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©2016, 2005, Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. All rights reserved. Decode a Fish Page 1

What patterns do we observe in the body shapes of fishes that live in the same habitat?

What is a fish? Where does it live? How does it survive in its habitat? Students use science

skills to decipher how the body parts of a fish affect its ability to move, find food

and protect itself.

Students will be able to:

Define a fish as a vertebrate with scales and fins that lives in water and breathes with gills.

Identify specific fish adaptations. Describe patterns in the body shapes of fishes that live in the same habitat.

Fish are vertebrates, or animals with backbones. They have many adaptations that help them survive in their aquatic habitats. Most fish are cold-blooded animals. The skeletons of most fish are made of bone. Sharks and rays have cartilaginous skeletons made of calcium phosphate and other minerals.

Instead of lungs, fish have gills for breathing. Fish take water in through their mouths. As the water passes over the gills, oxygen from the water is absorbed into the fish’s blood stream. Most bony fish have gas-filled swim bladders for buoyancy. In contrast, sharks have very large livers filled with fatty oil that help keep them from sinking.

Fins serve many functions. Pectoral and pelvic fins are used for steering, balance and braking. Dorsal fins (located on the back) keep fish stable and prevent them from rolling over in the water. The tail or caudal fin helps fish move in their habitats. Fast swimming fish have narrow forked tails that provide the thrust needed to speed through the water. Slower swimming fish have a wide, square-shaped tail that helps them swim around rocks or reefs and catch prey.

Topics Fish, Adaptations Grades 3-5 Site Indoors Duration 60 minutes Materials

Decode a Fish student

sheet (1 per student)

Habitat Photos

Fish ID Cards (1 set

per student pair)

Decode a Fish Key

(at least one key per student pair)

Nonfiction fish

resources (books, magazines and web sites)

Nonfiction text about

a scientist

Science notebooks or

paper Vocabulary adaptations, caudal, dorsal, habitat, pectoral Next Generation Science Standards

Practices

Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Core Ideas

LS4.C Adaptation

Crosscutting Concepts

Structure and function, Patterns

Performance Expectations

See page 5

© 2016, 2005, Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. All rights reserved. Decode a Fish Page 2

The various colors and patterns of fish help disguise them in their habitats. Stripes, spots and coloration can help fish camouflage and avoid predators. Some colors, such as yellow or orange, are a warning that the animal is poisonous. In addition, as light travels deeper into the water, bright colors seem to disappear. This also allows brightly-colored fish to blend in with their surroundings. False eyespots located on a fish’s body may confuse potential predators. Fish with counter-shading are dark on the top or dorsal side of their bodies and lighter underneath the ventral side. This makes them more difficult for predators to see when looking down on them from the surface or looking up from the ocean depths.

The shape of a fish helps it hunt for prey and avoid predators. A torpedo-shaped body increases a fish’s swimming speed. Most fish with this shape live in open water and are excellent swimmers. Elongated-shaped fish hide under or wrap around rocks or coral. Flatfish have flattened bodies. They lie on their sides on the seafloor with only their eyes protruding from the sand, hiding until their prey swim nearby.

The position of a fish’s eyes identifies where it spends most of its time. When a fish has one eye on each side of its body, it usually swims in the water column and above the seafloor. If both eyes are on top of its head or if both eyes are on one side of its head, it stays on or near the bottom. The eyes of some species look upward while others look downward. This helps them find prey or sense predators above or below their body. Some fish living in deeper water have very large eyes to give them maximum light-collecting ability in low-light areas. Other pelagic fish have very small or no eyes because they live in permanent darkness.

The design and location of a fish’s mouth indicates how it obtains food. If the mouth is on the underside of its body, it feeds on the bottom in sand or mud. When a fish’s upturned mouth is slanted toward the top of its body, it’s a surface feeder. If it has a big, wide mouth, it gulps its food. Reef fish with long, skinny snouts probe the coral crevices for prey items.

