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Reading/discussion assignments
Other assignments

Link to:
Syllabus (undergraduate students)
Syllabus (graduate students)
Morehead State University Collection of Fishes
Reading and writing about immunology This description, from an immunology course in Arizona, is appropriate for all science papers.

Ichthyology links:

Ichthyology and related societies:
American Elasmobranch Society
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists - publishes Copeia
Amerian Fisheries Society - publishes Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, among others
Association of Southeastern Biology - publishes Southeastern Naturalist
Southeastern Fishes Council - publishes Proceedings Southeastern Fishes Council

Search for fishes at museums:
FishGopher
Biodiversity and Biological Collections Webserver

Other Ichthyology links:
Ichthyology Careers
Guidelines for use of fishes in field research
Ichthyology Web Resources
A Catalog of the Species of Fishes, by Eschmeyer et al. - searchable database of 53,000+ fish species names
Fishbase - another searchable database that relies heavily on Eschmeyer, but is perhaps easier to use
TNHC North American Freshwater Fish Index - images, maps, and information

Nomenclature and Systematics:
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature - online access to the 1999, 4th edition

Extinct Fishes:
Craniata Tree of Life Webpage with evolutionary content
James Davison Conodont Collection Beautiful photos

Hagfishes and Lampreys
Hagfish University of California, Berkely Museum of Paleontology Website
Hyperotreti Tree of Life Webpage with excellent information
Hagfish Slime check out the still image of slime along with the movie!
Hagfish Knots View the pictures of slime and a hagfish in a knot, but ignore the text.  Many errors.
Hyperoartia Lamprey page on Tree of Life.  Anatomy and evolution.
Sea Lamprey  Biology and control program of Great Lakes Petromyzon

Sharks, Skates, and Rays:
Sharks  Florida Museum of Natural History Site for sharks. This may be the best site I have seen with large numbers of shark photos in addition to loads of information about great white sharks, "megatooth" sharks, and many others.
Who's who of sharks  PBS site with descriptions of orders of sharks
Introduction to the Chondrichthyes  UCMP site with some nice material on California Great White Sharks

Primitive Bony Fishes:
Dinofish A wonderful site dedicated to the coelacanth.  Lots of nice photos.

Catfishes:
All Catfish Species Inventory. A program dedicated to the description of all catfish species of the world.  Good catfish information and some really nice photos.

Bioluminescent fishes:
The Bioluminescence Web Page  Info and amazing pictures of bioluminescent fishes and other bioluminescent organisms

Conservation Biology of Fishes:
Federal United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered and threatened species
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Flora and Fauna International List
KSNPC Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission list of Kentucky's jeopardized species
KY Division of Water Links to Standard Operating Procedures Manuals, including the KIBI document and spreadsheet
Kissimmee Restoration Project Effects of channelization of Florida's Kissimmee River and the efforts to restore it

Reading and Discussion Assignments

8 September 2008
Forey, P. and P. Janvier. 1994. Evolution of the early vertebrates. American Scientist 82:554-565. (Read if you do not have the text.)
Janvier, P. 1999. Catching the first fish. Nature 402:21-22.
Shu et. al. 1999. Lower Cambrian vertebrates from south China. Nature 402:42-46. (skim)
Sweet, W. C., and P. C. J. Donoghue. 2002. Conodonts: Past, present, future. Journal of Paelontology 75:1174-1184. (Not required reading, but a nice summary for those who want to know more about conodonts.)
15 September 2008
Martini, F. H. 1998. Secrets of the slime hag. Scientific American (Oct):70-75.
Jensen, D. 1966. The hagfish. Scientific American 214(2):82-90. (You are not required to read this one, but hagfish lovers will find it interesting.)
22 September 2008
no assigned papers
29 September 2008
no assigned papers
6 October 2006
Erdman, M. V., R. L. Caldwell, and M. K. Moosa. 1998. Indonesian 'king of the sea' discovered. Nature 395:335.
Forey, P. 1998.  A home from home for coelacanths. Nature 395:319-320.
Greenwood, P. H. 1987. The natural history of lungfishes. Journal of Morphology Supplement 1:163-179. (You are not required to read this one, but those that have a particular interest in lungfishes will enjoy it.)
Examine the Dinofish website.  What do coelacanths look like, where do they live, what habitats do they occupy, and what are some recent discoveries?
13 October 2008
no assigned papers (lecture exam day)
20October 2008
no assigned papers
27 October 2008
Lissman, H. W. 1963. Electric location by fishes. Scientific American 209 (3):50-59.
Case, J. F., J. Warner, A. T. Barnes, and M. Lowenstine. 1977.  Bioluminescence of lantern fish (Myctophidae) in response to changes in light intensity. Nature 265:179-181.
Nicol, J. A. C. 1969. Bioluminescence, pp. 355-400 in Fish Physiology (ed. by Hoar and Randall).  (You are not required to read this one, but it is a nice, though dated, summary of fish bioluminescence).
Pietsch, T. W., and D. B. Grobecker. 1990. Frogfishes. Scientific American 262(June):96-103.  (optional reading for those without a textbook)
3 November 2008
Limbaugh, C. 1961. Cleaning symbiosis. Scientific American 205 (Aug):42-49. (optional reading for those without a textbook)
10 November 2008
Bernal, D., and C. A. Sepulveda. 2005. Evidence for temperature elevation in the aerobic swimming musculature of the common thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus. Copeia 2005:146-151.
Carey, F. G. 1973. Fishes with warm bodies. Scientific American 228 (Feb):36-44.
Carey, F. G., J. M. Teal, J. W. Kanwisher, K. D. Lawson, and J. S. Beckett. 1971. Warm-bodied fish. American Zoologist 11:137-145. (optional reading)
Fuhrman, F. A. 1967. Tetrodotoxin. Scientific American (Aug) 217:60-71. (You don't have to read this one, but you will find the first page very interesting!)
17 November 2008
Conover, D. O. 1984. Adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a fish. American Naturalist 123:297-313.
Evans, J. P., L. Zane, S. Francescato, and A. Pilastro. 2003. Directional postcopulatory sexual selection revealed by artificial insemination. Nature 421:360-363.
Knouft, J. H. and L. M. Page. 2004. Nest defense against predators by the male fringed darter (Etheostoma crossopterum). Copeia 1004:915-918.
Knouft, J. H., L. M. Page, and M. J. Plewa. 2003. Antimicrobial egg cleaning by the fringed darter (Perciformes: Percidae: Etheostoma crossopterum): implications of a novel component of parental care in fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 270:2405-2411.
Palumbi, S. R. 2004. Why mothers matter. Nature 430:621-622.
24 November 2008
no assigned papers
1 December 2008
Warren, M. L. and 11 other authors. 2000. Diversity, distribution, and conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-29.
Look at the link for Kissimmee River Restoration
Look at the link for Expansion of Bighead Carp into the Great Lakes

Other Assignments

Clear and Stain project

Index of Biotic Integrity

Conservation Biology