Fish Behavior in the Aquarium and in the Wild - Hardcover

Reebs, Stephan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801439159 ISBN 13: 9780801439155

Publisher: Comstock Publishing Associates, 2001

Synopsis

A home aquarium seems a peaceful place. Gazing at its inhabitants as they swim slowly through their small universe is a soothing, even hypnotic, experience. But this seeming tranquillity is only surface deep. Like their wild counterparts, these tiny, glittering beings exhibit a wide array of fascinating behaviors.

Stéphan Reebs provides a delightfully entertaining, yet scientifically grounded, look at what fishes do and how they do it. From defending their young, to seeking out the perfect sexual partner, to telling time, fishes display a variety of behaviors that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer. Reebs not only describes the behaviors, but also outlines simple experiments that can be performed by observers wishing to learn for themselves just how resourceful―and bizarre―these creatures can be.

Fish Behavior in the Aquarium and in the Wild introduces us to damselfishes that sing like birds, elephantfishes that communicate electrically, and sticklebacks that deceive other fish into believing they have found food. Drawing on the experimental evidence behind such intrinsically interesting responses, Reebs demonstrates how science is conducted in the field of animal behavior.

About this title

About the Author

Stéphan Reebs is Professor of Biology at the University of Moncton, Canada. He has published numerous articles on animal behavior.

Reviews

The aquarium in your living room seems to be a peaceful place, but this seemingly quiet refuge reveals only a fraction of the interesting interactions among fishes and between fish and their environment. Reebs, author of numerous studies on animal behavior, presents a primer on fish behavior. Fish are quite different from the more familiar mammals or birds and live in an environment that is alien to most of us, and yet they must perform many of the same actions as we do. They find food, avoid predators, relate to other fish of their own and different species, attract mates, and raise young. How they take care of these needs makes for fascinating reading. They can detect enemies by scent, many perform courtship dances, and some adjust the number of eggs they lay by the security of the nest site. Sidebars give more information about some topics, and a notes section provides further information and citations to the scientific literature. This excellent introduction will fill any library's need for information about fish. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Fish look extremely relaxed from our side of the fish bowl, but underlying their observed tranquility is a world of complex behavior that has been the subject of much research. Unfortunately for the interested amateur fish-lover, the results of this research have been hard to find and harder to understand. Here, Reebs (biology, Univ. of Moncton, Canada) attempts to solve that problem by "translating" the scientific literature of behavioral ecology into plain English. He discusses at length sensory and cognitive abilities as well as mate selection, particularly in common reef species and those that might be found in aquariums. Although serious and scientific in tone, the book is written in a way that even high school students working on a science project could understand. Reebs also describes some experiments that could be replicated in a home aquarium. Bibliographic references are extensive, allowing for further research. Also provided (but not seen) is a list of the Latin names corresponding to all the common names mentioned in the text, a useful reference tool in itself. Recommended for all public libraries as well as high school and college libraries where there is interest in behavioral ecology or fishes. Margaret Rioux, MBL/WHOI Lib., Woods Hole, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Comstock Publishing Associates
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801439159
• ISBN 13: 9780801439155
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272