Fish, as a topic, encompasses the study of aquatic, primarily gill-breathing vertebrates within ichthyology, integrating anatomy, physiology, ecology, evolution, and systematics across jawless (Agnatha), cartilaginous (Chondrichthyes), and bony (Osteichthyes) lineages. Research topics include osmoregulatory strategies in freshwater and marine environments, hydrodynamics of locomotion, sensory biology (e.g., lateral line and electroreception), reproductive modes, life-history strategies, and trophic interactions within aquatic food webs. Fish also serve as model systems in developmental biology, genomics, ecotoxicology, and conservation biology, with topics addressing population dynamics, stock assessment, habitat degradation, climate-driven distribution shifts, and biodiversity patterns in marine and inland waters.
For decades, ecologists have known that how a species looks or eats affects its environment. But a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shows that social behavior related to mating can be ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2026
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Roughly 425 million years ago, in the warm seas over what is now southern China, there lived a meter-long bony fish with jaws full of clusters of spiky teeth.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 8, 2026
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124
Why does a Caribbean angelfish sometimes resemble its Indo-Pacific cousin, even though they have never lived in the same ocean? Why do coral reefs harbor such a wide range of stripes, spots and patterns? A study conducted ...
Evolution
Mar 5, 2026
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Fish that live in rivers, ditches, and streams are better able to withstand warming water than fish in the sea. This is the conclusion of research by ecologist Wilco Verberk of Radboud University. "It is important not to ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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A research team led by Profs. Zhu Min, Lu Jing, and Zhu You'an from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published two back-to-back cover stories in the ...
Evolution
Mar 4, 2026
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151
Recently-revealed notebooks belonging to a late paleontologist contain the missing information needed to help researchers finish their study of a remarkable fossil discovered nearly three decades ago.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 3, 2026
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108
Whether it's redfin pickerel in the Kennebec River or sturgeon in the Great Lakes, nearly one-third of freshwater fish species are facing possible extinction, threatening food supplies, ecosystems and outdoor recreation. ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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About 10 million years ago, Antarctica's Southern Ocean started to get so cold that it scared away most fish in the region. Among the fish that stayed were what are now known as black rockcod, part of a famously sturdy family ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 23, 2026
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14
Many fish appear to hang effortlessly in the water while they wait for prey, defend a nest or pause between bursts of activity. But our research shows that this quiet stillness is anything but effortless. Hovering, the behavior ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 21, 2026
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55
Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan have discovered a previously undiscovered behavior in cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus). When presented with a mirror, the tiny fish not only recognized themselves, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2026
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