Predatory fish are hypercarnivorous

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

that actively

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

upon other fish or

aquatic animal An aquatic animal is any animal, whether vertebrate or invertebrate, that lives in a body of water for all or most of its lifetime. Aquatic animals generally conduct gas exchange in water by extracting dissolved oxygen via specialised respirato ...

s, with examples including

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

, billfish,

barracuda A barracuda is a large, predatory, ray-finned, saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldw ...

, alligator gar, tuna, dolphinfish,

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

, perch and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. Some

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

fish, such as the

red-bellied piranha The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha (''Pygocentrus nattereri''), is a Type (biology), type of piranha native to South America, found in the Amazon basin, Amazon, Paraguay River, Paraguay, Paraná River, Paraná and Essequibo Ri ...

, can occasionally also be predatory, although they are not strictly regarded as obligately predatory fish. Populations of large predatory fish in the global oceans were estimated to be about 10% of their pre-industrial levels by 2003, and they are most at risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

; there was a disproportionate level of large predatory fish extinctions during the

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the K–T extinction, was the extinction event, mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. The event cau ...

66 million years ago. Creation of marine reserves has been found to restore populations of large predatory fish such as the ''

Serranidae Serranidae is a large family (biology), family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, ...

'' — groupers and sea bass. Predatory fish switch between types of prey in response to variations in their abundance. Such changes in preference are disproportionate and are selected for as evolutionarily efficient. Predatory fish may become a pest if they are introduced into an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

in which they become a new top predator. An example, which has caused much trouble in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, is the snakehead fish. Predatory fish such as

s, billfish, alligator gar and tuna form a part of the human diet and are targeted by fisheries, but they tend to concentrate significant quantities of mercury in their bodies because they are high in the

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...

, especially as

apex predators An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the hi ...

, due to

biomagnification Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is the increase in concentration of a substance, e.g a pesticide, in the tissue (biology), tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. This inc ...

. Predators are an important factor to consider in managing fisheries, and methods for doing so are available and used in some places. Additionally, the existence of these predators also allows its prey to evolve

countermeasure A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...

s through

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...

. Consequently, the predators and prey will be locked in an evolutionary arms race, each looking to gain the upper hand on the other. The presence of fish predators play a large role in the size, shape and swimming performance of the '' Lithobates clamitans'' tadpoles. The presence of these predators in their habitat causes the tadpoles to develop small bodies and large tail muscles in order to escape from their predators quicker and more efficiently. Some predatory fish, such as lamnid sharks, billfishes, tuna, opah and butterfly kingfish, have the ability for cranial endothermy, i.e., the ability to elevate eye and

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

temperatures, which helps with vision and neural function during ambient temperature changes.

References

External links

Predatory fish on AquaticCommunity.com

''Washington Post'', 21 February 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Predator Fish Ichthyology Predatory animals

See also

References

External links