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鈥呚� 鬲毓乇賮賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞貨 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱丿丕禺賱賷丞 賱賱兀爻賲丕賰鈥�
賷賯賮 丕賱賲丐賱賮 毓亘乇 氐賮丨丕鬲 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 毓賱賶 鬲噩乇亘鬲賴 丕賱胤賮賵賱賷丞 賲毓 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賮賷 丕賱賲乇丨賱丞 丕賱廿亘鬲丿丕卅賷丞 賲乇賵乇丕賸 亘丿乇丕爻鬲賴 丕賱噩丕賲毓賷丞 賮賷 毓賱賲 丕賱兀丨賷丕亍 賵丕賳鬲賴丕亍賸 亘賰賵賳賴 賲禺鬲氐丕賸 賮賷 毓賱賲 丕賱兀丨賷丕亍 賵賲丿賷乇丕賸 賱賱噩賲毓賷丞 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 賮賷 丕賱賵賱丕賷丕鬲 丕賱賲鬲丨丿丞貙 賵賴賷 兀賰孬乇 賲賳馗賲丕鬲 丨賲丕賷丞 丕賱丨賷賵丕賳 賳賮賵匕丕賸 賮賷 丕賱毓丕賱賲. 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丿賲丞 丕賱鬲賷 賷賮鬲鬲丨 亘賴丕 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賰鬲丕亘賴 賷賯賵賱: "鈥� 兀購賱賽賾賮 毓丿丿賹 賴丕卅賱 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲亘 丨賵賱 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰貨 鬲賳賵購賾毓賴丕貙 賵亘賷卅鬲賴丕貙 賵禺氐賵亘鬲賴丕貙 賵丕爻鬲乇丕鬲賷噩賷丕鬲 亘賯丕卅賴丕. 賵賷賲賰賳 賲賱亍 毓丿賾丞 乇賮賵賮 亘賰鬲亘 賵賲噩賱丕賾鬲 丨賵賱 賰賷賮賷丞 氐賷丿 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰. 賵賲毓 匕賱賰貙 賱賲 賷購丐賱賻賾賮貙 丨鬲賶 丕賱賷賵賲貙 賰鬲丕亘賹 賱兀噩賱 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰. 兀賳丕 賱丕 兀卮賷乇 賴賳丕 廿賱賶 乇爻丕賱丞 丕賱氐賽賾賷丕賳賷賾賷賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲卮噩亘 賲丨賳丞 丕賱兀賳賵丕毓 丕賱賲賴丿賾丿丞 亘丕賱丕賳賯乇丕囟 兀賵 賮乇胤 丕賱丕爻鬲睾賱丕賱 賱賲禺夭賵賳 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰. 賷賴丿賮 賰鬲丕亘賷 廿賱賶 丕賱鬲賰賱購賾賲 亘丕爻賲 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 亘胤乇賷賯丞 賱賲 鬲賰賳 賲賲賰賳丞
361 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2016
573 people are currently reading
9157 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Balcombe
12听books138听followersJonathan Balcombe was born in England, raised in New Zealand and Canada, and has lived in the United States since 1987. He has three biology degrees, including a PhD in ethology (the study of animal behavior) from the University of Tennessee, where he studied communication in bats. He has published over 45 scientific papers on animal behavior and animal protection.
He is the author of four books. Jonathon is currently at work on a new book about the inner lives of fishes, and a novel titled After Meat.
Formerly Senior Research Scientist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Jonathan is currently the Department Chair for Animal Studies with the Humane Society University.
Based near Washington, DC, in his spare time Jonathan enjoys biking, baking, birdwatching, piano, painting, and trying to understand his two cats.
He is the author of four books. Jonathon is currently at work on a new book about the inner lives of fishes, and a novel titled After Meat.
Formerly Senior Research Scientist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Jonathan is currently the Department Chair for Animal Studies with the Humane Society University.
Based near Washington, DC, in his spare time Jonathan enjoys biking, baking, birdwatching, piano, painting, and trying to understand his two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
April 10, 2017
Years ago I had an extraordinary experience with squids when I was snorkelling off an unknown reef very close to a tiny island about 100 yards from shore. If the reef had been known there would have been very few parrotfish and cowfish, both of which are good eating. There would also have been no . A supermale is a female that has turned into a male and is double or more the size of the other fish and also much more beautiful and brightly coloured and absolutely delicious to eat.
So I was snorkelling and I saw a little squid, it stayed still in the water and was rapidly changing colour. Then it was joined by another, then another until there were about 7 of them of varying sizes from about the size of your hand up to forearm sized all in a row and all rapidly cycling colours. I called out to my ex to come and see but come slowly not to scare them. I didn't think they would stay. He swam over and by then there were about 11 squids and it was apparent to both of us that they were staring at me. They were as curious and interested in me as I was in them and they didn't go away for quite a few minutes. They were no more shy than I was and as I had called my ex, so they had 'called' each other. Perhaps it was because no one knows of the reef they live in they weren't frightened of people, I don't know.
What I learned from this book:
1. If we thought of fish as we do mammals we would stop thinking of them as 'other' and realise that they have the same five senses (plus more). Having the senses means using them and implies learning from experience (don't touch that sea urchin again, it not only stings, but poisons).
2. That people judge intelligence by how like us the animal thinks. We do too. All those books on animal intelligence are just about measuring how like us the animals solve problems that humans set them.
3. That scientists rail against anthropomorphising animals, but if we did a bit more with fish, if we were more empathetic and understanding we would see that they have personalities, liked to play and not pretend that they can't feel pain and have no consciousness so it's ok to come into my shop and say (as plenty of customers do) that they are 'basically vegetarians' but eat fish.
Here in the Caribbean, diving is good career. People come every week and want to be taken to see the reefs. The divers nurture relationships with generally-friendly fish like rays, giant groupers (Goliath fish) and some of the sharks so that their clients will have an interesting experience. Not all of these relationships are based on food. They never are with sharks. It would be foolish to feed sharks! But nevertheless, over years the divers and individual sharks get friendly and the sharks come and rub against the divers, much as cats do, and like to be caressed. What's in it for the fish is the same as what's in it for the people, it's entertaining, it's nice to see friends, what else could it be?
The book, to sum up, was quite boring. I was hoping for more than the author's conjectures based on our common senses, what is known about fish and their life cycles, and anecdotes (like mine). Few of his assumptions and conclusions were ones that were new to me. I don't think it's the fault of the author, it's just that fishes inner lives are mostly a mystery.
3.5 stars rounded up because the author did his best and at least opened a dialogue into the idea that fish are as deserving as consideration as other animals when it comes to protecting them from pain and harm.
So I was snorkelling and I saw a little squid, it stayed still in the water and was rapidly changing colour. Then it was joined by another, then another until there were about 7 of them of varying sizes from about the size of your hand up to forearm sized all in a row and all rapidly cycling colours. I called out to my ex to come and see but come slowly not to scare them. I didn't think they would stay. He swam over and by then there were about 11 squids and it was apparent to both of us that they were staring at me. They were as curious and interested in me as I was in them and they didn't go away for quite a few minutes. They were no more shy than I was and as I had called my ex, so they had 'called' each other. Perhaps it was because no one knows of the reef they live in they weren't frightened of people, I don't know.
What I learned from this book:
1. If we thought of fish as we do mammals we would stop thinking of them as 'other' and realise that they have the same five senses (plus more). Having the senses means using them and implies learning from experience (don't touch that sea urchin again, it not only stings, but poisons).
2. That people judge intelligence by how like us the animal thinks. We do too. All those books on animal intelligence are just about measuring how like us the animals solve problems that humans set them.
3. That scientists rail against anthropomorphising animals, but if we did a bit more with fish, if we were more empathetic and understanding we would see that they have personalities, liked to play and not pretend that they can't feel pain and have no consciousness so it's ok to come into my shop and say (as plenty of customers do) that they are 'basically vegetarians' but eat fish.
Here in the Caribbean, diving is good career. People come every week and want to be taken to see the reefs. The divers nurture relationships with generally-friendly fish like rays, giant groupers (Goliath fish) and some of the sharks so that their clients will have an interesting experience. Not all of these relationships are based on food. They never are with sharks. It would be foolish to feed sharks! But nevertheless, over years the divers and individual sharks get friendly and the sharks come and rub against the divers, much as cats do, and like to be caressed. What's in it for the fish is the same as what's in it for the people, it's entertaining, it's nice to see friends, what else could it be?
The book, to sum up, was quite boring. I was hoping for more than the author's conjectures based on our common senses, what is known about fish and their life cycles, and anecdotes (like mine). Few of his assumptions and conclusions were ones that were new to me. I don't think it's the fault of the author, it's just that fishes inner lives are mostly a mystery.
3.5 stars rounded up because the author did his best and at least opened a dialogue into the idea that fish are as deserving as consideration as other animals when it comes to protecting them from pain and harm.
January 10, 2019
Who ever knew that s book about fish could be both so fascinating and illuminating. Don't think I will ever look at fish the same way again. So many characteristics that make us human do come into play with fish. Communication skills, empathy, using tools and other clever ways to get what they need, including cleaning. The chapters are nicely separated, covering a topic at a time.
So many different types of fish, I spent much time looking them up to see their pictures. Some can change from femsle to make, what a clever advantage. Some have elaborate courtships in order to attract a mate. My favorite little puffer fish for instance uses his fins, to create an unusual and elaborate sand circle, much like the crop circles in farmers fields. In the middle he further furnishes his new lady love with broken shells, seaweed, other types of bling. All this for one mating session. Intrepid little fella.
So many fascinating facts, well worth a read. Audio listeners be aware that illustrations are in the book. So many times the sudio does not contain a PDF file.
So many different types of fish, I spent much time looking them up to see their pictures. Some can change from femsle to make, what a clever advantage. Some have elaborate courtships in order to attract a mate. My favorite little puffer fish for instance uses his fins, to create an unusual and elaborate sand circle, much like the crop circles in farmers fields. In the middle he further furnishes his new lady love with broken shells, seaweed, other types of bling. All this for one mating session. Intrepid little fella.
So many fascinating facts, well worth a read. Audio listeners be aware that illustrations are in the book. So many times the sudio does not contain a PDF file.
August 16, 2023
賯亘賱 毓丿丞 爻賳賵丕鬲 賵噩丿賳賷 氐丿賷賯賷 賮賷 丕賱毓賲賱 卮丕乇丿 丕賱匕賴賳 兀丨丿賯 賮賷 爻賯賮 丕賱睾乇賮丞 賮亘丕丿乇賳賷 賯丕卅賱丕:
- 賮賷賴 丨丕噩賴 賵 丕賱丕 丕賷賴
= 賱賷爻 賲賳 丕賱爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲賰賵賳 孬毓賱亘 賲丕亍
- 賳毓賲 賷丕 囟賳丕賷丕
丕賳賮噩乇賳丕 囟丕丨賰賷賳 賲毓丕 賯亘賱 兀賳 兀亘乇乇 賱賴 賯賵賱賷 丕賱毓賮賵賷 丕賱匕賷 噩丕亍 亘賲賳鬲賴賶 丕賱噩丿賷丞 乇睾賲 賲丕 兀孬丕乇賴 賲賳 噩賵 賰賵賲賷丿賷 賮賷 丕賱賲賰鬲亘 亘兀賰賲賱賴.
賰賳鬲 賯丿 卮丕賴丿鬲 賮賷 丕賱賷賵賲 丕賱爻丕亘賯 賵丕孬卅賯賷 毓賳 丨賷丕丞 孬毓賱亘 丕賱賲丕亍 賵 丕賱賲禺丕胤乇 丕賱鬲賷 賷鬲毓乇囟 賱賴丕 賲賳 賲賮鬲乇爻丕鬲 兀禺乇賶 兀賵 賲賳 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賵 丕賱胤亘賷毓丞 賵 禺賱丕賱 賲賵丕爻賲 丕賱賴噩乇丞 兀賵 丕賱鬲夭丕賵噩 兀賵 丨賳賶 賮賷 賲毓丕賳丕丞 丕賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱睾匕丕亍 賱賴 賵 賱兀胤賮丕賱賴 賵 賮賷 丿賮丕毓賴 毓賳 賳賮爻賴 賵 毓賳 兀爻乇鬲賴 賵 賲賳胤賯鬲賴. 賰丕賳 丕賱賮賷賱賲 噩賷丿丕 噩丿丕 賵 賲孬賷乇丕 賱賱鬲爻丕丐賱丕鬲 毓賳 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賷賵丕賳丕鬲 丕賱亘丨乇賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 賳賰丕丿 賳毓賷乇賴丕 丕賳鬲亘丕賴丕 賵 賱賰賳賴丕 賮賷 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 兀賲賲 兀賲孬丕賱賳丕 賰賲丕 賷賯賵賱 丕賱鬲毓亘賷乇 丕賱賯乇丌賳賷.
賱賲 賷夭賱 丕賱賲毓賱賯 賮賷 丕賱賮賷賱賲 賷賯賵賱 毓賳丿 賰賱 賲賵賯賮 賴匕賴 丕賱賰賱賲丞 丕賱卮賴賷乇丞:
賱賷爻 賲賳 丕賱爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲賰賵賳 孬毓賱亘 賲丕亍賵 毓賳丿賴丕 兀賷賯賳鬲 亘丕賱賮毓賱 兀賳賴 賱賷爻 兀賲乇丕 爻賴賱丕 亘丕賱賲乇丞 賵 毓乇賮鬲 兀賳 賴匕丕 賱賷爻 賴賵 丕賱卮賷亍 丕賱氐毓亘 丕賱賵丨賷丿 兀賳 兀賰賵賳賴 賵 毓乇賮鬲 兀賳賴 賰賲 賲賳 孬毓丕賱亘 賲丕亍 賵 丨賷賵丕賳丕鬲 兀禺乇賶 鬲賰丕賮丨 賲賳 兀噩賱 丕賱亘賯丕亍.
廿匕丕 賰賳鬲 賲賴鬲賲丕 亘賲乇丕賯亘丞 丕賱兀賲賲 丕賱兀禺乇賶 賲賳 亘賳賷 丕賱丨賷賵丕賳 賵 鬲賵丿 兀賳 鬲毓乇賮 兀賰孬乇 毓賳 爻賱賵賰賴丕 賵 胤賲賵丨丕鬲賴丕 賮賷 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賮賴匕丕 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賴賵 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿 賱賰.
賱賳 賷爻乇丿 賱賰 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 賲噩乇丿丞 毓賳 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賵 兀賳賵丕毓賴丕 賵 鬲卮乇賷丨賴丕 兀賵 丨鬲賶 賵氐賮丕鬲賴丕 亘賱 爻賷禺亘乇賰 亘賰賱 亘爻丕胤丞 毓賳 賲丕 鬲毓乇賮賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞 丕賱鬲賷 賳爻賷亍 賮賴賲賴丕 賵 賳鬲氐賵乇 兀賳賴丕 賰丕卅賳 禺丕賱賷 賲賳 丕賱廿丿乇丕賰 賵 丕賱廿丨爻丕爻 賵 兀賳 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賲賷賰丕賳賷賰丞 鬲禺賱賵 賲賳 兀賷 賲卮丕毓乇 兀賵 兀賴丿丕賮 賵 賰賱 匕賱賰 賱兀賳 賵噩賵賴賴丕 賰賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱丨賷賵丕賳丕鬲 鬲禺賱賵 賲賳 兀賷 鬲毓亘賷乇 賳丕賴賷賰 毓賳 睾賲賵囟 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賳丕 賱賵噩賵丿賴丕 賮賷 馗賱賲丕鬲 亘毓囟賴丕 賮賵賯 亘毓囟.
