Ichthyology (628:321)
Fall Semester 2005

Instructor: Kenneth W. Able
Marine Field Station, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
800 Great Bay Blvd., c/o 132 Great Bay Blvd. Tuckerton, NJ 08087-2004
Phone: (609) 296-5260 ext. 230 Fax: (609) 296-1024
Email: able@marine.rutgers.edu

Teaching Assistant: Clare Ng (email address: ng@marine.rutgers.edu)

Office Hours:
Immediately after lecture and laboratory, otherwise seldom possible to meet because professor's office is off-campus.

Required texts:
Helfman, G., B. Collette and D. Facey. 1997. The Diversity of Fishes. Blackwell Science Inc., Fitchburg, Mass.

Caillet, G.M., M.S. Love and A.W. Ebeling. 1996. Fishes: A Field and Laboratory Manual on their Structure, Identification and Natural History. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Ill.

Suggested field guide:
Robins, C.R., G.C. Roy and J. Douglass. 1986. A Field Guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

Suggested reference text:
Able, K.W. and M.P. Fahay. 1998. The First Year in the Life of Estuarine Fishes in the Middle Atlantic Bight. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ. 342 p.

Required supplies:
Dissecting Kit

Schedule
Classes are held all-day Friday (except where indicated). Classes in New Brunswick will meet in the Biological Sciences building on Douglas Campus (Rm 205 9:50-12:50, Rm 101 - 1:10 - 5:50). On field trips to the Marine Field Station, the class will depart New Brunswick at approximately 8:00 am and return at approximately 6:00 pm. As a result, it will be impossible to take another course on Friday.

September 5:
Discussion of course requirements and scheduling
Introduction for Field Experiences
Lecture: Classification of Fishes

Unit I & II: Field Experiences and Fish Classification (I) and Form and Function (II)

September 9:
Field trip: Rutgers University Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, NJ (Fish Diversity I - otter trawling and trapping)
Lecture: Classification of Fishes II
Assigned Readings - Ch 3 & 8

September 16:
Field trip: Rutgers University Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, NJ (Fish Diversity II)
Lecture: Body Form and Locomotion
Lecture 1

September 23:
Field trip: Rutgers University Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, NJ (Gear Comparisons and Fish Diversity III)
Lecture: Integument
Lecture 2

September 30:
Field trip: Rutgers University Marine Field Station, Tuckerton, NJ (New Techniques for Studying Fishes) Procite and Term Paper
Lecture: Feeding Morphology
Assigned Readings - Ch 4
Lecture 3

October 7:
Unit I Exam: Field Experiences and Classification of Fishes
Lecture: Gas Bladder
Assigned Readings- Ch 6
Lecture 4

October 14:
Lecture 5: Sensory Systems
Lab: Dissection of agnathan and sharks

October 21:
Lecture: Respiration and Osmoregulation and Habitat
Assigned Readings - Ch 7
Lecture 6
Lecture 7

October 31:
Unit II Exam
Lecture: Behavior and Reproductive Biology

Unit III: Life history, ecology and behavior

November 4:
Lecture: Behavior (focus: migration)
Assigned Reading-Ch.20
Lab: Identification of fishes
Assigned Reading -Ch.12
Lecture 8

November 11:
Lecture: Reproductive biology
Assigned Reading -Ch.9
Lab: Identification of fishes
Assigned Reading -Ch.13
Lecture 9

November 18:
Lecture: Zoogeography
Assigned Reading- Ch 18 and 19
Lecture 10

December 2:
Lecture: Age and Growth
Assigned readings- Ch.10
Lab: Review
Term Paper DUE

December 9:
Lab: Practical Exam

December Exam Period:
Unit III Exam Monday December 19, 2005
8-11am

Format:This course will include field trips, lectures and labs. The lectures will be based primarily, but not exclusively, on the text and the field experiences. Laboratory exercises will center on the identification and internal and external anatomy of New Jersey marine and estuarine fishes. The field trips will take place in the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve at Mullica River - Great Bay and we will work from the Rutgers University Marine Field Station (outside of Tuckerton in southern Ocean County). (For more information on the Field Station, see our website at http://marine.rutgers.edu/rumfs/. ) These trips will focus on collecting techniques in a variety of shallow water habitats, identification of fishes based on field characters, and impromptu lectures.

Grades for this course will be based on three exams (Unit I- 50 pts. Unit II-100 pts. Units III & IV-200 pts), a class paper (75 pts), lab practical (75 pts) and class participation (50 pts).

Field trips:We will generally go on field trips as scheduled regardless of the weather. You can expect to get wet on any field trip. To this end, it is suggested that you always bring adequate field gear. The minimum that you will need: boots or old sneakers, shorts, raincoat, change of dry clothes, hat and/or sunscreen, sunglasses, clipboard and notepad. Bring a lunch; coolers will be provided.

Term paper:
A term paper, focused on either the life history of selected species, or food habits and feeding ecology on fishes of selected estuaries will be one of the class requirements. The basis for the paper will be a thorough literature review of the available information on the topic of choice. Details of the format, topic selection and potential sources of information will be provided at the first class meeting.