Sample Fish Article

Abramis Brama

Species Name	Abramis brama
Common Name	Freshwater bream
Authors(s)	Linnaeus
Year	1758
Scientific Classification
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Actinopteri
Order	Cypriniformes
Family	Leuciscidae
Subfamily	Leuciscinae
Genus	Abramis

Abramis brama, commonly known as Freshwater breamis a species of Abramis genus which belongs to the family Leuciscidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is a member of the Actinopteri class of the Animalia kingdom. It was first described by Linnaeus in the year 1758. These species are distributed mainly in the Europe and Asia region and they are mostly found in the Temperate level of the water bodies. The fishes of these species are mainly located at depth range of 1-200 meters.

Description

Abramis brama fishes vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration. They can grow upto the maximum length of 82 meters. The highest weight ever recorded for the members of these species is 6 kg. The age of the oldest specimen of Abramis brama ever found in the wild or in captivity is 23 years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, which is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of all biological species, have accessed these species as Least Concern i.e., they are unlikely to become endangered or extinct in the near future.

Fishes are an important resource for humans worldwide, especially as food. This species is considered to have high importance in the commercial market. These fishes are also used in games and usually as a bait for other marine species. It is quite famous in commercial aquaculture. These are found to be harmless to humans.

Habitat

Different species of fish are adapted for different habitats: rocky shores, coral reefs, kelp forests, rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, under sea ice, the deep sea, and other environments of fresh, salt, and brackish water. The communities of these fishes are commonly found in freshwater and brackish waters. Benthopelagic habitat is preferred by these species i.e., living and/or feeding on or near the bottom, as well as in midwater, between 0 and 200 m. pH range, which is a way of measuring whether the water is acidic or basic, is very essential for the health, growth and reproduction of the fishes. pH range of 7.0 – 7.5 is considered optimum for the fishes of these species. Water Hardness is also quite important for fishes as it has been shown to have a direct effect on newly fertilized eggs. dH range of 15 - 20 is considered desirable for Abramis brama.

Migration

Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few meters to thousands of kilometres, usually for better feeding or to reproduce. Abramis brama comes under the category of potamodromous fishes i.e., their migrations are cyclical and predictable, moving within streams and rivers covering more than 100 km.

Reproduction

Fish reproductive organs include testicles and ovaries. In most species, gonads are paired organs of similar size, which can be partially or totally fused. There may also be a range of secondary organs that increase reproductive fitness. Abramis brama has dioecism mode of reproduction which means the females develop ovaries and the males develop testes and they function accordingly. and performs external fertilization i.e., the female and male both release their gametes into the water, where they diffuse together and fertilize.

References

• AFMAFEWM (Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management), 2011. Checklist of species in Austria. Federal Office for Water Management, Institute of Waters Ecology, Fisheries and Lake Research.
• Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 pp.