BIOAP 5300

Fish Physiology

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

Fish Physiology is an introduction to the functional biology of fish. Lecture topics will cover cellular and tissue function within key physiological systems that help fish thrive in a wide range of aquatic habitats, from mountain streams to deep-sea vents. These systems will be illustrated using a diverse variety of fish, while broader comparisons between fish and higher vertebrates will also be drawn. Discussion will integrate aquaculture, fisheries, and environmental contexts, including some of the anthropogenic challenges that fish face today and what can be done to mitigate them. Students will perform a gross dissection to identify anatomy in situ and visit an aquaculture facility (there is no separate lab section).

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: one semester of introductory animal physiology (BIOAP 1100, BIOG 1440, BIOG 1445 or equivalent), or permission of instructor.

• Students will be able to characterize various physiological systems that fish use to live in an aquatic environment.
• Students will be able to describe how these systems adjust to environmental changes in the short and long term.
• Students will be able to explain physiological differences between groups of fishes.
• Students will be able to explain how physiological systems in fish may be similar to, differ from, or have evolved into those in terrestrial vertebrates.
• Students will be able to discuss how unsustainable resource management and human perturbations in the environment affect fish at the physiological level.

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