賷禺亘乇賳丕 毓賳 賲丕 鬲丿乇賰賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞 賵 賲丕 鬲卮毓乇 亘賴 賵 賲丕 鬲賮賰乇 賮賷賴 賲賳 賵丕賯毓 毓卮乇丕鬲 丕賱鬲噩丕乇亘 丕賱毓賱賲賷丞 毓賱賶 兀賳賵丕毓 賰孬賷乇丞 賲賳 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賵 賷賳鬲賯賱 兀賷囟丕 廿賱賶 賲賵囟賵毓 睾丕賷丞 賮賷 丕賱鬲卮賵賷賯 毓賳 賲賳 鬲毓乇賮賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞. 賵 賴賱 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 鬲爻鬲胤賷毓 丕賱鬲毓乇賮 毓賱賶 亘毓囟賴丕 賵 毓賱賶 丕賱賰丕卅賳丕鬲 丕賱兀禺乇賶 賲毓乇賮丞 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵 賰賷賮 鬲鬲賳丕爻賱 丕賱爻賲賰丞 賵 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 禺丕乇噩 丕賱賲丕亍 孬賲 賷禺鬲賲 亘賮氐賱 毓賳 賲禺丕胤乇 丕賳賯乇丕囟 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賵 丕賱氐賷丿 丕賱噩丕卅乇 賵 亘卮丕毓丞 賲夭丕乇毓 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賰爻丕卅乇 丕賱賲夭丕乇毓 丕賱丨賷賵丕賳賷丞 丕賱兀禺乇賶.
March 6, 2020
This is the most delightfully charming work of nonfiction I have read in a long time!
I have heard on numerous occasions that fish are nothing more than 鈥渨ater vegetables鈥�, lacking feelings of pain, memory, familial love and social structure. They are continuously looked upon as a distinct species separate from the rest of the animal kingdom because they do not embody features we associate with more 鈥渟entient beings鈥�.
I used to work in a Fish and Reptile department at a pet store. I have intimate memories of fish that recognized me when I came near their tank, liked to be touched, and had specific preferences with which fish they spend their time with. At the time, I thought it was all in my head and I was giving fish more credit than they deserved by anthropomorphizing them. However, there was always a lingering doubt in the back of my mind.
This book was a luminous revelation to me. The author's sincere passion and care for the welfare and advocacy of all "fishes" (instead of grouping them all together as a singular fish, the author makes a point of using the plural form to indicate that they are a group of individual fish with different likes, dislikes etc.) is embedded throughout the text.
Some interesting things I learned:
- Our assumption that fish are quiet is false. They make an array of different sounds to communicate with one another - one comical method is through (I kid you not) farting!
- There was a study exploring the relationship that Koi have with music. The researchers found that Koi correctly discerned different musical cues and were able to classify music by artistic genre (blues, classics etc).
- Fish are curious beings and gain stimulation through various modes of play. There is an anecdotal case where a cat and a fish play a running game with each other that was endearing. This is especially important for fish owners. I can鈥檛 imagine what a fish must feel living in an empty tank isolated without anything providing a source of entertainment or aesthetic comfort.
- The intricacies involved with the symbiotic relationship between fish and their cleaner were fascinating.
After reading this, I have a much deeper understanding and respect for our underwater cousins. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
I have heard on numerous occasions that fish are nothing more than 鈥渨ater vegetables鈥�, lacking feelings of pain, memory, familial love and social structure. They are continuously looked upon as a distinct species separate from the rest of the animal kingdom because they do not embody features we associate with more 鈥渟entient beings鈥�.
I used to work in a Fish and Reptile department at a pet store. I have intimate memories of fish that recognized me when I came near their tank, liked to be touched, and had specific preferences with which fish they spend their time with. At the time, I thought it was all in my head and I was giving fish more credit than they deserved by anthropomorphizing them. However, there was always a lingering doubt in the back of my mind.
This book was a luminous revelation to me. The author's sincere passion and care for the welfare and advocacy of all "fishes" (instead of grouping them all together as a singular fish, the author makes a point of using the plural form to indicate that they are a group of individual fish with different likes, dislikes etc.) is embedded throughout the text.
Some interesting things I learned:
- Our assumption that fish are quiet is false. They make an array of different sounds to communicate with one another - one comical method is through (I kid you not) farting!
- There was a study exploring the relationship that Koi have with music. The researchers found that Koi correctly discerned different musical cues and were able to classify music by artistic genre (blues, classics etc).
- Fish are curious beings and gain stimulation through various modes of play. There is an anecdotal case where a cat and a fish play a running game with each other that was endearing. This is especially important for fish owners. I can鈥檛 imagine what a fish must feel living in an empty tank isolated without anything providing a source of entertainment or aesthetic comfort.
- The intricacies involved with the symbiotic relationship between fish and their cleaner were fascinating.
After reading this, I have a much deeper understanding and respect for our underwater cousins. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
March 19, 2018
Fish get short shrift when we are thinking about animal behaviour. Consider the poor maligned gold fish, which is reputed to have an attention span of mere seconds. Incorrect, as it turns out鈥攇old fish can learn tasks and retain that learning for months.
I鈥檓 not a diver. I can鈥檛 swim and water will always be a scary place for me, but I can see where this book would be very interesting to anyone who spends time in the underwater world. Fish are much more interesting that I gave them credit for. I鈥檓 a birder, after all, and so I鈥檓 a little biased (although I certainly know that the term 鈥渂ird brain鈥� is actually more of a compliment than an insult).
It鈥檚 difficult for us to imagine what a fish鈥檚 life is like鈥攖hey live in a completely different medium than we do, have extra senses that we can鈥檛 fathom, and have unexpressive faces. I think that last point is the one that leads us to underestimate fishes鈥攚e value expressiveness over evidence, I think, because it鈥檚 something we鈥檙e good at.
If you are interested in matters of animal intelligence (and human judginess) I would recommend Franz de Waal鈥檚 excellent book .
I鈥檓 not a diver. I can鈥檛 swim and water will always be a scary place for me, but I can see where this book would be very interesting to anyone who spends time in the underwater world. Fish are much more interesting that I gave them credit for. I鈥檓 a birder, after all, and so I鈥檓 a little biased (although I certainly know that the term 鈥渂ird brain鈥� is actually more of a compliment than an insult).
It鈥檚 difficult for us to imagine what a fish鈥檚 life is like鈥攖hey live in a completely different medium than we do, have extra senses that we can鈥檛 fathom, and have unexpressive faces. I think that last point is the one that leads us to underestimate fishes鈥攚e value expressiveness over evidence, I think, because it鈥檚 something we鈥檙e good at.
If you are interested in matters of animal intelligence (and human judginess) I would recommend Franz de Waal鈥檚 excellent book .
January 13, 2017
Brain candy for any diver...a must read.
The last two chapters point out a ton of inconvenient truths for fish eaters. Looks like there are going to be more nuts and beans in my diet.
The last two chapters point out a ton of inconvenient truths for fish eaters. Looks like there are going to be more nuts and beans in my diet.
March 15, 2019
"What many of these people like about fishes is not that they are like us. What is beautiful about them, and equally worthy of respect, is how they are not like us. Their different ways of being in the world are a source of fascination and admiration, and cause for sympathy. We can connect across the great divide that separates us, as when I have felt the gentle tugs of discus fishes rising to pluck food from my fingertips, or when a grouper fish approaches a trusted diver to receive caresses.
Among other things, fishes use their brains to survive and flourish, and one of the ways I have sought to raise the status of fishes has been to draw attention to their awareness and cognitive skills. But extolling the mental virtues of other species inflates the importance of intelligence, when intelligence really has little to do with moral standing... Sentience--the capacity to feel, to suffer pain, to experience joy--is the bedrock of ethics. It is what qualifies one for the moral community."
-"Epilogue"
This book is excellent. It taught me more about fishes than I'd ever expected to learn, and it is fascinating in the details Balcombe selected to share with his readers. What impresses me the most, other than the awesomeness and strangeness of creation expressed through fishes, is Balcombe's obvious love for and admiration of fishes. He makes them real to me through scientific evidence but also through anecdotal evidence. I appreciate that he mixes stories with science to not only prove his points but to also add sympathy and emotion to his arguments.
The main claim in this book is that fishes are not fish. They are not a mass of creatures without individuality, emotion, intelligence, or knowledge. They are individuals with personalities, memories, and culture. The way that fishes interact with each other, socially, sexually, and culturally is so similar to we humans that it makes it impossible not to see fishes as sentient beings, deserving of our respect.
Finally, I love the subtitle. For Balcombe, I know that it refers to evolution and the concept that life on our planet started in the water, and that at some point, our first land ancestors emerged out of the ocean and started developing bodies that could function on land. For me, it means that God created us all, so we all have common ancestry. Also, there was water before God created anything else, so in creation, the concept of life beginning in the water is the same as it is in evolutionary biology. Fishes existed before people, and they had more time to develop, evolve, and bond with the rest of creation. Why would we humans think we are any better than fishes? We have the same creator, and we are made from the same materials. We are all birthed from water.
I highly recommend this book to people who already love fishes but especially to people who are convinced that the things who live in water and don't blink are not intelligent individuals. You'll be shocked to find you are very wrong!
Among other things, fishes use their brains to survive and flourish, and one of the ways I have sought to raise the status of fishes has been to draw attention to their awareness and cognitive skills. But extolling the mental virtues of other species inflates the importance of intelligence, when intelligence really has little to do with moral standing... Sentience--the capacity to feel, to suffer pain, to experience joy--is the bedrock of ethics. It is what qualifies one for the moral community."
-"Epilogue"
This book is excellent. It taught me more about fishes than I'd ever expected to learn, and it is fascinating in the details Balcombe selected to share with his readers. What impresses me the most, other than the awesomeness and strangeness of creation expressed through fishes, is Balcombe's obvious love for and admiration of fishes. He makes them real to me through scientific evidence but also through anecdotal evidence. I appreciate that he mixes stories with science to not only prove his points but to also add sympathy and emotion to his arguments.
The main claim in this book is that fishes are not fish. They are not a mass of creatures without individuality, emotion, intelligence, or knowledge. They are individuals with personalities, memories, and culture. The way that fishes interact with each other, socially, sexually, and culturally is so similar to we humans that it makes it impossible not to see fishes as sentient beings, deserving of our respect.
Finally, I love the subtitle. For Balcombe, I know that it refers to evolution and the concept that life on our planet started in the water, and that at some point, our first land ancestors emerged out of the ocean and started developing bodies that could function on land. For me, it means that God created us all, so we all have common ancestry. Also, there was water before God created anything else, so in creation, the concept of life beginning in the water is the same as it is in evolutionary biology. Fishes existed before people, and they had more time to develop, evolve, and bond with the rest of creation. Why would we humans think we are any better than fishes? We have the same creator, and we are made from the same materials. We are all birthed from water.
I highly recommend this book to people who already love fishes but especially to people who are convinced that the things who live in water and don't blink are not intelligent individuals. You'll be shocked to find you are very wrong!
October 23, 2016
_What A Fish Knows_ was a quick, enjoyable read that veered between being a popular science book on the latest findings on fish behavior, memory, sensory abilities, and intelligence and a book strongly advocating for a kinder, more empathetic treatment of fish (and also essentially never, ever eating fish again). I can understand how one type of writing (fish are both surprisingly intelligent and quite aware of their environment and what happens to them in ways that might surprise most readers) would lead to the other (in the words of the author, 鈥渇ishes are individual beings whose lives have intrinsic value 鈥� that is, value to themselves quite apart from any utilitarian value they might have to us,鈥� very much echoing the views of _Relicts of a Beautiful Sea_ by Christopher Norment, who covered rare desert pupfish of the American Southwest at length, a book well worth reading). I rather preferred the more straightforward presentation of the latest findings on fish behavior and cognition than the more advocate aspects (most prevalent in the opening section and again towards the end), though even I cringed after reading the chapter at the end of the book describing the suffering and waste brought about by modern fishing practices (I am unsure if having read the book made that section even more cringeworthy, as I have always lamented so many things about modern fishing, such as the massive death of animals in the form of bycatch and the damage brought about by trawling nets).
I will admit that some of the more advocacy type claims made early in the book (such as on page 19, 鈥渨e鈥檒l explore how fishes are not just sentient, but aware, communicative, social, tool-using, virtuous, even Machiavellian鈥� or on page 20 鈥淸a]nother prejudice we hold against fish is that they are 鈥減rimitive,鈥� which in this context has a host of unflattering connotations; simple, undeveloped, dim, inflexible, and unfeeling鈥�) made me think twice about reading the book but also, after reading it, deciding I was a bit too hasty, as the author did indeed provide examples of fish tool use, evidence of perhaps friendships among fish and among fish and non-fish, and lots of examples of Machiavellian behavior. It鈥檚 not that I thought fish were stupid or dim-witted or was surprised that they had some complex behaviors, but the more emotional aspects of what he wrote I was a little leery of (were the fish being anthromorphized or was this part of a philosophy that granted sentience to just about any animal and what did virtuous mean in this context?).
Another aspect of the book, which the author identified very early on, was his heavily reliance on anecdotes. While studies were definitely mentioned (and documented in the copious bibliography), there were lots and lots of examples, often provided by non-scientists, of fish behavior and intelligence indicating levels of cognition and recognition of individuals (be they other fish or non-fish like pet owners or individual divers) well beyond what most people would think of with regards to fish (a relevant quote on page 6, 鈥淚 have sought to sprinkle the science with stories of people鈥檚 encounters with fishes, and I will be sharing some of these as we go along. Anecdotes carry little credibility with scientists, but they provide insight into what animals may be capable of that science has yet to explore鈥�). They were fun to read and did indicate that so much more research can be done, but I sometimes found myself preferring the studies rather than the stories.
As far as the science of the book goes, most of it was fascinating. The author organized the book into different sections (鈥渨hat a fish perceives,鈥� 鈥渨hat a fish feels,鈥� 鈥渨hat a fish thinks,鈥� 鈥渨ho a fish knows,鈥� and 鈥渉ow a fish breeds鈥�), each section two or three chapters and filled with lots of fascinating facts.
The reader learns in the 鈥渨hat a fish perceives鈥� section that some fish, such as bluegill, can see predators in a different part of the pond as they use the underside of the water鈥檚 surface as a mirror, that seemingly identical looking fish (such as various species of highly territorial damselfish) can distinguish between various individuals owing to distinctive facial patterns of dots and arcs only visible in UV, each pattern as unique as a human fingerprint, some fish (such as American shad and Gulf menhaden) can hear the ultrasonic sounds produced by predatory dolphins while others, such as cods, perches, and plaices, can hear infrasounds as low as 1 Hz, enabling the fish to migrate long distances using the ambient infrasound produced by waves, tides, and currents moving against cliffs, beaches, and reefs. Far from living in a silent realm, some fish have truly remarkable hearing as well as the mental ability to process it; one study with koi showed that the fish could even 鈥渄iscriminate polyphonic music [playing multiple notes simultaneously], discriminate between melodic patterns, and even classify music by artistic genre.鈥� Not just eyesight and hearing are examined but also the sense of smell and electrorecption, the 鈥渂iological ability to perceive natural electrical stimuli,鈥� such as by electric eels (as an aside, I did not know that South American electric eels weren鈥檛 true eels at all but actually of the knifefish family, more closely related to catfish).
The section on fish sensory abilities was not terribly controversial and often backed up some common sense knowledge of fishermen and aquarium owners. The next section, 鈥渨hat a fish feels,鈥� was a bit more, as it often went to heart of people saying that fish don鈥檛 feel anything, that they don鈥檛 feel pain, that when they look distressed from being handled or hooked it is just a reflex. Early on in the chapter, the author cautioned against 鈥渃orticocentrism,鈥� the idea that to 鈥減ossess a humanlike capacity for pain鈥� one must have a neocortex (though quickly acknowledging that few think birds don鈥檛 feel pain and also at the same time birds do not possess a neocortex). I feared that the section would be emotional or spiritual or the like (despite the solid science of the previous section), but again I was surprised at the series of very good studies on fish sensory capabilities and the solid science behind assertions that fish experience pain, react to it, and plan to avoid it in the future if possible. Also to my surprise the section didn鈥檛 just dwell on fish pain and stress but also fish joy, providing studies (and a lot of anecdotal examples) of fish experiencing joy and playing even as adults.
