Habitats
Author(s)
Koehn, John D
Kennard, Mark J
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
There are no terrestrial fishes, of course. Some species
have stretched the boundaries of an aquatic existence
- for example, mudskippers (Gobiidae), salamanderfish
(Lepidogalaxiidae) and lungfishes (e.g. Neoceratodontidae)
- but none is entirely free from
dependence on water as a medium. In their aquatic
realm, fishes rely on water and all kinds of submerged
structures to provide the conditions needed to live,
grow and reproduce. To better understand them, we
need to make a conceptual leap from life on land to
life in the water.
Not all aquatic environments are similar. While
some marine environments are comparatively ...
View more >There are no terrestrial fishes, of course. Some species have stretched the boundaries of an aquatic existence - for example, mudskippers (Gobiidae), salamanderfish (Lepidogalaxiidae) and lungfishes (e.g. Neoceratodontidae) - but none is entirely free from dependence on water as a medium. In their aquatic realm, fishes rely on water and all kinds of submerged structures to provide the conditions needed to live, grow and reproduce. To better understand them, we need to make a conceptual leap from life on land to life in the water. Not all aquatic environments are similar. While some marine environments are comparatively stable, very different conditions prevail in rivers, lakes and other inland waters. These provide an array of dynamic habitats that present a great variety of physiological and ecological challenges. Even in their complex underwater world, freshwater fishes are exposed to the vagaries of a capricious climate (especially. rainfall and runoff) and to the far-reaching consequences of human activities (e.g. dams, pollution, catchment clearing).
View less >
View more >There are no terrestrial fishes, of course. Some species have stretched the boundaries of an aquatic existence - for example, mudskippers (Gobiidae), salamanderfish (Lepidogalaxiidae) and lungfishes (e.g. Neoceratodontidae) - but none is entirely free from dependence on water as a medium. In their aquatic realm, fishes rely on water and all kinds of submerged structures to provide the conditions needed to live, grow and reproduce. To better understand them, we need to make a conceptual leap from life on land to life in the water. Not all aquatic environments are similar. While some marine environments are comparatively stable, very different conditions prevail in rivers, lakes and other inland waters. These provide an array of dynamic habitats that present a great variety of physiological and ecological challenges. Even in their complex underwater world, freshwater fishes are exposed to the vagaries of a capricious climate (especially. rainfall and runoff) and to the far-reaching consequences of human activities (e.g. dams, pollution, catchment clearing).
View less >
Book Title
Ecology of Australian Freshwater Fishes
Publisher URI
Subject
Freshwater ecology