Some fish have teeth of various shapes and sizes. Fish with tiny teeth nibble while some shark species have rows of sharp teeth that bite and tear. Parrotfish have strong jaws that scrape and crunch coral to consume the zooxanthellae (algae) within.

1. Make copies of the Decode a Fish student sheets, Fish ID Cards, Decode a Fish Key and Habitat Photos.

2. Gather other fish images and nonfiction resources.

3. Find a nonfiction text about a scientist making observations or conducting an investigation.

1. INTRODUCE THE FOCUS QUESTION TO THE CLASS.

Share the question: What patterns do we observe in the body shapes of fishes that live in the same habitat? You may write it up on the whiteboard or have students add it to their science notebook. Give students time to write their initial thoughts down or discuss with a partner. Depending on their prior knowledge, you may need to spend some time exploring the concepts of fish and fish adaptations first.

VOCABULARY

Adaptations: body parts and behaviors that help an animal survive in its environment Caudal: the tail or posterior end of an animal Dorsal: the back or top of an animal Habitat: a home for plants and animals that provides food and protection Pectoral: the chest or breastbone area of an animal


2. STUDENTS COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT FISH.

If you have a pet fish in your classroom, have the students observe it and write their observations in a notebook or on loose leaf paper. If possible, visit an aquarium or local field site and observe fish in their natural habitats. Students can also visit Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website to view live fish on several web cams (See Resources). What do you notice about the shape and size of fish bodies, fins and mouths? Where are their mouths located? What shape are they? How do they move? Where are the eyes located and what shape are they? How do fish breathe? How and what do they eat?

3. SET THE SCENE FOR SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS.

Read a nonfiction text about a scientist making observations or conducting an investigation to learn more or answer a question about a phenomenon. As a class briefly discuss what an observation is and how the scientists used observations to learn more about a topic or phenomenon. You may tell students that they will investigate fishes and make observations about body shapes in order to infer their habitats.

4. AS A CLASS, DISCUSS OBSERVATIONS ABOUT FISH USING THE FISH ID CARDS.

Pass out the Decode a Fish student sheet. Use some pictures or a few of the Fish ID Cards with the whole class to compare various body and fin shapes and sizes. What similarities and differences do students notice?

5. OBSERVE AND DISCUSS FISH HABITATS WITH THE CLASS.

Look at some of the Habitat Photos. What do students notice about different habitats? Are there rocks or algae? Is it dense and crowded with inhabitants? What shape and size are some of the animals?

6. AS A CLASS, USE THE DECODE A FISH KEY TO REVIEW SOME FISH CHARACTERISTICS.

Use the Decode a Fish Key to look at some of the characteristics that help fish survive, e.g., torpedo-shaped body and forked shaped tail for fast swimming, flat, round or long body shape to help it hide or a long probing snout to reach food in crevices. Refer to fish behaviors, such as the ways they move and protect themselves. Many blend into their surroundings (camouflage), some can rapidly swim away from a predator, while others are bottom dwellers that lie immobile until prey appears.

7. WORKING IN PAIRS, STUDENTS INVESTIGATE A FISH AND RECORD THEIR INTERPRETATIONS.

Have the students select one Fish ID Card and find out everything they can about that fish using the Decode a Fish Key. (You may choose to either cut or fold the Fish ID Cards so only the illustration and not the written information is showing.) Have a few sets of Habitat Photos available for students to reference. Challenge students to match the clues on the cards with their illustration to infer which habitat their fish lives in, how or what it eats and how it moves and protects itself. Encourage the use of deductive reasoning to eliminate guesses and decode their fish’s physical characteristics. They should look closely at its body shape and size; coloration; fin shape and position; eye and mouth shape, size and location. Then have them record what they find in their notebooks and try to solve the mystery of their fish!

8. STUDENTS CONFIRM THEIR INTERPRETATIONS AND FIND OUT THE REAL FACTS ABOUT THEIR FISH.

Using books, web sites and the written information on the Fish ID Cards, have students research their fish to confirm their findings. Did they choose the correct habitat, how it eats and how it moves and protects itself? What observations did they make to help them?

