Peachy Perch
Created By: Joseph McConnell
The Perch (Perca)
The Perch is a freshwater fish, living in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. It's main predators are the Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, and the Channel Catfish. It's prey are mainly Crayfish, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass. The perch has adapted to live in many types of environments, some of these are fertile water, eutrophic water (nutrient rich), and even turbid water (suspended solids). The perch is a very important part of the food chain. The perch helps to stabilize the young population, while also stabilizing the adult population of larger fish.
Objectives
- to learn the internal and external anatomy of a Perch
- to understand ecological role of Perch
Evolutionary Relationship of Perch
Gills
One of the most important parts of a Perch are it's gills. The gills of a perch allow for the perch to filter the oxygen out of the water and into the perch. The gills are covered by blood vessels. The red blood cells in the blood vessels receive the oxygen from the water and transfer to the rest of the body, similar to how human lungs are covered in blood vessels.