Fish research and connecting fish, rivers and people

Fish research is a branch of zoology known as ichthyology. Scientists who specifically study fish are called ichthyologists.

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features".The definition often includes a combination of fish and fishers in a region, the latter fishing for similar species with similar gear types

A fishery may involve the capture of wild fish or raising fish through fish farming or aquaculture.Directly or indirectly, the livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends on fisheries and aquaculture. Overfishing, including the taking of fish beyond sustainable levels, is reducing fish stocks and employment in many world regions. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms.

Ichthyology has a long history that began with simple observations and descriptions of fish over 200 years. The first known recorded observations of fish were documented by Pierre Belon in the 1500’s. In the early 1700’s, Peter Artedi’s, who some consider to be the Father of Ichthyology, had his work “Ichthyologia” posthumously published by Karl Linnaeus.

Fish research has become an increasingly important study as fish populations decline throughout the world. The decline of fish has an immense impact on ocean ecosystems as well as a significant impact on one of the primary food sources for people around the world. Overfishing in the past 50 years has significantly reduced fish populations across a large number of species. Research in ichthyology helps policy makers determine what course of action to take in order to maintain fish populations throughout the world. National and international policies are determined based on the data provided by fish research. 

Hoopoe in Bangladesh

Upupa epops

The call is typically a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which gives rise to its English and scientific names, although two and four syllables are also common.The Hoopoe also enjoys taking dust and sand baths. Hoopoe was found in Dhaka, Chittagong, Camilla, Sundarban, Tiger point, Bangladesh during December 2013 to April 2014.

Scientific name: Upupa epops (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name: Hoopoe
French name: Huppe fasciée
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Upupidae

Size: Body size: 26 to 28 cm; Wingspan : 42 to 46 cm; Weight : 55 to 80 g

Habitat: Open country with short-grass meadows, hedgerows, orchards especially with very old trees.

Food: Insect larva, spiders, slugs, snails, centipede mainly caught on the ground. It is fond of insects hidden inside cowpats. It may also catch insects in crevices on tree barks.

Upupa epops

Common diet items include crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants. 

Nesting: The nest is located in a hole in an old tree or in an old wall. It is untidily lined with straw and rubbish. Females lay 5 to 7 eggs between April and June. The very bad smell coming from juveniles' excrements is a way to locate and find nests.

Migration: Populations of temperate Europe and temperate Asia arrive in March-April and fly back southwards in August-September.

Upupa epops

Geographic area:  Temperate Europe and temperate Asia, North Africa, India, south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The Hoopoe is monogamous, although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season.They are also territorial, with the male calling frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal. Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights

Correspondence to muzammel3@gmail.com

New Species Of River Dolphin Discovered In Brazil

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Animals, Brazil, Araguaia River Dolphin, Brazil Dolphin, Brazil River Dolphin, Dolphins, New Dolphin Species, New River Dolphin Species, New Species River Dolphin, River Dolphin Discovered, Green News

 

 

It seems Mother Nature still has a few secrets up her sleeve.

In a study published in PLOS ONE this week, researchers announced the discovery of a new species of river dolphin in Brazil. The marine mammal is the first river dolphin to be described since 1918, the authors noted in the research.

Discovered in the Araguaia River basin, Inia araguaiaensis is believed to have diverged from river dolphins in the Amazon more than 2 million years ago due to a shift in the landscape. Unlike other river dolphins in Brazil, the newly discovered species has only 24 teeth per jaw, instead of the typical 25 to 29.

"It was something that was very unexpected, it is an area where people see them all the time, they are a large mammal, the thing is nobody really looked. It is very exciting," lead author Dr. Tomas Hrbek of the Federal University of Amazonas said, according to BBC News.

However, despite the excitement behind the new discovery, it seems the river dolphins are already under threat of extinction.

"Its future is pretty bleak," Hrbek told the New Scientist. "The Araguaia-Tocantins basin suffers huge human disturbance and there are probably less than 1,000 I. araguaiaensis in existence."

Because of the small number remaining, the team is urging the International Union for Conservation of Nature to classify the species as vulnerable. 

River dolphins are relatively rare. Of the four river dolphin species currently recognized, three are classified from vulnerable to critically endangered by IUCN. (There is not enough data to classify the fourth.)

The World Wildlife Fund attributes the decline in dolphin populations over the last several decades to human interference in their habitats, such as dam-building and fishing nets. The Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, is believed to have gone extinct between 2004 and 2006, making it the first dolphin humans drove to extinction, LiveScience notes.

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