Search Inside the Perch
Emily Clements-Mitcham-PAP Bio-Period 2
Objectives
The objective of this poster is to educate people about not only the circulatory system of the perch, but the predators, prey, habitats, and basically all other general information. It's goal is to make learning about a common fish such as the perch and 'fin' and interesting experience
General Knowledge
There are many various types of perch, the common one being the yellow perch. When young, they eat mostly algae and plankton, but once they get older, they can eat aquatic insects, small fish, and worms because of specialized teeth, palatines. This would make yellow perch a primary consumer and a predator. However, it s also prey to larger fish, such as pike and walleye. Another adaptation that they have is that they raise their fins in self defense whenever they are threatened. When raised, their fins are very sharp and can inflict bad wounds upon whomever is causing them harm. Perch are only found in freshwater, but can live in both nutrient rich water and murky, nutrient poor water. Specifically, the yellow perch is native only to North America.
The Circulatory System
The circulatory system of a perch consists of the gills (also a part of the respiratory system), a two-chambered heart (consisting of only one atrium and one ventricle), capillaries, veins, and arteries. This is a closed circulatory system. The circulatory system is mostly involved with the respiratory system, as it is in many other animals. The deoxygenated blood is pumped from the heart through the arteries to the gills (the organs the fish uses to obtain oxygen), oxygenating the blood, which is then pumped back to the heart by the veins.
The above photo shows where each organ in this system is located and what they look like.
(The blood vessels cannot be seen well because they are more near to the surface of the perch, meaning that they were cut off in this dissection. Only few can be seen, those close to the surface of the other side of the perch.)
full body image of the perch
This just shows more of the external anatomy.
From top to bottom and left to right:
-Dorsal Fin
-Pectoral Fin
-Caudal Fin
-Pelvic Fin
-Anal Fin
a closer look at the perch's organs
Hopefully in this image, the actual blood vessels are more clear. They look like horizontal lines going across the inside of the fish (again, they would be easier to see if only the top layer of skin were taken off of the fish).
perch's head and gills
The gills are an essential part of the circulatory (and respiratory) system. They are the organs that actually oxygenate the blood, which is then transported to the rest of the body, delivering said oxygen to other organs.
Perca linnaeus
The taxonomy of a perch (or Perca linnaeus) is as follows:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Perca
Species: P. linnaeus
Cladogram showing development of the perch
This shows the evolutionary relationships/differences between the perch and other animals.
Human Interaction
Perch don't affect humans nearly as much as humans affect perch. (Especially yellow) Perch are fished for recreation (how to do so is shown in the link below). This obviously affects the population, but not nearly enough to threaten the species. Also, a more indirect interaction, which actually occurs with all fish, would be pollution. People dump (sometimes raw/untreated) sewage and industrial wastes into rivers and streams everyday, dirtying the place that many organisms, including perch, call home. This causes a decrease in the population of each species in said rivers/streams.
Fun Facts!
- Perch have two dorsal fins closely set together instead of one larger fin
- Perch lay eggs in strands, hoping that they will adhere to vegetation
- Perch are usually found swimming about a foot from the bottom of the river/stream, and aren't usually found in shallow waters
Facts about the Yellow Perch
Here are some facts about the most common perch in North America, the yellow perch.
Facts about the White Perch
Here are more facts, although in this, they are facts about another commonly found perch (in North America at least), the white perch.
Works Cited
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/dorff_kell/adaptation.htm
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/yellowperch.asp
http://www.utahoutdoors.com/pages/perchfacts.htm
http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/fish-species/perch.html
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/whiteperch.asp
http://bioscholars2.wikispaces.com/file/view/cladogram_1.gif/166557489/417x250/cladogram_1.gif