Photostory: Biology of Fish

Quinn Bonney | October 21, 2021

---

Patrick Ciccotto’s Biology of Fish class.

Delaney Ward and Conner Holtz use an electrofishing device to gently stun fish. Ward uses the electric pole to shock the fish with a pulse strong enough to stun, but not kill, the fish. Then Holtz simply picks up the fish with a net and places them in a bucket for later examination.

The class kicks around rocks and stomps upstream from a large net to catch any fish between or under rocks.

Bria Scott, Pam Moore and Professor Patrick Ciccotto examine, record and count all fish caught during the lab. After counting, all fish are returned to the water.

Kassidy Stoneburg, Moore and Ciccotto flipping stones and moving sediment with their feet to disturb and displace any fish on the river floor.

Pictured: Swannanoa Darter

“The goal for this class, and with the field trips, is to teach students not only to identify fish in the field but also get an appreciation for the diversity that we have around here. A lot of times when people think of fish diversity they think of coral reefs or tropical ecosystems, but here in the southeast we do have a really unique and diverse fish fauna,” said Ciccotto on the purpose of his class.

Pictured: Redbreast Sunfish

The lab today was a part of the class’ five tiers of field trips around the area to learn multiple species identification as well as the biology of the local fish.

Pictured: Brown Bullhead

There are 257 species of freshwater fishes found in North Carolina, some of which have yet to be formally described to science. Within North Carolina, 11 of these species are found only in the French Broad River basin.

Pictured: Warpaint Shiner

Pictured: Brown Trout