Download Fish Habitat Requirements Handout B = Cool, deep water A

Fish Habitat Requirements Handout
Fish try to expend as little energy as possible while being both close to their food source and acquiring plenty of oxygen. They have four basic requirements:
Food: Fish eat invertebrates, small fish, and crustaceans. Fish want to be close to their food source.
Shelter: Fish need protection from predators, strong currents and warm water temperatures:
 In Rivers (Lotic water) fish like to be close to feeding lanes so they expend little energy as possible getting
food and find safety in: holes, riffles, eddies, in front of and behind rocks, etc.
 In Lakes or Ponds (Lentic water) fish like to be in cool water with adequate oxygen and under/near shelter
Oxygen: Like humans, fish need oxygen to survive. Temperature affects oxygen levels in the water. Colder water has
more oxygen. Riffled water has more dissolved oxygen. Shade cools the water allowing higher oxygen levels.
Water Temperature: As you’ve observed from the Fish CasTargets you’ve been catching and recording in your Fish ID
Charts, all fish have biological requirements for a certain range of temperature in which they live and survive.
Lotic (flowing) water (river, stream, creek)
Tree
B = Hole
A = Riffle
FEEDING LANE
FEEDING
FEEDING
LANE
FEEDING
LANE
Water flow
Rocks
C = Eddie
Log
Str
e
am
int flow
ol
ake ing
Lentic (still) water (lake, pond)
B = Cool, deep water
Vegetation on surface of the
A
Dock
water
C
Reading Water Handout
Student name________________________
Read the information in the Fish Habitat Requirements Handout to develop an understanding of where fish are found
in both warm and cold freshwater habitats. Then fill in below as follows:
1. Recall 10 different freshwater CasTarget Fish you caught in class (refer to your Fish ID Chart as necessary)
2. In the boxes below, enter the names of fish in the “Fish species likely to live here”, based upon where you think
they would most likely be found according to:
 What “Water Type” would suit them…
 And at what “Point on the drawing” (on the handout) would they tend to be best suited...
 And “Why” you would think this about each fish?
Water Type
Point on
drawing
Fish species
likely to live here
Why?
A
In a riffle
Lotic
(River,
stream, creek)
B
In a hole
C
In an eddie
A
Near surface vegetation
Walleye
Lentic
(Lake, pond)
B
In cool,
deep water
C
Under/
around a
dock
The water temperature is cool and they are away from bright
light.
Teacher’s Version
Reading Water Handout
Read the information in the Fish Habitat Requirements Handout to develop an understanding of where fish are found
in both warm and cold freshwater habitats. Then fill in below as follows:
1. Recall 10 different freshwater CasTarget Fish you caught in class (refer to your Fish ID Chart as necessary)
2. In the boxes below, enter the names of fish in the “Fish species likely to live here”, based upon where you think
they would most likely be found according to:
 What “Water Type” would suit them…
 And at what “Point on the drawing” (on the handout) would they tend to be best suited...
 And “Why” you would think this about each fish?
Water Type
Point on
drawing
Fish species
likely to live here
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout
Trout are very streamlined and can move quickly, they can
handle current and prefer cool temperatures. They sit facing
upstream in front of and behind rocks, where they expend little
energy, while "the conveyer belt of food” (current) is coming at
them.
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout
Small/Large Mouth Bass
Northern Pike
Deeper spots on moving water, often called “holes”, are popular resting places for many fish. They provide cooler, darker
water, often with less current to fight. And, the water depth
provides security. Larger fish frequent holes moreso than
smaller, younger fish. Holes serve as temporary “hideaways”
as opposed to regular feeding lanes.
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
C
Cutthroat Trout
In an eddie Rainbow Trout
Small/Large Mouth Bass
Northern Pike
Like Trout, Small and Large Mouth Bass and even Northern
Pike can be found in rivers. It is more common to find nonTrout species like Bass and Northern sitting in “pools” or
“eddies” in rivers. They are not as streamlined and can’t move
as quickly so they are not found in fast moving currents or
“riffles.”
Large Mouth Bass
Yellow Perch
Near sur- Bluegill
face vege- Crappie
tation
Vegetation protects and shades fish. The overhead cover provides security, and cooler temps. Vegetation on the surface is
often associated with shallower, warmer waters that are near
shore. Many other species that are food sources for fish are
also found here.
A
In a riffle
Lotic
B
(River,
stream, creek)
In a hole
A
Lentic
(Lake, pond)
Why?
B
In cool,
deep water
C
Under/
around a
dock
Walleye
Northern Pike
Muskellunge
Depth provides many requirements for larger species of fish:
water temperature is cool; cooler water generally holds more
oxygen, a requirement of larger fish; bright sunlight is diminished; adequate sources of live food are also available at
depths; and, there’s just more room down there.
Large Mouth Bass
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Crappie
Protective objects like docks, boats, jetties, piers, etc., provide
security/protection for fish and shade them. Many such objects are associated with shallower water which are often
warmer, promoting growth and availability of a variety of insect and non-insect food sources which these fish species like.