Section 3 Aquatics Envirathon 2023

what is Pennsylvania's most mighty migratory fish?

• brook trout

• muskellunge

• American shad

• small mouth bass

Answer explanation

the American shad is one of our state's most important fishes. it was once caught and eaten by native Americans. later an entire fishing industry thrived around it and it fed many people. it's scientific name is Alosa Sapidissima. Which is Latin for "shad, good to eat?" today it is used as a sport fish and is good for our state's outdoor recreation economy.

the American Chad belongs to what family?

Answer explanation

the American child is the largest herring in North America and can grow up to about to 24 in and 6 lb. it ranges along the Atlantic coast from Florida all the way to Canada eating zoo Plankton micro Crustaceans and small fish. this fish is quite a traveler and is Anna demos meaning up running the shad migrates upstream from saltwater to freshwater for spawn. they grow through Chesapeake Bay or Delaware bay. they go through their journey in late spring. one shot can release up to 3,000 eggs, but most sad die after spawning but some survived spawn another day. humans taste for their mean and caviar led to overfishing which leads to population declines.

Some dams were obstacles for migratory fish.

• true

• false

Answer explanation

one of the biggest obstacles to migratory fish was building dams, but some damn such as the Conowingo Dam have constructed permanent fish passage facilities to eat these migratory fish.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Name another migratory fish.

Answer explanation

hickory shad- the hickory shad King Richard linked around 15 in. the shad prefers to eat small fish

alewife - the shad prefers to spawn in smaller tributaries and slack water

blueback herring- this fish migrates the lower Delaware River and Delaware estery

Paddlefish- this fish migrates up and down the Allegheny in Ohio rivers in search of Plankton to eat

Gizzard shad- this shad has a muscular gizzard like stomach to process Plankton and plant food that it strains from the water

Striped bass - this fish can live up to 30 years and reaches sizes of 4 ft long and 50 lb

Atlantic Sturgeon - the prehistoric fish is endangered. it can reach huge sizes up to 14 ft long and migrates to the lower reaches of the Delaware River to spawn

American Eel - this eel does everything in reverse. It is catadromous, meaning down running. it spends most of its life in freshwater and the migrants to the Atlantic Sargasso Sea to spawn

Pick a type of tool to catch fish

• Pennsylvania style trap net

• hoop nets

• creel survey

• Gill net

• benthic trawl

Answer explanation

Pennsylvania style trap net: this is a tool biologist use the most to serve a lakes and ponds. they are shaped like a funnel. fish enter through the wide end of the funnel and can't find their way out. biologists use trap nets to sample muskellunge, walleyes, Northern pike, catfish, yellow perch, bluegills, crappies and other panfish.

Hoop Nets- these are nuts that are specialty nuts primarily used to catch channel catfish they use smelly cheese bait to attract the catfish and have netting inside that guides the fish into a pot

Creel Survey - unlike the other traps the grill survey is when they ask anglers questions about the length of time they fish that day, the number and species of fish kept and released, fishing methods used and targeted species. in addition, the number of people fishing, both on the water and from the shore, will be counted.

Gill Net - a donut is a flat net that is set in the water. fish swim into the net but can only fit partially through the opening, when the fish tries the back out the net catches behind the Gill cover and traps it

Benthic Trawl - this is used to sample small bottom dwelling fish species, it is a funnel-shaped net and is detached to a boat that jacks it along the bottom. sometimes they havesometimes they have an electric current is used to stun the fish that they move off the bottom and into the net. these are used in deeper waters of large rivers and lake Erie.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

What do the rings on scales or otoliths mean?

Answer explanation

the length and weight tells as many things about a fish how well it's growing if it gets enough food and if it has a good habitat. the rings on scales and othiliths are added as a fish grows. from the inside they provide useful information about the fish's age, growth rate and life history. catching big healthy fish is a good thing for anglers

what does pH measure?

• acidity

• saltiness

• cleanliness

• solutions

Answer explanation

pH measures the acidity or h+ part of that equation. and acid will have more h+ than lh. a base will have more oh than h+. and neutral solution has equal amounts of each part. low PH effects of substances devolve in water. some substances may be toxic to aquatic Life.

water's ability to resist a decrease in pH

• alkalinity

• carbonates

Answer explanation

alkalinity of water is the ability to resist to decrease in ph. it measures the amount of carbohydrates in the water. carbohydrates come from limestone and other rocks. water in an area with limestone will have a better buffering capacity to resist acid rain.

click y to learn about endangered species

• y

• n

Answer explanation

out of all the vertebrates in the world fish probably rank first with the most threatened and endangered members. nationwide, 116 fish species are listed. there are more fish on these with the mammals birds reptiles or amphibians. the hickory shad is an anadromis fish, it lives in the ocean and is very endangered because of dams that people have built have impeded it's migration. the majority of our threatened endangered and candidate fish occur in the western part of the state. the Atlantic sturgeon, short no sturgeon, and lake sturgeon were all prized for their meat and eggs.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5