Different kinds of fish according to their dwelling places

Demersal fish live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy
the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In
coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they
are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not
generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain,
but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from
the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
Benthic fish, sometimes called ground fish, are denser than water, so they can rest on
the sea floor. They either lie-and-wait as ambush predators, maybe covering
themselves with sand or otherwise camouflaging themselves, or move actively over the
bottom in search for food. Benthic fish which can bury themselves
include dragonets, flatfish and stingrays.
Benthopelagic fish inhabit the water just above the bottom, feeding on benthos and
zooplankton. Most demersal fish are benthopelagic.

Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters being neither close
to the bottom nor near the shore in contrast with demersal fish, which do live on or
near the bottom, and reef fish, which are associated with coral reefs.
Epipelagic fish inhabit the epipelagic zone. The epipelagic zone is the water from
the surface of the sea down to 200 metres. It is also referred to as the surface waters or
the sunlit zone, and includes the photic zone. The photic zone is defined as the surface
waters down to the point where the sunlight has attenuated to 1% of the surface value.
This depth depends on how turbid the water is, but in clear water can extend to 200
meters, coinciding with the epipelagic zone. The photic zone has sufficient light
for phytoplankton to photosynthesis.
Mesopelagic fish make daily vertical migrations, moving at night into the
epipelagic zone, often following similar migrations of zooplankton, and returning to the
depths for safety during the day. These vertical migrations often occur over a large
vertical distances, and are undertaken with the assistance of a swim bladder. The swim
bladder is inflated when the fish wants to move up, and, given the high pressures in the
messopelagic zone, this requires significant energy. As the fish ascends, the pressure in

the swim bladder must adjust to prevent it from bursting. When the fish wants to return
to the depths, the swim bladder is deflated.

Why fishes designed streamline?

Like all animals, the fishs body is a result of specialization in its environment.
Water is about 800 times thicker than air and an aquatic life has its own difficulties, such
as buoyancy, drag and the amount of effort needed to move through such a dense
medium.

While most fishes share common features of streamlining for easy movement through
the water, their exact forms vary greatly depending on whether they are predators or
prey, how they feed and what measures they take for attack or defense. Every fish is
optimized for survival.

The bony fish are the most evolved and show the greatest body specialization. Every
feature is developed to exploit their underwater environment. Some have flat bodies and
sucker-style mouths ideal for resisting strong currents and moving along rocks, feeding
on algae -- such as the common plec
While others have streamlined forms adapted to quick, constant movement and
upturned mouths to suck insects from the waters surface, like the zebra danio.

The problem of buoyancy has also led to some interesting forms, like the colorful, lively
mbuna. Popular among fish keepers, these fishes are maneuverable and can hover in
place thanks to their adjustable air sac (swim-bladder) and highly-developed pectoral
and pelvic paired fins. They have traded streamlining and speed for this ability, so
generally move slower. Fishes like this have two types of muscles: brown and white.
The brown muscle is continually supplied with oxygen and has good blood circulation,
so is used for continuous activity. The white muscle (called anaerobic muscle because
it quickly builds up oxygen-debt) is powerful and gives a short-term boost of emergency
speed.

Bottom-feeders are generally much more sedentary. They have limited locomotory
requirements, as can be seen in examples such as the suckermouth and whiptail
catfish. They tend to be compressed dorso-ventrally and, since they live on the bottom
of their environment, have no need for a swim-bladder. Their specialization comes in the
forms of camouflage, feeding and defense rather than quick movement.

Compare human to fish

Similarities
- Both the human and fish brain are structured similarly, with a couple of differences;
they have a brainstem, olfactory bulb, cerebrum, cerebellum, pituitary gland, and pineal
gland (circadian rhythms)
-They share a few more structures with similar functions as well
- Humans and fish have a certain feature of the brain in common - The ability to direct
visual attention at a certain target in order to achieve that goal, and to ignore all other
distractions/stimuli that prevent them from reaching that goal. For more, check out this
article
- Fish can respond to fear and pain
Differences
- Humans have a much more highly developed cerebral cortex - Fish have a structure
similar to the cerebrum called the telencephalon, which is much more primitive than that
of humans - It is also mostly concerned with olfaction
- As mentioned before, fish have much more developed sense organs, and their
olfactory bulbs (smell) are proportionally larger and much more acute than those of
humans - Their vision is also highly developed

- The olfactory bulbs and the telencephalon make up the forebrain; connecting the
forebrain to the midbrain is the diencephalon, which performs functions related to
maintaining homeostasis - We lack this structure in humans
- The midbrain mainly consists of two optic lobes, which is important for fish that hunt by
sight; The hindbrain, which contains the cerebellum, is involved in both swimming and
balance
- The cerebellum is the biggest structure in the fish brain, while in humans it takes up
only about 15%
- Fish brains are quite small relative to their body mass - Typically 1/15 the brain mass
of a similarly size bird or mammal

Term paper
In
Physics

Submitted by:
Casumpang, Chyn Grace D.
Perez, Jennifer
Submitted to:
Prof. Joan Belga

Example of fishes according to their dwelling places

Sting ray

Sword fish

Dragon fish