I think my favorite section was next, 鈥渨hat a fish thinks.鈥� By this point I was swept away by some of the fascinating studies and anecdotes of the surprising mental abilities of fish. My favorite by far was the example of the frillfin goby (a fish of the intertidal zones of both eastern and western Atlantic shores). This fish prefers to stay safe in isolated tide pools at low tides, but when danger threatens it can leap with a high degree of success to neighboring pools. As studies showed, the fish does not sense these pools from its own pool, but remarkably 鈥渕emorizes the topography of the intertidal zone 鈥� fixing in its mind the layout of depressions that will form future pools in the rocks at low tide 鈥� while swimming over them at high tide.鈥� Also in this section the author demolishes popular conceptions of goldfish memories measured in seconds, provided an example of tool use discovered in 2009 (orange-dotted tuskfish near Palau using 鈥渞apid head-flicks and well-timed releases鈥� to open clams against undersea rocks), showing how in one study vermiculate river stingrays in South America (a freshwater species) could problem solve to get food treats, even in several cases 鈥渕oving away from a strongly attractive cue 鈥� the smell of food at one end of the tube [used in the experiment] 鈥� and trying the other side鈥ot a trivial a thing鈥t means they have to work against their natural impulse,鈥� and how archerfish (able to spray jets of water up to ten feet through the air to help them prey on insects) are able to get better at aiming not just from practice but actually watching other archerfish hunt, 鈥渁 form of grasping something from the perspective of another.鈥�
鈥淲ho a fish knows鈥� was fascinating, going into aspects of fish sociology. The reader learns the differences between shoals and schools (shoals are groups of fish gathered together and socially interacting but each swim independently and may be facing different directions, while a school is more disciplined with the fish moving at the same speed and in the same direction at a fairly constant distance from one another). Another excellent section, the author covered predator inspection (behavior that lets a predatory fish know it has been spotted by other fish and highly suggestive it should move on) and two extremely interesting sections on cleaner fish and also on cooperative hunting (my favorite example being cooperative hunting between groupers and moray eels, with the groupers actually able to understand and have the moray eels in turn understand pointing, this accomplished by a grouper doing a headstand over a spot where a prey has hidden; this is a 鈥渞eferential gesture, which outside of humans, has only previously been attributed to great apes and ravens鈥�). There was also coverage of fish culture, that non-inherited information passed on by 鈥渋nformed individuals鈥� such as migration routes, ideal forage spots, which predators to avoid, etc. may be lost in overfished species and could be lost forever, complicating recovery efforts.
The last section, 鈥渉ow a fish breeds,鈥� was much as I expected it, covering fish breeding, but was still interesting, covering the different ways fish are actually care givers and may protect eggs and young (the cichlids of the great lakes of east Africa get lots of attention) as well as elaborate gender hierarchies and courtship rituals. It included the latest research, such as the 2012 discovery of elaborate, geometric 鈥渃rop circles鈥� created by male pufferfish off the southern tip of Japan, huge mandalas up to six feet wide and decorated by shells, created by fish only five inches long.
The book closed (after a horrifying section on fishing) with another appeal that fish are deserving of empathy. 鈥淚n those flat, glassy eyes we struggle to see anything more than a vacant stare...[t]heir unblinking eyes 鈥� constantly bathed in water and thus in no need of lids 鈥� amplify the illusion that they feel nothing.鈥�
It was a good book and I am definitely glad I read it.
I will admit that some of the more advocacy type claims made early in the book (such as on page 19, 鈥渨e鈥檒l explore how fishes are not just sentient, but aware, communicative, social, tool-using, virtuous, even Machiavellian鈥� or on page 20 鈥淸a]nother prejudice we hold against fish is that they are 鈥減rimitive,鈥� which in this context has a host of unflattering connotations; simple, undeveloped, dim, inflexible, and unfeeling鈥�) made me think twice about reading the book but also, after reading it, deciding I was a bit too hasty, as the author did indeed provide examples of fish tool use, evidence of perhaps friendships among fish and among fish and non-fish, and lots of examples of Machiavellian behavior. It鈥檚 not that I thought fish were stupid or dim-witted or was surprised that they had some complex behaviors, but the more emotional aspects of what he wrote I was a little leery of (were the fish being anthromorphized or was this part of a philosophy that granted sentience to just about any animal and what did virtuous mean in this context?).
Another aspect of the book, which the author identified very early on, was his heavily reliance on anecdotes. While studies were definitely mentioned (and documented in the copious bibliography), there were lots and lots of examples, often provided by non-scientists, of fish behavior and intelligence indicating levels of cognition and recognition of individuals (be they other fish or non-fish like pet owners or individual divers) well beyond what most people would think of with regards to fish (a relevant quote on page 6, 鈥淚 have sought to sprinkle the science with stories of people鈥檚 encounters with fishes, and I will be sharing some of these as we go along. Anecdotes carry little credibility with scientists, but they provide insight into what animals may be capable of that science has yet to explore鈥�). They were fun to read and did indicate that so much more research can be done, but I sometimes found myself preferring the studies rather than the stories.
As far as the science of the book goes, most of it was fascinating. The author organized the book into different sections (鈥渨hat a fish perceives,鈥� 鈥渨hat a fish feels,鈥� 鈥渨hat a fish thinks,鈥� 鈥渨ho a fish knows,鈥� and 鈥渉ow a fish breeds鈥�), each section two or three chapters and filled with lots of fascinating facts.
The reader learns in the 鈥渨hat a fish perceives鈥� section that some fish, such as bluegill, can see predators in a different part of the pond as they use the underside of the water鈥檚 surface as a mirror, that seemingly identical looking fish (such as various species of highly territorial damselfish) can distinguish between various individuals owing to distinctive facial patterns of dots and arcs only visible in UV, each pattern as unique as a human fingerprint, some fish (such as American shad and Gulf menhaden) can hear the ultrasonic sounds produced by predatory dolphins while others, such as cods, perches, and plaices, can hear infrasounds as low as 1 Hz, enabling the fish to migrate long distances using the ambient infrasound produced by waves, tides, and currents moving against cliffs, beaches, and reefs. Far from living in a silent realm, some fish have truly remarkable hearing as well as the mental ability to process it; one study with koi showed that the fish could even 鈥渄iscriminate polyphonic music [playing multiple notes simultaneously], discriminate between melodic patterns, and even classify music by artistic genre.鈥� Not just eyesight and hearing are examined but also the sense of smell and electrorecption, the 鈥渂iological ability to perceive natural electrical stimuli,鈥� such as by electric eels (as an aside, I did not know that South American electric eels weren鈥檛 true eels at all but actually of the knifefish family, more closely related to catfish).
The section on fish sensory abilities was not terribly controversial and often backed up some common sense knowledge of fishermen and aquarium owners. The next section, 鈥渨hat a fish feels,鈥� was a bit more, as it often went to heart of people saying that fish don鈥檛 feel anything, that they don鈥檛 feel pain, that when they look distressed from being handled or hooked it is just a reflex. Early on in the chapter, the author cautioned against 鈥渃orticocentrism,鈥� the idea that to 鈥減ossess a humanlike capacity for pain鈥� one must have a neocortex (though quickly acknowledging that few think birds don鈥檛 feel pain and also at the same time birds do not possess a neocortex). I feared that the section would be emotional or spiritual or the like (despite the solid science of the previous section), but again I was surprised at the series of very good studies on fish sensory capabilities and the solid science behind assertions that fish experience pain, react to it, and plan to avoid it in the future if possible. Also to my surprise the section didn鈥檛 just dwell on fish pain and stress but also fish joy, providing studies (and a lot of anecdotal examples) of fish experiencing joy and playing even as adults.
I think my favorite section was next, 鈥渨hat a fish thinks.鈥� By this point I was swept away by some of the fascinating studies and anecdotes of the surprising mental abilities of fish. My favorite by far was the example of the frillfin goby (a fish of the intertidal zones of both eastern and western Atlantic shores). This fish prefers to stay safe in isolated tide pools at low tides, but when danger threatens it can leap with a high degree of success to neighboring pools. As studies showed, the fish does not sense these pools from its own pool, but remarkably 鈥渕emorizes the topography of the intertidal zone 鈥� fixing in its mind the layout of depressions that will form future pools in the rocks at low tide 鈥� while swimming over them at high tide.鈥� Also in this section the author demolishes popular conceptions of goldfish memories measured in seconds, provided an example of tool use discovered in 2009 (orange-dotted tuskfish near Palau using 鈥渞apid head-flicks and well-timed releases鈥� to open clams against undersea rocks), showing how in one study vermiculate river stingrays in South America (a freshwater species) could problem solve to get food treats, even in several cases 鈥渕oving away from a strongly attractive cue 鈥� the smell of food at one end of the tube [used in the experiment] 鈥� and trying the other side鈥ot a trivial a thing鈥t means they have to work against their natural impulse,鈥� and how archerfish (able to spray jets of water up to ten feet through the air to help them prey on insects) are able to get better at aiming not just from practice but actually watching other archerfish hunt, 鈥渁 form of grasping something from the perspective of another.鈥�
鈥淲ho a fish knows鈥� was fascinating, going into aspects of fish sociology. The reader learns the differences between shoals and schools (shoals are groups of fish gathered together and socially interacting but each swim independently and may be facing different directions, while a school is more disciplined with the fish moving at the same speed and in the same direction at a fairly constant distance from one another). Another excellent section, the author covered predator inspection (behavior that lets a predatory fish know it has been spotted by other fish and highly suggestive it should move on) and two extremely interesting sections on cleaner fish and also on cooperative hunting (my favorite example being cooperative hunting between groupers and moray eels, with the groupers actually able to understand and have the moray eels in turn understand pointing, this accomplished by a grouper doing a headstand over a spot where a prey has hidden; this is a 鈥渞eferential gesture, which outside of humans, has only previously been attributed to great apes and ravens鈥�). There was also coverage of fish culture, that non-inherited information passed on by 鈥渋nformed individuals鈥� such as migration routes, ideal forage spots, which predators to avoid, etc. may be lost in overfished species and could be lost forever, complicating recovery efforts.
The last section, 鈥渉ow a fish breeds,鈥� was much as I expected it, covering fish breeding, but was still interesting, covering the different ways fish are actually care givers and may protect eggs and young (the cichlids of the great lakes of east Africa get lots of attention) as well as elaborate gender hierarchies and courtship rituals. It included the latest research, such as the 2012 discovery of elaborate, geometric 鈥渃rop circles鈥� created by male pufferfish off the southern tip of Japan, huge mandalas up to six feet wide and decorated by shells, created by fish only five inches long.
The book closed (after a horrifying section on fishing) with another appeal that fish are deserving of empathy. 鈥淚n those flat, glassy eyes we struggle to see anything more than a vacant stare...[t]heir unblinking eyes 鈥� constantly bathed in water and thus in no need of lids 鈥� amplify the illusion that they feel nothing.鈥�
It was a good book and I am definitely glad I read it.
December 19, 2017
Once I heard this book was coming out, I had to have it because, as the author points out, you can't really find an entire book devoted to fish ethology (behavior).
Now, this author undoubtedly has a bit of an agenda as you can tell from prior books. He's for animal rights so I wanted to see if he strayed too far from hyperbole. Generally I don't think he did. Mostly he stays with the science and makes some excellent points such as a) fish came way before us so it's not like they've stopped evolving for millions of years and b) fish reaction to pain stimuli and response to pain meds and some parallels to birds indicate they Can feel pain.
However, I do mostly maintain my initial ideas that yes... Fish feel pain and think but not to the degree of mammals. (He intimates that they feel acute more than chronic pain). The strong emotional component was even more spurious barring a few anecdotes.
That's not to say nothing surprises me though: the mental calculation and deception of certain fishes was surprising and very interesting (the cleaner fish chapter was great!) and the chapter on fish sensory adaptations was wonderful as well.
It was a really fun book and it does raise interesting questions on how to treat fish ethically. (I don't eat fish either). However, given the scope of the problems of overfishing, the author didn't give a ton of suggestions. An obvious one would be to explore Which fish are more sentient as people have suggested for apes and birds (macaws and the Corvid families) and maybe give them more consideration (he suggested wrasses but makes some points for chiclids too).
I would recommend this book. It will surprise and entertain you!
Now, this author undoubtedly has a bit of an agenda as you can tell from prior books. He's for animal rights so I wanted to see if he strayed too far from hyperbole. Generally I don't think he did. Mostly he stays with the science and makes some excellent points such as a) fish came way before us so it's not like they've stopped evolving for millions of years and b) fish reaction to pain stimuli and response to pain meds and some parallels to birds indicate they Can feel pain.
However, I do mostly maintain my initial ideas that yes... Fish feel pain and think but not to the degree of mammals. (He intimates that they feel acute more than chronic pain). The strong emotional component was even more spurious barring a few anecdotes.
That's not to say nothing surprises me though: the mental calculation and deception of certain fishes was surprising and very interesting (the cleaner fish chapter was great!) and the chapter on fish sensory adaptations was wonderful as well.
It was a really fun book and it does raise interesting questions on how to treat fish ethically. (I don't eat fish either). However, given the scope of the problems of overfishing, the author didn't give a ton of suggestions. An obvious one would be to explore Which fish are more sentient as people have suggested for apes and birds (macaws and the Corvid families) and maybe give them more consideration (he suggested wrasses but makes some points for chiclids too).
I would recommend this book. It will surprise and entertain you!
December 4, 2018
What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe and narrated by Graham Winton is a delightful and very informative book on fish. It explains how fish can feel pain, probably pleasure too, can plan, remember, scheme, communicate, and think! They have preferences, can be trained, seem to enjoy certain activities or people over others, and they use tools.
I am a vegetarian and I don't eat fish due to this reason but it is nice to hear the science behind it. I learned so much in here too! Wow! How different fish mate, communicate, use tools, and more!
In the end, the author discusses the fishing industry today...ugh!
I recommend this to anyone and everyone! So heartwarming all the things the little fish can do and no one seems to know about!
I am a vegetarian and I don't eat fish due to this reason but it is nice to hear the science behind it. I learned so much in here too! Wow! How different fish mate, communicate, use tools, and more!
In the end, the author discusses the fishing industry today...ugh!
I recommend this to anyone and everyone! So heartwarming all the things the little fish can do and no one seems to know about!
October 5, 2016
Read this from a recommendation on a blog.
Did not know what to expect, but the book was a lively romp with an intelligent guide through all things fish. Senses, emotions, social structures.
Check it out.
Did not know what to expect, but the book was a lively romp with an intelligent guide through all things fish. Senses, emotions, social structures.
Check it out.
August 5, 2020
賲丕匕丕 鬲毓乇賮 毓賳 毓丕賱賲 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰責 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿 賯丿 卮丕賴丿鬲 亘毓囟 丕賱兀賮賱丕賲 丕賱賵孬丕卅賯賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 乇兀賷鬲 賮賷賴丕 兀賮賱丕賲 賲卮賵賯丞 毓賳賴丕貙 兀賵 賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賯丿 賲賳 賲乇鬲丕丿賷 丕賱氐賷丿貙 兀賵 賲賳 賲購丨亘賷 丕賯鬲賳丕亍 兀爻賲丕賰 丕賱夭賷賳丞. 賲賴賲丕 賰賳鬲 鬲毓乇賮 賮鬲兀賰丿 兀賳賰 鬲毓賱賲 丕賱賯賱賷賱 毓賳賴.