THE MISSION OF THE MONTEREY BAY

AQUARIUM IS TO INSPIRE

CONSERVATION OF THE OCEANS.

© 2016, 2005, Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. All rights reserved. Decode a Fish Page 4

9. RETURN TO THE FOCUS QUESTION.

Now that students have decoded and researched their fish, have them revisit the question: What patterns do we observe in the body shapes of fishes that live in the same habitat? Students may think on their own or discuss with a partner. Then in their science notebook, you may have them draw a line of learning and under it add to their original thoughts about the question.

Websites

Monterey Bay Aquarium www.montereybayaquarium.org

Watch and observe many different kinds of fish on live web cams and in a video library, print animal fact cards, find information in the online field guide or read through the Sea Searcher’s Handbook.

FishBase www.fishbase.org

A global information system on fish, this web site has information about 28,500 fish, including common and scientific names and photos. Take a Fish Quiz!

Books About Fish: A Guide for Children. Sill, Cathryn. Peachtree Publishers, 2002. Classifying Fish. Spilsbury, Richard & Louise. Heinemann Library, 2003.

Next Generation Science Standards www.nextgenscience.org

Performance Expectation Relates to 3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all

Common Core State Standards www.corestandards.org

Language Arts, W.3-5.8 Writing: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories

CONSERVATION TIP

Consult the Seafood Watch pocket guide or app when

choosing a fish at a grocery store or restaurant. Ask

your server for fish that are on the green list.

Avoid the red!

www.seafoodwatch.org

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

http://www.fishbase.org

http://www.nextgenscience.org/

http://www.corestandards.org/

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/


1. What is a fish?

2. What kinds of environments do fish live in?

3. To what habitat or habitats do you think your fish is best adapted?

4. What is your evidence?

Name:

1. What is a fish?

2. What kinds of environments do fish live in?

3. To what habitat or habitats do you think your fish is best adapted?

4. What is your evidence?

Name:







Torpedo (open waters)

Boxy (among coral

or rocks)

Round and Narrow

(tight places)

Flat (sandy bottom)

Elongated (around or

under rocks)

Long skinny (probes in crevices)

Mouth on underside

(bottom feeder)

Big, wide mouth (gulps prey)

Mouth with teeth (catches prey)

One eye on each side

(usually swims above the seafloor)

Both eyes on same side of head

(stays on or near the bottom)

Both eyes on top of head

(stays on or near the bottom)

Large eyes (light gathering in

deep water)

Body Shapes (where it lives)

Mouth Shapes (how or where it eats)

Eye Shapes (where it spends most of its time)


Tiny fins

One long fin

Large fins Small fins

Squared (moderate)

Forked (very fast)

Truncated (sprints)

Pointed (fast)

Pectoral Fins on sides (for balance, turning and braking)

Pointy fins (sharp turns and

fast stops)

Short and square fins

(maneuvers quickly)

Irregular fins (balances, hops or

sits on fins)

Dorsal Fins on back (for steering and preventing rolling)

Caudal (tail) Fins (the speed it swims)

Triangular fins (stabilizer)


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ray

ee

ls lo

ok m

en

aci

ng

as

the

y c

on

sta

ntl

y o

pe

n a

nd

clo

se

the

ir m

ou

ths,

bu

t th

ey

’re

no

t m

akin

g t

hre

ats

. T

ha

t’s

just

ho

w

the

y b

rea

the

! S

ize

: U

p t

o 5

fe

et

(1.5

m)

Die

t: S

ea

urc

hin

s, c

rab

s a

nd

oth

er

cru

sta

cea

ns,

cla

ms

an

d

oth

er

mo

llu

scs


Ha

bit

ats

: R

ock

y s

ho

re, ke

lp f

ore

st

Ad

ap

tati

on

s:

R

ock

fish

es

com

e in

mo

re t

ha

n 1

00

sp

eci

es

an

d m

an

y d

iffe

ren

t sh

ap

es,

siz

es

an

d c

olo

r p

att

ern

s.

