Imagine, if you will, a day in the life of a fish. Without eyelids, their eyes are open all the time. Daily cycles of light intensity are sensed by photoreceptors in the eye and pineal organ in the brain, which contains light-sensitive nerve endings. Vision is a dominant sense of fish that we humans can appreciate. Whether the fish finds a meal or becomes prey depends on many senses, such as the abilities to see, hear, smell, taste, and to detect water movement and electrical fields. Fish have a special sense that humans do not have: the ability to detect vibrations moving through water. Because sound vibrations move easily through water, fish do not need external ear openings, and yet they also have sensitive hearing. As the game is fairly simple to understand and not too complex, it is ideal for young kids, boys and girls of ages from 0 months (with a parent showing them the game), up to the late kindergarten / preschool stage of their development where they fully understand and can control all aspects of the world and have learned exactly what the cause will be from their actions. Consider your favorite fishing target and their preferred habitat. How do you expect that the ability to hear (near and far) and vision influence your preferred choice of fishing lure or bait? Walls, G. L. 1942. The vertebrate eye and its adaptive radiation. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 19, Bloomfield Hills, MI (published as reprint in 1963 by Hafner, doi:10.5962/bhl.title.7369, see fig. 169, 577). Senses of smell and taste are well developed in fish, and there are many applications of that information in formulating artificial feeds and baits for fishing.

Sound perception is so critical to survival of fish that the hearing anatomy is fully developed within two days of hatching, when fish are just developing swimming and other sensory capabilities. Unlike humans, which have external ears, fish have two organs for hearing that are not obvious to the casual observer. Fish have an internal ear and an external lateral line system. The lateral line is an organ of microscopic pores primarily used to sense vibrations and pressure in the water (Figure 3.3; Montgomery et al. 2014). The pores are lined with neuromasts, which contain sensory hair cells (Figure 3.4). Each hair cell has bundles of cilia embedded in a gelatinous structure, called the cupula. Water movements deflect the cupula and ciliabundles, creating a change in membrane potential that is transmitted to the sensory neuron. Figure 3.4: Schematic of the lateral line system of fish. Movements of water in the lateral line canal cause the cupula to move, thereby stimulating sensory hair cells connected to nerves. Long description. This chapter was reviewed by Andrij Z. Horodysky and Brendan J. Runde, PhD https://www.brendanrunde.com Siebek, U. E., A. N. Parker, D. Sprenger, L. M. Mäthger, and G. Wallis. 2010. A species of reef fish that uses ultraviolet patterns for covert face recognition. Current Biology 20:407–410. Konishi, J., and Y. Zotterman. 1961. Taste functions in the Carp: an electrophysiological study on gustatory fibres. Acta Physiological Scandinavica 52:150–161. Figure 3.7: Diagram shows the refraction of light at the interface of air and water and the cone-shaped range of vision in the fish. (A) Top view. (B) Side view. Kindred Grey. 2022. Adapted under fair use from “Some Important and Interesting Aspects about Yellowfish” ( https://www.fishingowl.co.za/flyfishyel2.html) and “The Science of Stalking Fish,” by Alan Bulmer, 2017 ( https://activeanglingnz.com/2017/02/01/the-science-of-stalking-fish/). Includes Goldfish top view by Oleksandr Panasovskyi, 2020 ( Noun Project license, https://thenounproject.com/icon/goldfish-top-view-3635952/) and “Fish,” by Kangrif, 2017 ( Noun Project license, https://thenounproject.com/icon/fish-1186818/).Rose, J.D. 2003. A Critique of the paper: "Do fish have nociceptors: Evidence for the evolution of a vertebrate sensory system" " (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2009 . Retrieved 21 May 2011.

Understanding and appreciating the diversity of fish requires that we know some basics of sensory capabilities and the ability to learn. Stevens, Martin (2013) Sensory Ecology, Behaviour, and Evolution Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199601783. Bardach, J. E., and J. Atema. 1971. Handbook of sensory physiology, vol. 4: Chemical senses, part 2.: The sense of taste in fishes. As always, the animals are able to adapt. Prof Montgomery was able to show that the nerves that detect the electromagnetism are able to detect and cancel out ‘normal’ activity. This means that the shark doesn’t notice its own electric field and doesn’t react every time it moves a muscle, but it can still sense new things. Whether it be a newborn baby, infant, or child. This sensory play activity is guaranteed to provide them with joy and entertainment! Ideal for when you’re out and about and your infant is getting bored or upset, when your toddler won’t settle and getting up to mischief or when you just want to relax your kids before bed time – distract and get their attention with some visual stimulation in a joyful way!

Although it is hard to test sharks' hearing, they may have a sharp sense of hearing and can possibly hear prey many miles away. [10] A small opening on each side of their heads (not the spiracle) leads directly into the inner ear through a thin channel. The lateral line shows a similar arrangement, and is open to the environment via a series of openings called lateral line pores. This is a reminder of the common origin of these two vibration- and sound-detecting organs that are grouped together as the acoustico-lateralis system. In bony fish and tetrapods the external opening into the inner ear has been lost. Kasumyan, A. O. 2019. The taste system in fishes and the effects of environmental variables. Journal of Fish Biology 95:155–178.