賮賷 賰鬲丕亘 賲丕 鬲毓乇賮賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞貙 賷兀禺匕賰 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賮賷 乇丨賱丞 廿锟斤拷賶 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丕賱兀夭乇賯 丨賷孬 毓丕賱賲 丕賱賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 丕賱賲丕卅賷丞... 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰貙 禺賱丕賱 丕賱乇丨賱丞 賳亘丿兀 賮賷 丕賱鬲毓賱賲 兀賳 賳賳馗乇 廿賱賶 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賰賰丕卅賳丕鬲 丨賷賾丞 賱賴丕 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賵賯賵丕賳賷賳賴丕 丕賱禺丕氐丞貙 兀睾賱亘賴丕 賱賲 賳毓乇賮 毓賳賴丕 卮賷卅丕賸 賲賳 賯亘賱貙 兀賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賳毓乇賮賴 賮丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳賴 賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 賲睾賱賵胤丞貙 賵賱毓賱 賲賳 兀卮賴乇賴丕 兀賳 匕丕賰乇丞 丕賱爻賲賰 孬賱丕孬 孬賵丕賳賺.
丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 匕賰賷丞 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞貙 鬲鬲毓丕卮乇 賵鬲鬲賳丕爻賱 賵鬲禺丕賮 賵鬲鬲兀賱賲 賵鬲賴乇亘 賵鬲丨丕乇亘 賵鬲賯丕鬲賱 賵鬲賮鬲乇爻貙 毓丕賱賲 賲鬲賰丕賲賱 賷丨鬲丕噩 廿賱賶 丕賱鬲兀賲賱 丕賱毓賲賷賯 賮賷 賰賷賮賷丞 鬲毓丕賲賱賴丕 賲毓 亘賷卅鬲賴丕.
兀爻賲丕賰 鬲乇賶 亘鬲賯賳賷丞 丕賱兀卮毓丞 鬲丨鬲 丕賱丨賲乇丕亍 賮賷 丕賱馗賱丕賲貙 亘乇賵鬲賷賳丕鬲 賮爻賮賵乇賷丞貙兀爻賲丕賰 鬲賱氐賯 亘賷囟賴丕 毓賱賶 噩爻賲賴丕 孬賲 鬲亘賳賷 胤亘賯丞 丕賱噩賱丿 毓賱賷賴 丨鬲賶 賷丨賷賳 賲賵毓丿 丕賱賮賯爻 賮鬲夭賷賱賴 賱賷禺乇噩 丕賱亘賷囟貙 兀爻賲丕亍 鬲乇賶 亘賰賱 毓賷賳 賲噩丕賱 亘氐乇賷 賲禺鬲賱賮 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲.
丨賯丕卅賯 賲匕賴賱丞 賱丕 鬲賲賱賰 兀賲丕賲賴丕 廿賱丕 兀賳 鬲丿乇賰 賵鬲爻鬲爻賱賲 賱毓馗賲丞 賵廿亘丿丕毓 禺賱賯 丕賱賱賴 鬲毓丕賱賶.
賱賰賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賷 丨夭賳 賮賷 賳賴丕賷鬲賴貙 毓賳丿賲丕 賷購爻賱賾胤 丕賱囟賵亍 毓賱賶 鬲噩丕賵夭丕鬲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丐丿賷 廿賱賶 鬲丿賲賷乇 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱亘丨乇賷丞.
賰鬲丕亘 賲賲鬲毓 噩丿丕賸 賵賲孬賷乇 賱賱鬲兀賲賱 賮賷 廿亘丿丕毓 丕賱禺賱賯.
鬲賯賷賷賲賷 5 賲賳 5
賵兀鬲乇賰賰賲 賲毓 丕賯鬲亘丕爻 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘.
賱賲丕匕丕 賱丕 賳鬲毓丕胤賮 賲毓 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 責
賮賷 賰鬲丕亘 賲丕 鬲毓乇賮賴 丕賱爻賲賰丞貙 賷兀禺匕賰 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賮賷 乇丨賱丞 廿锟斤拷賶 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丕賱兀夭乇賯 丨賷孬 毓丕賱賲 丕賱賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 丕賱賲丕卅賷丞... 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰貙 禺賱丕賱 丕賱乇丨賱丞 賳亘丿兀 賮賷 丕賱鬲毓賱賲 兀賳 賳賳馗乇 廿賱賶 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賰賰丕卅賳丕鬲 丨賷賾丞 賱賴丕 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賵賯賵丕賳賷賳賴丕 丕賱禺丕氐丞貙 兀睾賱亘賴丕 賱賲 賳毓乇賮 毓賳賴丕 卮賷卅丕賸 賲賳 賯亘賱貙 兀賲丕 丕賱匕賷 賳毓乇賮賴 賮丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳賴 賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 賲睾賱賵胤丞貙 賵賱毓賱 賲賳 兀卮賴乇賴丕 兀賳 匕丕賰乇丞 丕賱爻賲賰 孬賱丕孬 孬賵丕賳賺.
丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賰丕卅賳丕鬲 匕賰賷丞 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞貙 鬲鬲毓丕卮乇 賵鬲鬲賳丕爻賱 賵鬲禺丕賮 賵鬲鬲兀賱賲 賵鬲賴乇亘 賵鬲丨丕乇亘 賵鬲賯丕鬲賱 賵鬲賮鬲乇爻貙 毓丕賱賲 賲鬲賰丕賲賱 賷丨鬲丕噩 廿賱賶 丕賱鬲兀賲賱 丕賱毓賲賷賯 賮賷 賰賷賮賷丞 鬲毓丕賲賱賴丕 賲毓 亘賷卅鬲賴丕.
兀爻賲丕賰 鬲乇賶 亘鬲賯賳賷丞 丕賱兀卮毓丞 鬲丨鬲 丕賱丨賲乇丕亍 賮賷 丕賱馗賱丕賲貙 亘乇賵鬲賷賳丕鬲 賮爻賮賵乇賷丞貙兀爻賲丕賰 鬲賱氐賯 亘賷囟賴丕 毓賱賶 噩爻賲賴丕 孬賲 鬲亘賳賷 胤亘賯丞 丕賱噩賱丿 毓賱賷賴 丨鬲賶 賷丨賷賳 賲賵毓丿 丕賱賮賯爻 賮鬲夭賷賱賴 賱賷禺乇噩 丕賱亘賷囟貙 兀爻賲丕亍 鬲乇賶 亘賰賱 毓賷賳 賲噩丕賱 亘氐乇賷 賲禺鬲賱賮 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲.
丨賯丕卅賯 賲匕賴賱丞 賱丕 鬲賲賱賰 兀賲丕賲賴丕 廿賱丕 兀賳 鬲丿乇賰 賵鬲爻鬲爻賱賲 賱毓馗賲丞 賵廿亘丿丕毓 禺賱賯 丕賱賱賴 鬲毓丕賱賶.
賱賰賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賷 丨夭賳 賮賷 賳賴丕賷鬲賴貙 毓賳丿賲丕 賷購爻賱賾胤 丕賱囟賵亍 毓賱賶 鬲噩丕賵夭丕鬲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲丐丿賷 廿賱賶 鬲丿賲賷乇 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱亘丨乇賷丞.
賰鬲丕亘 賲賲鬲毓 噩丿丕賸 賵賲孬賷乇 賱賱鬲兀賲賱 賮賷 廿亘丿丕毓 丕賱禺賱賯.
鬲賯賷賷賲賷 5 賲賳 5
賵兀鬲乇賰賰賲 賲毓 丕賯鬲亘丕爻 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘.
賱賲丕匕丕 賱丕 賳鬲毓丕胤賮 賲毓 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 責
丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 丿丕卅賲賸丕 賮賷 賲噩丕賱賺 丌禺乇貙 氐丕賲鬲丞 賵睾賷乇 賲亘鬲爻賲丞貙 毓丿賷賲丞 丕賱兀乇噩賱 賵賲賷賾鬲丞 丕賱毓賷賳賷賳.
賮賷 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓賷賵賳 丕賱賲爻胤賾丨丞 丕賱夭噩丕噩賷丞貙 賳丨賳 賳賰丕賮丨 賱賳乇賶 兀賷 卮賷亍 兀賰孬乇 賲賳 賳馗乇丞 賲丨丿賾賯丞 賮丕乇睾丞. 賱丕 賳爻賲毓 兀賷 氐乇禺丕鬲 賵賱丕 賳乇賶 兀賷 丿賲賵毓 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲賳睾乇夭 丕賱兀卮賵丕賰 賮賷 兀賮賵丕賴賴丕 賵鬲購爻丨賻亘 兀噩爻丕賲賴丕 賲賳 丕賱賲丕亍. 賵毓賷賵賳賴丕 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲胤乇賮听- 丕賱鬲賷 鬲購睾爻賻賱 毓賱賶 丕賱丿賵丕賲 亘丕賱賲丕亍 賵亘丕賱鬲丕賱賷 賱丕 鬲丨鬲丕噩 廿賱賶 噩賮賵賳听- 鬲囟禺賽賾賲 丕賱賵賴賲 亘兀賳賴丕 賱丕 鬲卮毓乇 亘卮賷亍. 賲毓 賳賯氐 丕賱賲賳亘賾賴丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 毓丕丿丞賸 賲丕 鬲爻鬲丨孬賾 鬲毓丕胤賮賳丕貙 賳購氐亘丨 亘丕賱鬲丕賱賷 賱丕賲購亘丕賱賷賳 賱賲丨賳丞 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰.
廿賳賾 賲丕 賳賮卮賱 賮賷 廿丿禺丕賱賴 賮賷 丨爻丕亘丕鬲賳丕 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賮鬲乇 鬲毓丕胤賮賳丕 賴賵 兀賳賾 丕賱賲禺賱賵賯 丕賱匕賷 賳賳馗乇 廿賱賷賴 賴賵 禺丕乇噩 賲丨賷胤賴 丕賱賲賱丕卅賲. 廿賳賾 丕賱氐乇丕禺 賲賳 丕賱兀賱賲 睾賷乇 賮毓賾丕賱 賱賱爻賻賾賲賰丞 賮賷 丕賱賴賵丕亍 亘賯丿乇 賲丕 賴賵 睾賷乇 賮毓賾丕賱賺 賱賳丕 毓賳丿賲丕 賳賰賵賳 賲睾賲賵乇賷賳 亘丕賱賲丕亍. 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 賲賴賷賾兀丞 賱兀賳 鬲毓賲賱貙 賵鬲鬲賵丕氐賱貙 賵鬲毓亘賾乇 毓賳 賳賮爻賴丕 鬲丨鬲 丕賱賲丕亍. 丕賱毓丿賷丿 賲賳 丕賱兀爻賲丕賰 鬲購禺乇賽噩 兀氐賵丕鬲賸丕 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲鬲兀賱賾賲貙 賵賱賰賳賾 丕賱氐賵鬲 丕賱匕賷 鬲賳鬲噩賴 賷賳鬲賯賱 賮賷 丕賱賲丕亍貙 賵賳丕丿乇賸丕 賲丕 賳賰鬲卮賮賴. 賵丨鬲賶 毓賳丿賲丕 賳鬲賲賰賾賳 賲賳 賲賱丕丨馗丞 廿卮丕乇丕鬲 丿丕賱賾丞 毓賱賶 丕賱兀爻賶听- 丕賱乇賮乇賮丞貙 丕賱鬲賯賱購賾亘貙 賮鬲丨 賵睾賱賯 丕賱禺賷丕卮賷賲 賱丿賶 賲丨丕賵賱丞 丕賱爻賻賾賲賰丞 毓賷孬賸丕 兀賳 鬲兀禺匕 丕賱兀賰爻噩賷賳听- 賮賯丿 賳鬲噩丕賴賱賴丕 賰卮賷亍 賱丕 賷爻鬲丿毓賷 丕賱賯賱賯貙 禺氐賵氐賸丕 廿匕丕 丕毓鬲賯丿賳丕 兀賳賴丕 賲噩乇賾丿 兀賮毓丕賱 丕賳毓賰丕爻賷丞.
November 5, 2016
I gave this book 3 stars because I think the subject matter is so critical, but I have read some of Balcombe's other work and am left here with the same feeling as with those: the writing is slow, and only sporadically does it pick up into something really enjoyable. This is a shame. I am reminded of books I've read on animal rights, like There Is No Happy Meat and compare it to Jonathan Saffron Foer's Eating Animals - and though I much prefer the message of Bohanec's, it was actually Foer's that moved me much more (this after being vegan for some years when I first read it). I recently finished another book on animal behavior - Beyond Words by Carl Safina, and I am hard pressed to figure out the difference between his writing and Balcombe's. Could it be the way Safina takes his time and presents the worlds he shows? Could it be that he inserts himself fully into the information he shares? But Balcombe does the same, and I am much more aligned with Balcombe's thoughts and feelings; Safina sees problems and doesn't, say, stop eating salmon. Balcombe sees problems and tries to change them.
But from a writing and reading standpoint, I just found this one difficult to get through. I don't doubt Balcombe's science, and I am happy to have the information. It's just not a sit-down-and-enjoy kind of book.
But from a writing and reading standpoint, I just found this one difficult to get through. I don't doubt Balcombe's science, and I am happy to have the information. It's just not a sit-down-and-enjoy kind of book.
January 5, 2022
袟邪屑械褔邪褌械谢褜薪邪褟 泻薪懈谐邪, 懈 褉褘斜褘 褌芯卸械 蟹邪屑械褔邪褌械谢褜薪褘械. 袙 泻薪懈谐械 泻褍褔邪 懈褋褋谢械写芯胁邪薪懈泄 芯 褌芯屑, 泻邪泻 褉褘斜褘 褋械斜褟 胁械写褍褌, 泻邪泻 褔褍胁褋褌胁褍褞褌, 懈 锌芯褔械屑褍 薪械 褋褌芯懈褌 懈褏 胁褘谢邪胁谢懈胁邪褌褜 懈 褍斜懈胁邪褌褜 胁 褌邪泻芯屑 泻芯谢懈褔械褋褌胁械.
袙 褉褍褋褋泻芯屑 懈蟹写邪薪懈懈 蟹邪褔械屑-褌芯 屑懈谢谢懈芯薪 锌褉懈屑械褔邪薪懈泄 芯褌 锌械褉械胁芯写褔懈泻邪 懈 褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪, 谐写械 芯薪懈 褋锌芯褉褟褌 褋芯 胁褋械屑, 褔褌芯 锌懈褕械褌 邪胁褌芯褉, 懈 锌褉懈胁芯写褟褌 锌褉懈屑械褉褘 胁褋褟泻懈褏 "褉褍褋褋泻懈褏 褋锌芯褋芯斜芯胁 锌褉懈屑邪薪懈胁邪薪懈褟 褋芯屑邪" 馃檮
袙 褉褍褋褋泻芯屑 懈蟹写邪薪懈懈 蟹邪褔械屑-褌芯 屑懈谢谢懈芯薪 锌褉懈屑械褔邪薪懈泄 芯褌 锌械褉械胁芯写褔懈泻邪 懈 褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪, 谐写械 芯薪懈 褋锌芯褉褟褌 褋芯 胁褋械屑, 褔褌芯 锌懈褕械褌 邪胁褌芯褉, 懈 锌褉懈胁芯写褟褌 锌褉懈屑械褉褘 胁褋褟泻懈褏 "褉褍褋褋泻懈褏 褋锌芯褋芯斜芯胁 锌褉懈屑邪薪懈胁邪薪懈褟 褋芯屑邪" 馃檮
March 6, 2017
It is difficult to look into the eyes of another living creature without wondering what that creature thinks of what he sees in your own eyes. Does that animal wonder what we are and what our intentions might be? Is it perhaps seeing us as an equal that deserves the benefit of the doubt? Or is anything really going on in the brain behind those eyes at all other than the hope that we will provide the animal with something to eat or drink? Humans find it easy to relate to pets, especially dogs and cats, because those animals readily exhibit affection via their actions and variable facial expressions. But other animals, especially those incapable of changing facial expressions, find it more difficult to claim the respect of human beings. And Jonathon Balcombe contends that fish, of all the members of this too easily written off group of static-faced animals, is probably the most underestimated of the lot.
