Fishy lab
Perch Dissection lab Emily Myers-Pre-ap biology-Vu
Perca flavescens
Circulatory system of a common perch
The circulatory system of the perch is a typical low pressure single type system in which the heart is a single pump and there is a single circuit of blood flow. Venous (deoxygenated) blood from the body is pumped through the heart forward to the gills. From the gills, where it is oxygenated, the blood goes directly to the body. Thus the blood makes a single circuit during which it is pumped, oxygenated, and distributed to the body, before it returns to the heart. In this pattern of circulation the heart pumps only deoxygenated blood.
Circulatory system
Dissection process
Different types of fish fins
There are 5 fins on a perch:
Dorsal: Located on the fish's dorsal side (top). Help stabilize the fish and aid it in sharp turns
Pectoral: Located on the fish's left and right sides. Allow the fish to control movement better, especially up and down movement.
Pelvic: Located on the fish's ventral (bottom) side, below the pectoral fins. Control the direction of movement.
Anal: Located on the fish's ventral side, further towards the tail than the pelvic fins. Stabilize movement and help in sharp turns.
Caudal: a.k.a. the tail fin. Provides a powerful forward thrust to propel the fish through water.
Yellow perch habitat
Yellow perch are native to North America in the northern region east of the Rocky Mountains, including tributaries of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans and the Mississippi River. Native distribution was driven by postglacial melt from the Mississippi River. It has been widely dispersed from its native range. Its distribution to other areas of the eastern US and Canada are due to its popularity as a sport and commercial fish, as well as being a forage fish for other sport fish species, such as bass or walleye. The current native and introduced range in the United States is through northern Missouri to western Pennsylvania to South Carolina and north to Maine. Introduced areas currently have not expanded outside of North America. These introductions were predominately performed by the US Fish Commission in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The non-native dispersal was not as intense in Canada. It was primarily limited to the lakes in the Peace River drainage of British Columbia, but has currently expanded to other bordering areas since.[3]
Yellow perch are commonly found in the littoral zones of both large and small lakes, but also inhabit slow-moving rivers and streams, brackish waters, and ponds. Due to human intervention, they are currently found in many man-made lakes, reservoirs, and river impoundments. The perch are most abundant in lakes which may be warm or cool and are extremely productive in smaller lakes where they can dominate unless controlled by predation.
Common Perch Predators
Predators of Yellow Perch include larger fish, such as Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Chain Pickerel, Walleye, Bluegill and other sunfish. Birds, including herons, gulls, eagles, hawks, kingfishers, and mergansers eat them as well.
Other fish-eating animals, such as turtles and bullfrogs may also take a Yellow Perch.