Co

lors

va

ry f

rom

bla

ck a

nd

dra

b

gre

en

to

bri

gh

t o

ran

ge

an

d r

ed

. S

om

e m

ay

ha

ve

str

ipe

s o

r

splo

tch

es.

T

he

ir h

ea

ds

fea

ture

la

rge

ey

es

an

d t

hic

k, b

roa

d m

ou

ths

tha

t d

ip

do

wn

wa

rd a

t th

e c

orn

ers

. T

he

y a

re k

no

wn

fo

r th

e b

on

y p

late

s o

n t

he

ir h

ea

ds

an

d b

od

ies

an

d

the

he

avy

sp

ine

s o

n t

he

ir f

ins.

I

n g

ian

t ke

lp f

ore

sts,

ro

ckfi

she

s h

ove

r m

oti

on

less

un

de

r th

e k

elp

ca

no

py

, b

uo

ye

d b

y t

he

ir a

ir b

lad

de

rs. S

om

e s

pe

cie

s re

st o

n r

ock

s a

t th

e b

ott

om

of

the

ke

lp f

ore

st. H

ow

ev

er,

oth

er

rock

fish

liv

e o

n

rock

y r

ee

fs, se

afl

oo

rs o

r in

th

e w

ate

r co

lum

n.

T

he

y a

re o

ne

of

the

lo

ng

est

-liv

ing

fis

he

s.

So

me

sp

eci

es

live

10

0

ye

ars

or

mo

re.

S

om

e r

ock

fish

do

n’t

re

pro

du

ce u

nti

l th

ey

’re

20

ye

ars

old

an

d o

nly

h

av

e a

fe

w y

ou

ng

. R

ock

fish

ca

n’t

re

pro

du

ce q

uic

kly

en

ou

gh

to

ke

ep

up

wit

h d

em

an

d a

nd

are

th

us

ove

rfis

he

d.

S

ize

: 5

to

41

inch

es

(12

-10

4 c

m)

de

pe

nd

ing

on

th

e s

pe

cie

s

Die

t: S

ma

ll c

rust

ace

an

s, f

ish

es,

pla

nkto

n

Ha

bit

at:

Ro

cky

sh

ore

A

da

pta

tio

ns:

S

culp

ins

com

mo

nly

hu

g t

he

bo

tto

ms

of

Pa

cifi

c co

ast

tid

e p

oo

ls.

T

he

se t

iny

fis

he

s ca

n b

e h

ard

to

se

e. T

he

ir c

olo

rs b

len

d in

we

ll a

s th

ey

hid

e a

mo

ng

se

aw

ee

ds

an

d r

ock

s.

T

he

ir c

am

ou

fla

ge

ma

ke

s it

ha

rd f

or

big

ge

r fi

she

s a

nd

hu

ng

ry b

ird

s to

fin

d t

he

m.

A

s th

e t

ide

co

me

s in

, co

rallin

e s

culp

ins

oft

en

le

ave

th

eir

ho

me

p

oo

ls a

nd

fo

llo

w t

he

in

com

ing

wa

ter

to h

un

t in

po

ols

hig

he

r u

p.

W

he

n t

he

tid

e f

alls

ag

ain

, th

ey

he

ad

str

aig

ht

ba

ck t

o t

he

po

ol in

w

hic

h t

he

y s

tart

ed

. S

ize

: U

p t

o 5

.5 in

che

s (1

4 c

m)

Die

t: S

ma

ll f

ish

es,

sh

rim

p, cr

ab

s a

nd

oth

er

cru

sta

cea

ns


Ha

bit

ats

: K

elp

fo

rest

an

d r

ee

fs u

p t

o 2

40

fe

et

(1.5

m-7

6 m

) d

ee

p

Ad

ap

tati

on

s:

Se

ño

rita

s fe

ed

du

rin

g t

he

da

y.