Balcombe offers What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins in hope that the book will change the way that we think about the more than thirty thousand species of fish that exist today before it is too late to save many of them from extinction. Balcombe strives to make us see fish as individuals that can think, feel emotions and pain, make choices, enjoy play, hunt in cooperative groups, learn to use tools, and live complicated social lives. The author rightfully believes that the world鈥檚 commercial fishing industry is still so unregulated and out of control that it is in the process of relentlessly destroying the very fish species that make it a viable proposition for today鈥檚 fishermen. I submit that anyone who reads What a Fish Knows with an open mind will find it difficult, it not impossible, to argue otherwise.
Balcombe builds his case by using both the latest scientific breakthrough discoveries and anecdotal evidence from fish owners, recreational and professional divers, and others whose lifework is caring for and studying fish. The book is split into seven sections: 鈥淭he Misunderstood Fish,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Perceives,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Feels,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Thinks,鈥� 鈥淲ho a Fish Knows,鈥� 鈥淗ow a Fish Breeds,鈥� and 鈥淔ish Out of Water.鈥� For the most part, the content of each section is as clear as the title, but two of the sections demand a bit of an explanation.
鈥淭he Misunderstood Fish鈥� section focuses on the point that fish are not the 鈥渓owly鈥� creatures that most of us believe them to be. As Balcombe puts it:
鈥淟acking detectable facial expressions and appearing mute, fishes are more easily dismissed than our fellow air breathers. Their place in human culture falls almost universally into two entwined contexts: (1) something to be caught, and (2) something to be eaten.鈥�
The 鈥淔ish Out of Water鈥� section is the one in which the author stresses 鈥渋t isn鈥檛 easy being a fish in an age of humans.鈥� This is where he exposes the commercial fishing practices that do so much collateral damage to the populations of non-targeted fish, practices that see the wasted-by-catch tonnage rivaling the targeted tonnage taken by some commercial shrimpers and fishermen. According to Balcombe, right at one-third 鈥渙f the world鈥檚 fish catch鈥s not eaten by humans.鈥�
Two paragraphs from What a Fish Knows beautifully summarize what Jonathon Balcombe hopes his readers will take away from his book. The first paragraph appears on page 177 in the 鈥淲ho a Fish Knows鈥� section, and I quote a portion of it below:
鈥淭he main conclusion we may draw from these aspects of what a fish knows is that fishes are individuals with minds and memories, able to plan, capable of recognizing others, equipped with instincts and able to learn from experience. In some cases, fishes have culture. As we鈥檝e seen, fishes also show virtue through cooperative relationships both within and between species.鈥�
The second paragraph I want to quote from appears on page 207 in the 鈥淗ow a Fish Breeds鈥� section of the book:
鈥淔ishes are not merely alive 鈥� they have lives. They are not just things, but beings. A fish is an individual with a personality and relationships. He or she can plan and learn, perceive and innovate, soothe and scheme, experience moments of pleasure, fear, playfulness, pain, and 鈥� I suspect 鈥� joy. A fish feels and knows.鈥�
Bottom Line: What a Fish Knows is guaranteed to make the reader rethink his relationship with everything from his pet goldfish to the largest whale in the ocean. It is an eye-opener with a message, but it is also an entertaining book about a cousin of ours we all too often take for granted.
Balcombe offers What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins in hope that the book will change the way that we think about the more than thirty thousand species of fish that exist today before it is too late to save many of them from extinction. Balcombe strives to make us see fish as individuals that can think, feel emotions and pain, make choices, enjoy play, hunt in cooperative groups, learn to use tools, and live complicated social lives. The author rightfully believes that the world鈥檚 commercial fishing industry is still so unregulated and out of control that it is in the process of relentlessly destroying the very fish species that make it a viable proposition for today鈥檚 fishermen. I submit that anyone who reads What a Fish Knows with an open mind will find it difficult, it not impossible, to argue otherwise.
Balcombe builds his case by using both the latest scientific breakthrough discoveries and anecdotal evidence from fish owners, recreational and professional divers, and others whose lifework is caring for and studying fish. The book is split into seven sections: 鈥淭he Misunderstood Fish,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Perceives,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Feels,鈥� 鈥淲hat a Fish Thinks,鈥� 鈥淲ho a Fish Knows,鈥� 鈥淗ow a Fish Breeds,鈥� and 鈥淔ish Out of Water.鈥� For the most part, the content of each section is as clear as the title, but two of the sections demand a bit of an explanation.
鈥淭he Misunderstood Fish鈥� section focuses on the point that fish are not the 鈥渓owly鈥� creatures that most of us believe them to be. As Balcombe puts it:
鈥淟acking detectable facial expressions and appearing mute, fishes are more easily dismissed than our fellow air breathers. Their place in human culture falls almost universally into two entwined contexts: (1) something to be caught, and (2) something to be eaten.鈥�
The 鈥淔ish Out of Water鈥� section is the one in which the author stresses 鈥渋t isn鈥檛 easy being a fish in an age of humans.鈥� This is where he exposes the commercial fishing practices that do so much collateral damage to the populations of non-targeted fish, practices that see the wasted-by-catch tonnage rivaling the targeted tonnage taken by some commercial shrimpers and fishermen. According to Balcombe, right at one-third 鈥渙f the world鈥檚 fish catch鈥s not eaten by humans.鈥�
Two paragraphs from What a Fish Knows beautifully summarize what Jonathon Balcombe hopes his readers will take away from his book. The first paragraph appears on page 177 in the 鈥淲ho a Fish Knows鈥� section, and I quote a portion of it below:
鈥淭he main conclusion we may draw from these aspects of what a fish knows is that fishes are individuals with minds and memories, able to plan, capable of recognizing others, equipped with instincts and able to learn from experience. In some cases, fishes have culture. As we鈥檝e seen, fishes also show virtue through cooperative relationships both within and between species.鈥�
The second paragraph I want to quote from appears on page 207 in the 鈥淗ow a Fish Breeds鈥� section of the book:
鈥淔ishes are not merely alive 鈥� they have lives. They are not just things, but beings. A fish is an individual with a personality and relationships. He or she can plan and learn, perceive and innovate, soothe and scheme, experience moments of pleasure, fear, playfulness, pain, and 鈥� I suspect 鈥� joy. A fish feels and knows.鈥�
Bottom Line: What a Fish Knows is guaranteed to make the reader rethink his relationship with everything from his pet goldfish to the largest whale in the ocean. It is an eye-opener with a message, but it is also an entertaining book about a cousin of ours we all too often take for granted.
November 9, 2023
V盲ga hea raamat tuletamaks endale meelde, kui v盲盲r on l盲htuda antropotsentristlikust vaatepunktist, nagu saaks mingit olendit intelligentseks pidada 眉ksnes juhul, kui ta k盲itub ja m玫tleb nagu inimene.
Siit raamatust saab kergesti loetaval, aga faktitihendal moel teada nii m玫ndagi sellest, mida kalad (t玫en盲oliselt k玫ige ekspluateeritum selgroogsete liik 眉le眉ldse) n盲evad, tunnevad, tajuvad, ja millest j盲盲b mulje, et nad on eluks oma keskkonnas paremini ja mitmek眉lgsemalt varustatud ja ette valmistatud kui inimene oma keskkonna puhul.
"Kui kalad vaimuj玫udu n玫udvates tegevustes primaatidest paremini hakkama saavad, tuletab see taaskord meelde, et aju suurus, keha suurus, karvkatte v玫i soomuste olemasolu ning evolutsiooniline l盲hisugulus inimesega ei sobi intelligentsuse m玫玫tmiseks."
Siit raamatust saab kergesti loetaval, aga faktitihendal moel teada nii m玫ndagi sellest, mida kalad (t玫en盲oliselt k玫ige ekspluateeritum selgroogsete liik 眉le眉ldse) n盲evad, tunnevad, tajuvad, ja millest j盲盲b mulje, et nad on eluks oma keskkonnas paremini ja mitmek眉lgsemalt varustatud ja ette valmistatud kui inimene oma keskkonna puhul.
"Kui kalad vaimuj玫udu n玫udvates tegevustes primaatidest paremini hakkama saavad, tuletab see taaskord meelde, et aju suurus, keha suurus, karvkatte v玫i soomuste olemasolu ning evolutsiooniline l盲hisugulus inimesega ei sobi intelligentsuse m玫玫tmiseks."
April 9, 2018
An incredible array of fish facts that slowly work their way into a thesis
, by is first and foremost, an incredible assortment of fish facts. Secondly, it is a book.
This is not to diminish it as a book - the incredible insight from the first gives it its power.
One of my favorite non-fiction books about the ocean is , where acts as a writer/journalist first, and a diver second. Nestor goes to the widest array of the trope - and investigates the Ama, divers, dolphin researchers and everyone else.
Balcombe does not do this - he finds fish facts, and keeps at them until the reader gets the tale.
Again, this is not to his detriment - it's just his style is facts first, tale second.
In his spirit, I'll list some of his insights, and let you come to your own conclusions -
On the sheer number of fish
On perhaps the root of our prejudice against fish
Among the vertebrate animals鈥攎ammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes鈥攊t is the fishes that are the most alien to our sensibilities. Lacking detectable facial expressions and appearing mute, fishes are more easily dismissed than our fellow air breathers.
A great concept to try to understand things from an animal's point of view - it may be impossible, but at least you can understand what you are trying to do
On the fact that many fish just see more than we do
On an eel's sense of smell
On the tastebuds of a fish
In conclusion
And so on! I could go on and on - in short, if you want to know about fish in general, this is a good place to start. Even if you already know quite a bit, I'd give this a shot - you might get a lot!
, by is first and foremost, an incredible assortment of fish facts. Secondly, it is a book.
This is not to diminish it as a book - the incredible insight from the first gives it its power.
One of my favorite non-fiction books about the ocean is , where acts as a writer/journalist first, and a diver second. Nestor goes to the widest array of the trope - and investigates the Ama, divers, dolphin researchers and everyone else.
Balcombe does not do this - he finds fish facts, and keeps at them until the reader gets the tale.
Again, this is not to his detriment - it's just his style is facts first, tale second.
In his spirit, I'll list some of his insights, and let you come to your own conclusions -
On the sheer number of fish
What we casually refer to as 鈥渇ish鈥� is in fact a collection of animals of fabulous diversity. According to FishBase鈥攖he largest and most often consulted online database on fishes鈥�33,249 species, in 564 families and 64 orders, had been described as of January 2016. That鈥檚 more than the combined total of all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. When we refer to 鈥渇ish鈥� we are referring to 60 percent of all the known species on Earth with backbones.
On perhaps the root of our prejudice against fish
Among the vertebrate animals鈥攎ammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes鈥攊t is the fishes that are the most alien to our sensibilities. Lacking detectable facial expressions and appearing mute, fishes are more easily dismissed than our fellow air breathers.
A great concept to try to understand things from an animal's point of view - it may be impossible, but at least you can understand what you are trying to do
One of my favorite concepts learned as a student of animal behavior is umwelt鈥攁 term created early in the twentieth century by the German biologist Jakob von Uexk眉ll. You can think of an animal鈥檚 umwelt as its sensory world. Because their sensory apparatus varies, different species may have different perceptions of the world even if they inhabit the same environment.
On the fact that many fish just see more than we do
In the ages since, fishes have evolved visual capacities beyond our own. For example, most modern bony fishes are tetrachromatic, allowing them to see colors more vividly than we do. We are trichromatic creatures, which means we possess only three types of cone cells in our eyes and our color spectrum is more limited. Having four types of cone cells, fishes鈥� eyes provide four independent channels for conveying color information.
On an eel's sense of smell
But the champion sniffer among all fishes (as far as we know) is the American eel, which can detect the equivalent of less than one ten millionth of a drop of their home water in the Olympic pool. Like salmons, eels make long migrations back to specific spawning sites, and they follow a subtle gradient of scent to get there.
On the tastebuds of a fish
Taste buds are also more numerous in fishes than in any other animal. For instance, a fifteen-inch channel catfish had approximately 680,000 taste buds on his entire body, including fins鈥攏early 100 times the human quota.
In conclusion
And so on! I could go on and on - in short, if you want to know about fish in general, this is a good place to start. Even if you already know quite a bit, I'd give this a shot - you might get a lot!
November 13, 2021
Great introduction into the complexity and depth of lives of fishes and into what science can tell us about their abilities to perceive the world around them and, of course, how close we are to telling whether fishes have counsciousness or not.
August 4, 2021
We've learned so much about non human intelligence and sentience. Thinking or feeling differently than people just shows the incredible adaptations of species and may actually help us learn more about ourselves. I recently read , so why not fish? Probably because they live in such an alien environment from us. Their lack of expression and staring eyes seem, well, down rights fishy. Bur Balcombe makes a good case for them and helped me see them in new light. He also makes a convincing plea to stop the serious fish depletion from overfishing. This was a bit more dull than similar books I've read, but thought provoking for sure.
January 4, 2022
Senistest looma, putuka, linnu jne. raamatutest ehk k玫ige 眉llatavam, ilmselt seet玫ttu, et ootused kaladele ei olnud suured. Tegelikkuses ilmneb, et kalariigis on olemas vaste praktiliselt k玫igile vaimsetele v玫imetele mis nii linnu kui loomariigis, kaasa arvatud primaatide v玫imed.
Raamat on t玫esti infotihe ja lisaks ohtralt varustatud viidetega allikatele. Igati eeskujulik teostus.
Raamat on t玫esti infotihe ja lisaks ohtralt varustatud viidetega allikatele. Igati eeskujulik teostus.
April 12, 2022
Full of factoids, logically organized, but the passionate scientists and the scientific process are mostly missing.
> Swordfishes can heat up their eyes twenty to thirty degrees Fahrenheit above the water temperature.
> The sticklebacks behaved as if they had previewed the study plan. When just one fish was presented with two models, it followed the healthier-looking model to its refuge about 60 percent of the time. Performance steadily improved with group size to over 80 percent in groups of ten sticklebacks. This is an example of consensus decision making.
> A subordinate male risks having to fight with a larger male if he is within about 5 percent of the bigger one鈥檚 size. A loss could bump him down a few notches in the mating queue. What is a little fish to do? In an admirable show of restraint, male gobies of various species deliberately limit their food intake to retain their place in the queue.
> If the breeding female dies, the chief male changes sex to female and the next largest fish in the subordinate group bumps up to chief male. So there is always hope for a suppressed male in a clownfish family. (All of this reveals a slight inaccuracy in the course of events in Finding Nemo. The fact is, upon Nemo鈥檚 losing his mother, his dad, Marlin, should have become his new mother.)
> sperm drinking certainly works for catfishes, for it is believed to occur in as many as twenty species.
> There are a few other all-female species among reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and birds. These species are referred to as parthenogenetic because no sperm is required to fertilize their eggs. But the situation is even more peculiar in Amazon mollies, because they can produce fertile eggs only if they mate with a male Molly of another species. Although the mating act is necessary to trigger pregnancy, it鈥檚 a case of 鈥渟perm donor lite鈥� for males, whose sperm do not actually fertilize the female鈥檚 egg.
