of the curricular unit results from the arithmetic average of the theoretical component (50%) carried out by the final exam, together with the practical-laboratory component (50%), whose evaluation is made in a continuous evaluation regime, and obtained through the realization and defense in the classroom environment of a group work (25%) and a pratical assessement (25%). The student must obtain a minimum grade (9.5 points) for each component (T and PL), to obtain approval for the discipline.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

Not applicable.

Observations

Not applicable.