At

nig

ht

the

y b

ury

th

em

selv

es

in s

an

dy

bo

tto

ms

wit

h o

nly

th

eir

h

ea

ds

exp

ose

d. W

he

n t

hre

ate

ne

d b

y p

red

ato

rs in

th

e d

ay

tim

e,

señ

ori

tas

da

rt t

o t

he

se

afl

oo

r a

nd

hid

e b

y b

urr

ow

ing

in

th

e

bo

tto

m s

ed

ime

nt.

S

ea

bir

ds

an

d C

alifo

rnia

se

a lio

ns

pre

y o

n

s

eñ

ori

tas.

A s

eñ

ori

ta is

sma

ll, tu

be

-sh

ap

ed

an

d o

ran

ge

wit

h la

rge

bla

ck

spo

ts o

n its

ta

il. It

ha

s la

rge

sca

les,

a s

ma

ll m

ou

th a

nd

p

rotr

ud

ing

te

eth

th

at

are

id

ea

l fo

r p

ickin

g p

lan

kto

n f

rom

alg

ae

.

Th

ey

sw

im in

lo

ose

sch

oo

ls.

Kn

ow

n a

s cl

ea

ne

r fi

sh, th

ey

pic

k e

xte

rna

l p

ara

site

s a

nd

co

pe

po

ds

fro

m t

he

skin

of

oth

er

fish

es.

T

he

y c

lea

n u

nti

l

the

y lo

se in

tere

st a

nd

th

en

sw

im a

wa

y, le

avin

g b

eh

ind

d

isa

pp

oin

ted

fis

he

s.

S

ize

: U

p t

o 1

0 in

che

s (2

5 c

m)

D

iet:

Sm

all in

ve

rte

bra

tes

such

as

hy

dro

ids,

bry

ozo

an

s, a

mp

hip

od

s,

pa

rasi

tic

cop

ep

od

s, iso

po

ds

Ha

bit

at:

Sa

nd

y s

ho

re

Ad

ap

tati

on

s:

Sa

nd

da

bs

are

ma

ste

rs o

f ca

mo

ufl

ag

e. T

he

y a

re q

uic

k-

cha

ng

e a

rtis

ts t

ha

t sh

ift

colo

r a

nd

pa

tte

rn t

o m

atc

h

the

ir s

urr

ou

nd

ing

s.

Lik

e o

the

r fl

atf

ish

, sa

nd

da

bs

spe

nd

th

eir

liv

es

lyin

g o

r

swim

min

g o

n t

he

ir s

ide

s.

Th

ey

sh

uff

le in

to t

he

sa

nd

an

d c

ove

r th

em

selv

es

un

til

on

ly t

he

ir

ey

es

pro

tru

de

. T

he

y a

re o

fte

n s

o w

ell h

idd

en

th

at

pre

da

tors

a

nd

pre

y o

ve

rlo

ok t

he

m.

Bo

th e

ye

s a

re o

n o

ne

sid

e a

nd

po

int

up

wa

rd. A

sa

nd

da

b

be

gin

s life

as

a n

orm

al-

loo

kin

g f

ish

la

rva

wit

h a

n e

ye

on

e

ach

sid

e o

f it

s h

ea

d. I

n a

bo

ut

13 d

ay

s, o

ne

ey

e s

tart

s

rov

ing

an

d m

igra

tes

aro

un

d t

he

he

ad

to

ta

ke

its

pla

ce n

ext

to

the

oth

er

ey

e.

Siz

e: S

om

e s

pe

cie

s g

row

to

16

in

che

s (4

0.6

cm

) lo

ng

wh

ile

oth

ers

ra

rely

re

ach

6 in

che

s (1

5.2

cm

).

Die

t: W

orm

s, s

hri

mp

, sq

uid

an

d f

ish

es

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