> Each leap culminates with the two fishes turning upside down and depositing sperm and about a dozen eggs. Talk about good timing! In this manner, several dozen translucent (and well-camouflaged) eggs end up adhering in a cluster on the target leaf. I鈥檝e read that leaps can be four inches high, but watching a film of the behavior indicates that characins can jump much higher. They can also buy more time to deposit their goods by clinging to the leaf for several seconds. The incubation period is very short, which is just as well because Dad must work in overdrive to keep the eggs moist. He does this by firing water onto the egg masses with a skillful tail-flick. It must be an exhausting job, for splashing is performed at one-minute intervals during the two to three days until the eggs hatch and the newborns drop into the water.
> Pricklebacks, gunnels, and wolf eels coil their elongate bodies around their egg cluster as the tide recedes, trapping a small pool of water in which the eggs sit. It says something about the virtue of parental dedication that a fish will lie for many hours, exposed to air, to protect his or her future offspring. Further strategies for protecting eggs above the waterline include covering them with seaweed, burying them in the sand, and hiding them among rocks. There must be advantages: higher incubation temperatures, higher oxygen concentrations, and lower predation
> Some bettas protect their young in bubble nests, which might be an evolutionary precursor to mouthbrooding. Bubble nests work well in stagnant water where bubble-nesting bettas live. They keep the eggs and developing fry together, safe, moist, and close to the oxygen-rich atmosphere. But in moving water such as a stream, a bubble nest is very difficult to maintain. Parents manipulate eggs with their mouths during the construction of bubble nests, so it is just a short evolutionary hop to holding the eggs in the mouth.
> Swordfishes can heat up their eyes twenty to thirty degrees Fahrenheit above the water temperature.
> The sticklebacks behaved as if they had previewed the study plan. When just one fish was presented with two models, it followed the healthier-looking model to its refuge about 60 percent of the time. Performance steadily improved with group size to over 80 percent in groups of ten sticklebacks. This is an example of consensus decision making.
> A subordinate male risks having to fight with a larger male if he is within about 5 percent of the bigger one鈥檚 size. A loss could bump him down a few notches in the mating queue. What is a little fish to do? In an admirable show of restraint, male gobies of various species deliberately limit their food intake to retain their place in the queue.
> If the breeding female dies, the chief male changes sex to female and the next largest fish in the subordinate group bumps up to chief male. So there is always hope for a suppressed male in a clownfish family. (All of this reveals a slight inaccuracy in the course of events in Finding Nemo. The fact is, upon Nemo鈥檚 losing his mother, his dad, Marlin, should have become his new mother.)
> sperm drinking certainly works for catfishes, for it is believed to occur in as many as twenty species.
> There are a few other all-female species among reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and birds. These species are referred to as parthenogenetic because no sperm is required to fertilize their eggs. But the situation is even more peculiar in Amazon mollies, because they can produce fertile eggs only if they mate with a male Molly of another species. Although the mating act is necessary to trigger pregnancy, it鈥檚 a case of 鈥渟perm donor lite鈥� for males, whose sperm do not actually fertilize the female鈥檚 egg.
> Each leap culminates with the two fishes turning upside down and depositing sperm and about a dozen eggs. Talk about good timing! In this manner, several dozen translucent (and well-camouflaged) eggs end up adhering in a cluster on the target leaf. I鈥檝e read that leaps can be four inches high, but watching a film of the behavior indicates that characins can jump much higher. They can also buy more time to deposit their goods by clinging to the leaf for several seconds. The incubation period is very short, which is just as well because Dad must work in overdrive to keep the eggs moist. He does this by firing water onto the egg masses with a skillful tail-flick. It must be an exhausting job, for splashing is performed at one-minute intervals during the two to three days until the eggs hatch and the newborns drop into the water.
> Pricklebacks, gunnels, and wolf eels coil their elongate bodies around their egg cluster as the tide recedes, trapping a small pool of water in which the eggs sit. It says something about the virtue of parental dedication that a fish will lie for many hours, exposed to air, to protect his or her future offspring. Further strategies for protecting eggs above the waterline include covering them with seaweed, burying them in the sand, and hiding them among rocks. There must be advantages: higher incubation temperatures, higher oxygen concentrations, and lower predation
> Some bettas protect their young in bubble nests, which might be an evolutionary precursor to mouthbrooding. Bubble nests work well in stagnant water where bubble-nesting bettas live. They keep the eggs and developing fry together, safe, moist, and close to the oxygen-rich atmosphere. But in moving water such as a stream, a bubble nest is very difficult to maintain. Parents manipulate eggs with their mouths during the construction of bubble nests, so it is just a short evolutionary hop to holding the eggs in the mouth.
December 10, 2018
In the history of persuasion no one has ever changed their mind while being talked at. Preaching is the quickest way to lose an unconverted audience. The best way to change someone's mind is to make them curious. Ask them questions and then calmly lay out your interesting facts. Then after you've let the evidence speak for itself you ask if the status quo should change. Does what you thought still seem true?
Sadly this book did the opposite. It started fast and hard condemning people's unfeeling, speciesist view of these poor creatures. Espousing cruelties and the author's own, lone kind heart. While I agreed with him on the folly of people classing fish as somehow less alive or more easily eaten than say cows, it is not just fish or the mamailian bias that I think of as strange. Life is life. Trees have memoirs, loyalties and language. We are land fish that can only survive outside the ocean by carrying the sea inside our bodies. These are facts. They awaken compassion and understanding, but they do so on their own with my telling you what you should feel.
If this book had just contained interesting, relatable facts about our fellow fish I would have enjoyed the whole thing. Alas, it did not, it was a sermon of why humans are unfeeling and biased. Yes, yes, I know that, I did not pick up this book to hear about people, I picked it up to learn about fish.
Sadly this book did the opposite. It started fast and hard condemning people's unfeeling, speciesist view of these poor creatures. Espousing cruelties and the author's own, lone kind heart. While I agreed with him on the folly of people classing fish as somehow less alive or more easily eaten than say cows, it is not just fish or the mamailian bias that I think of as strange. Life is life. Trees have memoirs, loyalties and language. We are land fish that can only survive outside the ocean by carrying the sea inside our bodies. These are facts. They awaken compassion and understanding, but they do so on their own with my telling you what you should feel.
If this book had just contained interesting, relatable facts about our fellow fish I would have enjoyed the whole thing. Alas, it did not, it was a sermon of why humans are unfeeling and biased. Yes, yes, I know that, I did not pick up this book to hear about people, I picked it up to learn about fish.
July 20, 2024
Fish have been around for a very long time, and have apparently evolved many of the same features which mammals more readily demonstrate 鈥� or so Balcombe suggests in this fascinating book.
I admit being particularly interested in fish, being a fish hobbyist who breeds a number of nanofish for the aquarium trade. As a hobbyist, I was aware of the amazing variety in fish and their habits, such as livebearers, mouth breeders, bubblenest builders, and so on. However, the research in the book illuminates recent discoveries in fish consciousness, their social life and intelligence, tool use and planning capacities, parenting styles, and much much more.
Most fish are still unstudied, because of the challenges posed to observe them. Balcombe also raises the alarm about over-fishing, and habitat destruction, and this warning is particularly important.
Recommended for nature lovers, in and out of the water.
I admit being particularly interested in fish, being a fish hobbyist who breeds a number of nanofish for the aquarium trade. As a hobbyist, I was aware of the amazing variety in fish and their habits, such as livebearers, mouth breeders, bubblenest builders, and so on. However, the research in the book illuminates recent discoveries in fish consciousness, their social life and intelligence, tool use and planning capacities, parenting styles, and much much more.
Most fish are still unstudied, because of the challenges posed to observe them. Balcombe also raises the alarm about over-fishing, and habitat destruction, and this warning is particularly important.
Recommended for nature lovers, in and out of the water.
January 10, 2019
What a sleeper! A surprisingly wonderful and engaging book about the life of fish. Did you know fish do have feelings, intelligence, use tools, plan, and have culture? Balcombe has that powerful combination as a writer to bring scientific studies alive, and we get lots of fascinating studies in this book presented in such a lively and clear manner. I also appreciate that Balcombe continually presents -well, this is another way we might interpret these results. And, unlike Sy Montgomery's books that I find to be simply too emotional. Balcombe is not overly sentimental. In fact the information and style is balanced. I've bought my friends copies of this book!
September 20, 2021
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喔∴笝喔膏俯喔⑧箤喔權傅喙堗竵喙囙笚喔權竾喔曕副喔о箑喔傅喔⑧箑喔弗喔粪腑喙€喔佮复喔權箒喔ム赴喔炧涪喔侧涪喔侧浮喔堗赴喔勦福喔竾喙傕弗喔佮箒喔ム赴喔福喙夃覆喔囙箑喔｀阜喙堗腑喔囙笁喔脆笟喔覆喔⑧浮喔侧竵喔∴覆喔⑧竵喙堗覆喔⑧竵喔竾 喔椸副喙夃竾 喙� 喔椸傅喙堗笗喔编抚喙€喔竾喔佮箛喙勦浮喙堗箘喔斷箟喔斷傅喙€喔斷箞喙€喔ム复喔ㄠ箑喔ム腑喔赴喙勦福喙勦笡喔∴覆喔佮竵喔о箞喔侧釜喔脆箞喔囙浮喔掂笂喔掂抚喔脆笗喔阜喙堗笝 喙� 喙€喔ム涪
喔∴父喔∴浮喔竾喔曕箞喔箑喔｀阜喙堗腑喔囙笗喙堗覆喔� 喙� 喙佮竸喙堗箑喔涏弗喔掂箞喔⑧笝喔權复喔斷箑喔斷傅喔⑧抚喔椸赋喙冟斧喙夃箑喔｀覆喔堗副喔氞笀喔膏笖喔涏副喔嵿斧喔侧笗喙堗覆喔囙箘喔涏浮喔侧竵喙傕競喙€喔ム涪
喔佮覆喔｀箑喔覆喔勦抚喔侧浮喙€喔涏箛喔權浮喔權父喔┼涪喙屶箘喔涏笀喔编笟 喙佮弗喙夃抚喔ㄠ付喔佮俯喔侧笀喔侧竵喔曕福喔囙笝喔编箟喔權笗喙堗腑 喔氞覆喔囙笚喔掂竵喙囙笚喔赤箖喔箟喙€喔｀覆喙€喔傅喔⑧箑喔о弗喔侧斧喔｀阜喔箘喔涏笢喔脆笖喔椸覆喔囙箖喔權斧喔ム覆喔� 喙� 喙€喔｀阜喙堗腑喔� 喙佮笗喙堗浮喔编笝喔佮箛喔權箞喔侧釜喔權箖喔堗笖喔掂笧喔浮喔竾喔⑧箟喔笝喔佮弗喔编笟喙勦笡 喙冟笂喙堗抚喙堗覆喔竾喔勦箤喔勦抚喔侧浮喔｀腹喙夃箑喔弗喙堗覆喔權副喙夃笝喔堗赴喙勦浮喙堗浮喔掂笡喔｀赴喙傕涪喔娻笝喙屶腑喔班箘喔｀箑喔ム涪 喔∴腑喔囙笀喔侧竵喔曕福喔囙笝喔掂箟喔佮箛喔椸赋喙冟斧喙夃箑喔｀覆喙€喔｀傅喔⑧笝喔｀腹喙夃笚喔掂箞喔堗赴喙勦浮喙堗涪喔多笖喔曕复喔斷竵喔编笟喔笝喔椸覆喔囙笝喔编箟喔� 喙佮弗喔班浮喔竾喔覆喔о复喔樴傅喔佮覆喔｀笚喔掂箞喔曕箞喔侧竾喔腑喔佮箘喔涏竵喔编笟喔涏副喔嵿斧喔侧腑喔粪箞喔� 喙� 喔椸傅喙堗箑喔堗腑喙冟笝喔笝喔侧竸喔曕箘喔斷箟 喙€喔炧福喔侧赴喔∴父喔∴浮喔竾喔涏副喔嵿斧喔侧笚喔掂箞喔曕箞喔侧竾喔佮箛喔堗赴喙勦笖喙夃竸喔赤笗喔笟喔椸傅喙堗笗喙堗覆喔囙箘喔�
喔⑧副喔囙浮喔掂腑喔班箘喔｀福喔箖喔箟喙赌喔｀覆喔ㄠ付喔佮俯喔侧腑喔掂竵喔∴覆喔�
喔佮弗喔编笟喔∴覆喔椸傅喙堗斧喔ム覆喔� 喙� 喔勦父喔撪釜喔∴笟喔编笗喔脆競喔竾喔涏弗喔侧笚喔掂箞喙€喔｀覆喔箞喔侧笝喙勦笡喔佮箛喔｀腹喙夃釜喔多竵喔о箟喔侧抚
喔佮箛喔∴覆喙€喔堗腑喔勦抚喔侧浮喔福喙夃覆喔囙釜喔｀福喔勦箤喔傕腑喔囙釜喔涏傅喔娻傅喔箤喙€喔｀覆喙€喔竾喙€喔權傅喙堗涪 喔椸傅喙堗箑喔覆喔勦父喔撪釜喔∴笟喔编笗喔脆箑喔弗喙堗覆喔權副喙夃笝喔椸傅喙堗箑喔｀覆喔｀腹喙夃浮喔侧笡喔｀赴喔⑧父喔佮笗喙屶箖喔娻箟喙冟笝喔佮覆喔｀弗喙堗覆/喔勦抚喔氞竸喔膏浮
喔曕笟喙€喔傕箞喔侧箖喔權箖喔� 喙傕弗喔佮浮喔编笝喔∴傅喔弗喔侧涪喔∴复喔曕复喙€喔｀阜喙堗腑喔囙笗喙堗覆喔� 喙� 喔佮箛喔∴傅喔弗喔侧涪喔斷箟喔侧笝喔复喔權赴
喔佮覆喔｀弗喙堗覆喔佮箛喙赌喔涏箛喔权竵喔侧福喔涏福喔班涪喔膏竵喔曕箤喙冟笂喙夃腑喔囙竸喙屶竸喔о覆喔★拷锟洁腹喙夃腑喔⑧箞喔侧竾喔权付喔�
喙冟笝喙佮竾喙堗笝喔多竾喙€喔｀覆喙€喔｀傅喔⑧笝喔｀腹喙夃笀喔班腑喔⑧腹喙堗竵喔编笟喔涏弗喔� 喔涏弗喔侧箑喔竾喔佮箛喙€喔｀傅喔⑧笝喔｀腹喙夃笚喔掂箞喔堗赴喔涪喔灌箞喔佮副喔氞箑喔｀覆/喔佮副喔氞釜喔脆箞喔囙笚喔掂箞喙€喔｀覆喔椸赋喙冟斧喙夃箑喔涏弗喔掂箞喔⑧笝喙佮笡喔ム竾喙€喔浮喔粪腑喔權竵喔编笝 喙€喔炧福喔侧赴喔涏弗喔侧箑喔涏箛喔權浮喔侧竵喔佮抚喙堗覆喔覆喔覆喔｀箒喔ム赴喔勦抚喔侧浮喔｀阜喙堗笝喔｀浮喔⑧箤
喔涏弗喔侧箑喔竾喔佮箛喔覆喔堗笀喔班箑喔｀傅喔⑧竵喔｀箟喔竾喔勦抚喔侧浮喔笝喙冟笀喔堗覆喔佮浮喔权父喔┼涪喙屶箘喔断箟喙赌喔浮喔粪腑喔权竵喔编笝喔权赴
I love adaptation
喔涏福喔班箑喔斷箛喔權笚喔掂箞喙€喔｀覆喔∴腑喔囙抚喙堗覆喔權箞喔侧釜喔權箖喔堗笖喔� (喔父喔斷箒喔笝喔堗赴喔權箞喔侧箑喔箛喔權笖喔�):
* 喔涏弗喔侧笟喔侧竾喔娻笝喔脆笖喔覆喔堗笀喔班竸喔膏涪喔佮副喔權笢喙堗覆喔欌€澿笗喔斺€�
* 喔勦抚喔侧浮喔佮弗喔编抚喔傕腑喔囙箒喔嬥弗喔∴腑喔權竵喔编笟喔佮弗喔脆箞喔權競喔掂箟
* 喔∴复喔曕福喔狅拷锟洁笧喔傕腑喔囙笡喔ム覆喔椸腑喔� 喔權箟喔赤箖喔堗箖喔曕箟喔權箟喔�
* 喔涏弗喔侧笅喔多浮喙€喔ㄠ福喙夃覆喙佮弗喔班竵喔ム箘喔佮笡喙夃腑喔囙竵喔编笝喔曕副喔о箑喔竾
* 喔涏弗喔侧笗喔脆笖喔權抚喔� & 喔涏弗喔侧笗喔脆笖喔⑧覆 ~ 喔勦抚喔侧浮喔涏福喔侧福喔栢笝喔侧箒喔ム赴喔｀阜喙堗笝喔｀浮喔⑧箤喔傕腑喔囙笂喔掂抚喔脆笗
* 喔涏弗喔侧笟喔侧竾喔娻笝喔脆笖喔覆喔堗笀喔班笂喔笟喙€喔ム箞喔權竵喔编笟喙佮浮喔�
* 喔涏弗喔侧釜喔膏笖喙€喔阜喔竵 喙勦笡喔斷腹 their saranaeness
* 喔涏弗喔侧笢喔灌箟喔堗副喔氞笝喔佮箑喔涏箛喔權腑喔侧斧喔侧福
* 喔涏弗喔侧竵喙囙笗喔箒喔弗喙€喔炧阜喙堗腑喔溹弗喔涏福喔班箓喔⑧笂喔權箤喙勦笖喙夃箑喔浮喔粪腑喔權竵喔编笝
* 喔赋喔｀抚喔堗笜喔膏福喔佮复喔堗笚喔赤竸喔о覆喔∴釜喔班腑喔侧笖&喔笡喔侧競喔竾喔涏弗喔侧笝喙夃腑喔� 喔佮弗喔о复喔樴傅喔佮覆喔｀競喔侧涪喙佮弗喔班箓喔涏福喙傕浮喔娻副喙堗笝 喔佮弗喔⑧父喔椸笜喔∴副喔斷箖喔堗弗喔灌竵喔勦箟喔� 喙佮弗喔班箒喔佮箠喔囙笗喙夃浮喔曕父喙嬥笝喔弗喔竵喙佮笖喔� (literally)
* 喔涏福喔班笂喔侧笜喔脆笡喙勦笗喔⑧箖喔權笡喔ム覆 喔笝喔椸覆喔囙箑喔ム傅喙堗涪喔団€澿笢喔權竾喔｀笀喔曕竵喔♀€�
* 喔阜喔氞笧喔编笝喔樴父喙屶斧喔｀福喔┼覆: 喙勦競喙堗斧喔ム腑喔�, 喔腑喔｀副喔ム箑喔嬥箛喔佮笅喙屶競喔竾喔涏弗喔侧笖喔膏竵 喔佮覆喔｀笢喔浮喔炧副喔權笜喔膏箤喔溹箞喔侧笝喔腑喔⑧箒喔∴弗喔囙笭喔灌箞
* 喔弗喔侧竵喔弗喔侧涪喔о复喔樴傅喔嗋覆喔曕竵喔｀福喔∴笡喔ム覆喔傕腑喔囙浮喔權父喔┼涪喙屶笚喔编箟喔囙笚喔侧竾喔曕福喔囙箒喔ム赴喔椸覆喔囙腑喙夃腑喔� 喔溹弗喔佮福喔班笚喔氞競喔竾喔佮覆喔｀笡喔｀赴喔∴竾喔曕箞喔笡喔ム覆喙佮弗喔班釜喔脆箞喔囙箒喔о笖喔ム箟喔浮
鈥�..
喙€喔傕傅喔⑧笝喙勦笖喙夃笖喔� 喔箞喔侧笝喙勦浮喙堗涪喔侧竵 喙勦浮喙堗箘喔斷箟喔о复喔娻覆喔佮覆喔｀箑喔佮复喔權箘喔� 喔權赋喙€喔笝喔福喔侧涪喔ム赴喙€喔傅喔⑧笖喔椸傅喙堗笝喙堗覆喔笝喙冟笀喙佮笟喔氞箘喔∴箞喔｀腹喙夃釜喔多竵喙€喔浮喔粪腑喔權腑喙堗覆喔權笗喔赤福喔� 喔箞喔侧笝喙€喔炧弗喔脆笝喙€喔ム涪
喙佮笗喙堗竵喙囙箒喔笟喔∴傅喔箞喔о笝喔椸傅喙堗箑喔夃笧喔侧赴喔椸覆喔囙笂喔掂抚喔班箑喔⑧腑喔班腑喔⑧腹喙� 喔∴傅喔傕涪喔侧涪喔勦抚喔侧浮喙冟斧喙夃箑喔ム箛喔佮笝喙夃腑喔⑧笧喔箖喔箟喔箞喔侧笝喙€喔傕箟喔侧箖喔堗箘喔斷箟喔涪喔灌箞 喙佮笗喙堗笘喙夃覆喙冟斧喙夃箑喔｀覆喔箞喔侧笝喙€喔ム箞喔∴笝喔掂箟喔曕腑喔權浮喔编笜喔⑧浮喔佮箛喔勦竾喔堗赴喙€喔涏箛喔權箑喔ム箞喔∴笚喔掂箞喔曕箟喔竾喙冟笂喙夃箑喔о弗喔侧笚喔赤竸喔о覆喔∴箑喔傕箟喔侧箖喔堗腑喔⑧腹喙堗箑喔浮喔粪腑喔權竵喔编笝
喔∴傅喔娻箞喔о竾喔佮弗喔侧竾 喙� 喔椸傅喙堗箑喔權箟喔權箘喔涏笚喔掂箞喙€喔浮喔粪腑喔權笝喔赤箑喔笝喔竾喔侧笝喔о复喔堗副喔⑧箑喔佮傅喙堗涪喔о箒喔氞笟喔笜喔脆笟喔侧涪喔囙箞喔侧涪 喙� 喙佮笗喙堗浮喔侧浮喔侧笗喔脆笖 喙� 喔佮副喔權箒喔氞笟喙勦浮喙堗浮喔掂腑喔班箘喔｀浮喔侧竵喔编箟喔權竵喙囙弗喔斷腑喔｀福喔栢福喔竵喔侧福喔箞喔侧笝喙勦笡喙€喔ム箛喔佮笝喙夃腑喔⑧箑喔炧福喔侧赴喙冟斧喙夃腑喔侧福喔∴笓喙屶箑喔浮喔粪腑喔權腑喙堗覆喔權笗喔赤福喔� 喙勦浮喙堗箑喔浮喔粪腑喔權笂喙堗抚喔囙箒喔｀竵 喙� 喔椸傅喙堗竵喔ム浮喔佮弗喙堗腑喔� 喔堗副喔囙斧喔о赴喔佮覆喔｀腑喙堗覆喔權竵喔赤弗喔编竾喔斷傅 喔弗喔编竾 喙� 喙€喔｀复喙堗浮喙€喔涏箛喔權箑喔｀阜喙堗腑喔囙箑喔ム箞喔侧笀喔侧竵喔佮覆喔｀釜喔编竾喙€喔佮笗喔ム赴
喔∴傅喔堗父喔斷笚喔掂箞喙€喔｀覆喔箞喔侧笝喙佮弗喙夃抚喔權付喔佮笗喔侧浮喔⑧覆喔佮斧喔權箞喔涪喔勦阜喔箑喔о弗喔侧笧喔灌笖喔栢付喔囙笡喔ム覆喔涏福喔班箑喔犩笚喔曕箞喔侧竾 喙� 喔栢箟喔侧箑喔｀覆喙勦浮喙堗福喔灌箟喔堗副喔佮箑喔｀覆喔佮箛喔權傅喔佮笭喔侧笧喙勦浮喙堗腑喔腑喔� 喔曕箟喔竾喙勦笡喙€喔涏复喔斷斧喔� 喙佮弗喙夃抚喙€喔ム箞喔∴笝喔掂箟喔佮箛喔炧腹喔斷笘喔多竾喔涏弗喔侧斧喔ム覆喔佮斧喔ム覆喔⑧笂喔權复喔斷浮喔侧竵 喔涪喔膏笖喔箞喔侧笝喙€喔涏箛喔權笂喙堗抚喔� 喙�
喙傕笖喔⑧福喔о浮喔勦阜喔腑喙堗覆喔權釜喔權父喔佮箘喔斷箟喔｀腹喙夃腑喔班箘喔｀斧喔ム覆喔� 喙� 喔斷箟喔侧笝喙€喔佮傅喙堗涪喔о竵喔编笟喔涏弗喔侧笚喔掂箞喙勦浮喙堗箑喔勦涪喔｀腹喙夃浮喔侧竵喙堗腑喔�
September 10, 2017
When we seem them, they鈥檙e all a 鈥渇ish out of water..,鈥� which is a phrase describing someone in an alien place, probably suffering as a side effect. That鈥檚 99% of our experience of fish, but it鈥檚 not Balcombe鈥檚 experience, and he wants us to know that fish have interesting cognition (learning and performing complex tasks), sophisticated memories, relationships, social bonding, and a real sense of pain that we continuously violate.
The book tells us that fish have these rich lives, but we don鈥檛 understand them because they鈥檙e so alien to us. Without a leg to stand on, literally, or a face to express emotion, or even voices with which to scream, understanding fish requires some sympathy and a deeper understanding that we normally give them. Usually, our experience of fish is a protein on a plate. But they are much more than that.
In seven chapters, the book gives the view that we are incredibly species-ist about understanding animals in general, and fish in particular.
Chapter 2鈥攚hat a fish perceives: They see, touch, and sense a rich underwater world in ways that we can鈥檛 imagine. What would it be like to have taste buds all over your body, or see the electrical fields of other animals, or feel every tiny passing pressure wave. We feel air pressure when it鈥檚 large enough鈥攂ut imagine feeling every passing breeze at 100X the resolution, or hearing sounds of other fishes pressure wave as they pass by.
Chapter 3鈥攚hat a fish feels: Unlike what your grandfather might have told you, a fish definitely feels pain. That hook in the mouth hurts. But it鈥檚 worse to but hauled up in a net from 1000 fathoms down, crushed together with a million of your kind, crushed, suffocated, and decompressed with your guts coming out of your throat. We can鈥檛 pretend this isn鈥檛 just slaughtering creatures that don鈥檛 feel pain.
Chapter 4鈥攚hat a fish thinks: Much to my surprise, fish have a lot more intelligence (and long-term memory) than I鈥檇 thought. It鈥檚 not just clever skills, but also learning by observation of others behavior (perspective taking), planning out future actions, and remembering skills and patterns for a very long period. There are fish that engage in inter-species social communication, along with temporary upsets, fights, and reconciliation. (Yes, there are even fish that are tool users, which is quite a feat without fingers or hands.)
Chapter 5鈥擶ho a fish knows: Yes, they have social intelligence as well. They have friends, they mourn the loss of a companion, and even organize hunting parties together. Certain groupers even use referential gestures to point out where food is hiding for a moray. The eel sees the grouper 鈥減ointing鈥� at the food (with his whole body), rushes in for the kill, and the grouper benefits by cleaning up the leftovers. That is, the grouper is signaling to his hunting partner, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a fish hiding in here.. go get him!鈥� This is all very much more than I ever would have expected of a fish.
Chapter 6鈥攈ow a fish breeds: I thought I knew a lot about the variety and depth of fish mating and fish-rearing behavior, but since I last read about this, research has shown even more remarkable insights. Yes, there are remarkable swimming displays to attract a mate, and there are amazing constructions that fish will build (without hands!) to show off their prowess and fitness for mating. But there are novel reproduction methods I didn鈥檛 know about. Example: the female armored catfish (Corydoras) attaches herself to the genitals of the male to drink his sperm (who knew they had oral sex?), BUT it鈥檚 not digested, but pass through her body in seconds to be carefully excreted atop her clutch of just released eggs. (Which means she has a special 鈥減ass-through鈥� mode for things she ingests, and not digests.)
It goes on and on: fish that deposit their fertilized eggs inside of a mussel for safe harbor and development until the fish are born, and leave the borrowed bivalve womb.
Since sex and mating drives a lot of behavior, it鈥檚 no surprise that it drives fish behavior as well. Male Atlantic mollies have a gonopodium (which looks and functions a lot like a penis) that they use to mate. The males also practice deception鈥攖hey will show a false interest in a smaller female (which then attracts other males to the smaller female), and the largely endowed gonopodium male will then run off with the larger (and more attractive) female.
(And, in an interesting twist, there are mollies that live in the Amazon that are (appropriately enough) all female. BUT, they can produce viable eggs only if they mate with male mollies鈥� of a different species. They mate and generate eggs, but the eggs aren鈥檛 fertilized by the spermatic contribution of the other-species male. It鈥檚 a case of 鈥渋mmaculate deception.鈥�)
Equally amazing, some female fish take care of their young post-birth. Some go so far as to excrete a special kind of immunity-boosting mucus from their scales, which the little fry are encouraged to eat. Like mammalian mother鈥檚-milk, the fish-mother鈥檚 mucus is early stage, specially adapted food for the infant fish.
Overall, 鈥淲hat a Fish Knows鈥� is a beautifully written paen to fishes, and a call for humanity to stop the killing of an entire category of sensing, perceiving, attentive animals.
Fish are the only wild 鈥渂ush meat鈥� that we consume on a massive, industrial scale. Yes, there are farmed fish, but that has its own set of problems. Not only are we being cruel about the way we capture them, but we鈥檝e destroyed many populations along the way. That orange roughy you had with a light cream sauce was probably 100 years old when caught. Since orange roughy are slow-growing and late to mature, this means they have very low resilience, making them extremely susceptible to overfishing. Likewise for sharks, cod, etc etc etc.
Would we do anything differently if cows took 100 years to mature to edibility? But because the orange roughly lives in the deep sea at 1000 meters down, we don鈥檛 see this, and we don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 really going on.
What鈥檚 worse, it鈥檚 become clear that some fishes have cultural knowledge that鈥檚 passed down between generations (primarily around good breeding places). It鈥檚 very possible that some kinds of fish are not bouncing back after fishing is halted because they鈥檝e FORGOTTEN how to have a viable population.
There鈥檚 a lot more going on with fish than you might have known.
It鈥檚 enough to make you stop eating fish. I鈥檓 certainly decreasing the amount and kind that I eat.
The book tells us that fish have these rich lives, but we don鈥檛 understand them because they鈥檙e so alien to us. Without a leg to stand on, literally, or a face to express emotion, or even voices with which to scream, understanding fish requires some sympathy and a deeper understanding that we normally give them. Usually, our experience of fish is a protein on a plate. But they are much more than that.
In seven chapters, the book gives the view that we are incredibly species-ist about understanding animals in general, and fish in particular.
Chapter 2鈥攚hat a fish perceives: They see, touch, and sense a rich underwater world in ways that we can鈥檛 imagine. What would it be like to have taste buds all over your body, or see the electrical fields of other animals, or feel every tiny passing pressure wave. We feel air pressure when it鈥檚 large enough鈥攂ut imagine feeling every passing breeze at 100X the resolution, or hearing sounds of other fishes pressure wave as they pass by.
Chapter 3鈥攚hat a fish feels: Unlike what your grandfather might have told you, a fish definitely feels pain. That hook in the mouth hurts. But it鈥檚 worse to but hauled up in a net from 1000 fathoms down, crushed together with a million of your kind, crushed, suffocated, and decompressed with your guts coming out of your throat. We can鈥檛 pretend this isn鈥檛 just slaughtering creatures that don鈥檛 feel pain.
Chapter 4鈥攚hat a fish thinks: Much to my surprise, fish have a lot more intelligence (and long-term memory) than I鈥檇 thought. It鈥檚 not just clever skills, but also learning by observation of others behavior (perspective taking), planning out future actions, and remembering skills and patterns for a very long period. There are fish that engage in inter-species social communication, along with temporary upsets, fights, and reconciliation. (Yes, there are even fish that are tool users, which is quite a feat without fingers or hands.)
Chapter 5鈥擶ho a fish knows: Yes, they have social intelligence as well. They have friends, they mourn the loss of a companion, and even organize hunting parties together. Certain groupers even use referential gestures to point out where food is hiding for a moray. The eel sees the grouper 鈥減ointing鈥� at the food (with his whole body), rushes in for the kill, and the grouper benefits by cleaning up the leftovers. That is, the grouper is signaling to his hunting partner, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a fish hiding in here.. go get him!鈥� This is all very much more than I ever would have expected of a fish.
Chapter 6鈥攈ow a fish breeds: I thought I knew a lot about the variety and depth of fish mating and fish-rearing behavior, but since I last read about this, research has shown even more remarkable insights. Yes, there are remarkable swimming displays to attract a mate, and there are amazing constructions that fish will build (without hands!) to show off their prowess and fitness for mating. But there are novel reproduction methods I didn鈥檛 know about. Example: the female armored catfish (Corydoras) attaches herself to the genitals of the male to drink his sperm (who knew they had oral sex?), BUT it鈥檚 not digested, but pass through her body in seconds to be carefully excreted atop her clutch of just released eggs. (Which means she has a special 鈥減ass-through鈥� mode for things she ingests, and not digests.)
It goes on and on: fish that deposit their fertilized eggs inside of a mussel for safe harbor and development until the fish are born, and leave the borrowed bivalve womb.
Since sex and mating drives a lot of behavior, it鈥檚 no surprise that it drives fish behavior as well. Male Atlantic mollies have a gonopodium (which looks and functions a lot like a penis) that they use to mate. The males also practice deception鈥攖hey will show a false interest in a smaller female (which then attracts other males to the smaller female), and the largely endowed gonopodium male will then run off with the larger (and more attractive) female.
(And, in an interesting twist, there are mollies that live in the Amazon that are (appropriately enough) all female. BUT, they can produce viable eggs only if they mate with male mollies鈥� of a different species. They mate and generate eggs, but the eggs aren鈥檛 fertilized by the spermatic contribution of the other-species male. It鈥檚 a case of 鈥渋mmaculate deception.鈥�)
Equally amazing, some female fish take care of their young post-birth. Some go so far as to excrete a special kind of immunity-boosting mucus from their scales, which the little fry are encouraged to eat. Like mammalian mother鈥檚-milk, the fish-mother鈥檚 mucus is early stage, specially adapted food for the infant fish.
Overall, 鈥淲hat a Fish Knows鈥� is a beautifully written paen to fishes, and a call for humanity to stop the killing of an entire category of sensing, perceiving, attentive animals.
Fish are the only wild 鈥渂ush meat鈥� that we consume on a massive, industrial scale. Yes, there are farmed fish, but that has its own set of problems. Not only are we being cruel about the way we capture them, but we鈥檝e destroyed many populations along the way. That orange roughy you had with a light cream sauce was probably 100 years old when caught. Since orange roughy are slow-growing and late to mature, this means they have very low resilience, making them extremely susceptible to overfishing. Likewise for sharks, cod, etc etc etc.
Would we do anything differently if cows took 100 years to mature to edibility? But because the orange roughly lives in the deep sea at 1000 meters down, we don鈥檛 see this, and we don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 really going on.
What鈥檚 worse, it鈥檚 become clear that some fishes have cultural knowledge that鈥檚 passed down between generations (primarily around good breeding places). It鈥檚 very possible that some kinds of fish are not bouncing back after fishing is halted because they鈥檝e FORGOTTEN how to have a viable population.
There鈥檚 a lot more going on with fish than you might have known.
It鈥檚 enough to make you stop eating fish. I鈥檓 certainly decreasing the amount and kind that I eat.
February 16, 2019
Interesting facts about fish:
Do fish feel pain? It seems that they do. If you expose fish to a pain condition, such as exposure to vinegar, they cannot complete their task. However, if you give fish pain medication, they can complete the task, despite the vinegar exposure.
Fish express anxiety over a variety of things (e.g. finding the correct shelter). Researchers observe various fish doing various tasks and identify the anxious fish, give the fish anxiety meds, and observe that they are less anxious and can make better decisions - the decisions non anxious fish make.
Large fish have spa days. They go to cleaner fish stations to get cleaned, mostly of parasites. They observe the cleaners to see who is an honest cleaner and who is a non honest cleaner (honest = little or no biting of the precious mucus that covers the large fish's skin/ dishonest = taking tasty bits of the mucus skin). Just as humans use Yelp or Google to rate businesses, cleaner fish seem to get reputations as honest or dishonest. Honest cleaner get more clients.
When being cleaned, if the large fish senses danger, it will open its mouth and chomp down, trapping the small cleaner fish inside. After the danger passes, the large fish will open up and allow the cleaner fish to swim free.
Some fish love to be petted, just as a dog enjoys it. The author thinks this is worth studying. Do they experience pleasure? He wants to find out.
Do fish feel pain? It seems that they do. If you expose fish to a pain condition, such as exposure to vinegar, they cannot complete their task. However, if you give fish pain medication, they can complete the task, despite the vinegar exposure.
Fish express anxiety over a variety of things (e.g. finding the correct shelter). Researchers observe various fish doing various tasks and identify the anxious fish, give the fish anxiety meds, and observe that they are less anxious and can make better decisions - the decisions non anxious fish make.
Large fish have spa days. They go to cleaner fish stations to get cleaned, mostly of parasites. They observe the cleaners to see who is an honest cleaner and who is a non honest cleaner (honest = little or no biting of the precious mucus that covers the large fish's skin/ dishonest = taking tasty bits of the mucus skin). Just as humans use Yelp or Google to rate businesses, cleaner fish seem to get reputations as honest or dishonest. Honest cleaner get more clients.
When being cleaned, if the large fish senses danger, it will open its mouth and chomp down, trapping the small cleaner fish inside. After the danger passes, the large fish will open up and allow the cleaner fish to swim free.
Some fish love to be petted, just as a dog enjoys it. The author thinks this is worth studying. Do they experience pleasure? He wants to find out.
August 12, 2022
|5,0*|
What a great book! It鈥檚 amazing how much you learn about fish by reading this book. It鈥檚 fascinating and eye opening and at the same time horrifying if you consider what we do to these intelligent, emotional and often social animals.
The author writes in a very human and tangible sort of way while still giving so many studies and scientific findings that you just cannot dismiss the points he is making. He incorporates humour and anecdotes into the text which makes it far easier to read but I have to say it is still a very dense book and one might consider reading it bit by bit.
I highly recommend this book to anyone but especially to those who think 鈥渋t鈥檚 ok to eat fish 鈥榗ause they don鈥檛 have any feelings鈥�.
What a great book! It鈥檚 amazing how much you learn about fish by reading this book. It鈥檚 fascinating and eye opening and at the same time horrifying if you consider what we do to these intelligent, emotional and often social animals.
The author writes in a very human and tangible sort of way while still giving so many studies and scientific findings that you just cannot dismiss the points he is making. He incorporates humour and anecdotes into the text which makes it far easier to read but I have to say it is still a very dense book and one might consider reading it bit by bit.
I highly recommend this book to anyone but especially to those who think 鈥渋t鈥檚 ok to eat fish 鈥榗ause they don鈥檛 have any feelings鈥�.
February 26, 2022
Well organized, mostly common sense at times, but still sprinkled with interesting facts. The intro comes on a little strong with the author鈥檚 personal opinion, but it gets more scientific after that.
April 26, 2018
Not only are we learning from other scientific studies that birds are (and dinosaurs were) much more intelligent than longstanding paradigms had assumed for so many decades, this fascinating book shows that the same is true of fish as well; their cold, seemingly robotic and unfeeling automaton appearance notwithstanding, their actually sentient beings with intelligence and even personalities. The author offers his evidence with plenty of solid science, with detailed information backed by a witty writing style.
The author injects some bleeding-heart liberal politics at several points in the book (not just in the animal rights arena but also a totally irrelevant interjection at one point on gender identity politics), which brings my rating from 5 stars down to 4.....but at least, unlike many animal rights and environmentalist extremists, he doesn't advocate the total abolition of fish consumption; rather, he brings up some valid concerns about overfishing (i.e. excessive depletion of a precious, valuable resource) and about the need for more humane methods of killing fish intended for human consumption.
RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages)
--"One author, Alison Mood, has estimated, based on analysis of Food and Agriculture Organization fisheries capture statistics for the period 1999鈥�2007, that the number of fishes killed each year by humans is between 1 and 2.7 trillion.*" Funny, most people don't talk about "killing" fish that they catch like they would talk about "killing" mammals and birds that they hunt.
--"dizzying numbers like these tend to mask the fact that each fish is a unique individual, not just with a biology, but with a biography. Just as each sunfish, whale shark, manta ray, and leopard grouper has a distinctive pattern from which you can recognize individuals on the outside, each has a one-of-a-kind life on the inside, too. And therein lies the locus of change in human-fish relations. It is a fact of biology that every fish, like the proverbial grain of sand, is one of a kind. But unlike grains of sand, fishes are living beings. This is no trivial distinction. When we come to understand fishes as conscious individuals, we may cultivate a new relationship to them. In the immortal words of an unknown poet: 'Nothing has changed except my attitude鈥攕o everything has changed.'" Profound.
"According to FishBase鈥攖he largest and most often consulted online database on fishes鈥�33,249 species, in 564 families and 64 orders, had been described as of January 2016. That鈥檚 more than the combined total of all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. When we refer to 'fish' we are referring to 60 percent of all the known species on Earth with backbones." Mind-blowing stats.
--"Bony fishes, scientifically termed teleosts (from the Greek teleios = complete, and osteon = bone)," I thought they were termed Ostichthyians?
--"The bony fishes are at least as evolutionarily distinct from the cartilaginous fishes as mammals are from birds. A tuna is actually more closely related to a human than to a shark, and the coelacanth鈥攁 'living fossil' first discovered in 1937鈥攕prouted closer to us than to a tuna on the tree of life. So there are at least six major vertebrate groups if one counts the cartilaginous fishes." Wow, thought-provoking, and dare I say (borderline) paradigm-shifting?
--"In any event, brain size is only marginally meaningful in terms of cognitive advancement. As the author Sy Montgomery notes in an essay on octopus minds, it is well known in electronics that anything can be miniaturized. A small squid can learn mazes faster than dogs do, and a small goby fish can memorize in one trial the topography of a tide pool by swimming over it at high tide鈥攁 feat few if any humans could achieve." And to use a mechanical & technological analogy, look at microchips and microprocessors vs. older and bigger vacuum tubes.
--"As far as we know there is only one way to achieve internal fertilization: sex with an intromittent organ. So it appears that fishes were the first to enjoy 'the fun kind' of sex. About this discovery and John Long, the Australian paleontologist who brought it to light, [David] Attenborough expressed ambivalence during a public lecture: 'This is the first known example of any vertebrate copulating in the history of life 鈥� and he names it after me.'" Ha!
--"fishes are not easily fathomed." Pun intended?
"A seven-month survey using echo soundings of the mesopelagic zone (between 100 and 1,000 meters鈥�330 to 3,300 feet鈥攂elow the ocean surface), published in early 2014, concluded that there are between ten and thirty times more fishes living there than was previously thought." Fascinating revelation.
--"In exchange for the male being the ultimate couch potato, the female never has to wonder where her mate is on a Saturday evening." Haha, amusing metaphors/analogies.
--"Frilled sharks carry their babies for over three years, the longest known pregnancy in nature. I sure hope they don鈥檛 get morning sickness." Haha, this author sure is witty.
--"Speaking of superlatives, and names, surely one of the longest belongs to Hawaii鈥檚 state fish, the rectangular triggerfish, known by the locals as humuhumunukunukuapua鈥檃 (translation: the fish that sews with a needle and grunts like a pig). Perhaps the award for least flattering name should go to an anglerfish dubbed the hairy-jawed sack-mouth, and for most preposterous to the sarcastic fringehead. For the title of crudest, I nominate a small coastal dweller, the slippery dick (Halichoeres bivittatus)." A literal limp wet fish, the latter species? Nyuk nyuk?
--"In March 2015, scientists described the first truly endothermic fish, the opah, which maintains its body temperature at about 9 degrees Fahrenheit above the cold waters it swims in at depths of several hundred feet,"
--"There isn鈥檛 anything musical about the sounds that herrings make, but their innovative method might warrant a fish Grammy Award. One paper describes the first example of what might loosely be termed flatulent communication. Both Pacific and Atlantic herrings break wind by releasing gas bubbles from the anal duct region, producing distinctive bursts of pulses, or what the research team playfully named Fast Repetitive Ticks (FRTs). A bout of FRTs can last up to seven seconds. Try that at home! The gas probably originates in the gut or the swim bladder. It isn鈥檛 clear how these sounds function in herring society, but since per capita rates of sound production are higher in denser schools of herrings, a social function is suspected. So far there is no evidence that herrings ever beg your pardon." Heh heh, I gotta share that one with Dave Writer!
--"Male deep-sea anglerfishes illustrate the interplay of senses. **They have the largest nostrils relative to head size of any animal on Earth**, according to Ted Pietsch, the world鈥檚 go-to guy on anglerfishes." [emphasis added]
--"Consider also that the elephantfishes have the largest brain cerebellum of any fish, and that their brain-to-body-weight ratio鈥攁 highly touted marker of intelligence鈥攊s about the same as ours."
--"perceptions of fishes, I received unsolicited accounts from eight of a thousand random respondents who described behavior like that of the Midas cichlid we just met. These fishes would allow their humans to pet, touch, hold, and stroke them."
--"'To suggest that fishes cannot feel pain because they don鈥檛 have sufficient neuroanatomy is like arguing that balloons cannot fly because they don鈥檛 have wings.' Or that humans cannot swim because they don鈥檛 have fins."
--"Tool use was long believed unique to humans, and it is only in the last decade that scientists have begun to appreciate the behavior beyond mammals and birds."
--"Aquariums illustrate what science demonstrates: fishes have social lives."
--"Creatures like Grandma and The Whisperer defy the common prejudice that sharks are terrorists and bony fishes primitive and dull. Natural selection acts on variation across individuals, and for complex creatures with minds and social lives, personality is an expression of that variation. You don鈥檛 have to have fur or feathers to have personality; scales and fins will suffice."
--"Roving coral groupers and their close relative leopard coral groupers use a 鈥渉eadstand鈥� signal to indicate the location of hidden prey to cooperative hunting partners of several types: giant moray eels, humphead wrasses, **and big blue octopuses**." **emphasis added** Wow, even cooperating with non-fish, non-vertebrate species, i.e. cephalopods!
--"The clever science writer Ed Yong summed it all up with a piece titled 'When Your Prey鈥檚 in a Hole and You Don鈥檛 Have a Pole, Use a Moray.'" Haha, good one.
--"Hans and Simone Fricke, who studied this strict mating system, described the low-ranking males as being, in essence, psychophysiologically castrated." [regarding clownfishes] Egad!
--p. 183: Oh, good Gawd, not the human gender reassignment/gender identity debate! Not germane to the book topic at all! Ugh, the author's lost me now!
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