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My articles about animals have gotten such good response from people about town, I thought it's time to write about the research I did on fish for over 15 years at the Marine Lab at Sandy Hook, N.J. and my fish encounters. My field of research was fish immunology. I was partially responsible for the finding that fish have complex immune systems much like mammals with both types of key immune cells: T and B cells. I published, which was for a long time, the only series of lab manuals “ Techniques in Fish Immunology.” We also did research on the effects of pollutants on fish health. This area of research was of interest for fisheries biologists and those in the aquaculture industry. I organized two conferences in Breckenridge, one at the Lodge at Breckenridge, and one at Beaver Run.
One notable thing I have discovered is that fish are interactive. We kept large, 500-gallon tanks with a flow-through salt water system. We mostly worked with various species of flounder, but from time to time brought other fish in. One was a Tautog, who soon became a pet. The tank was essentially a large square box, and when you walked around the tank this fairly large fish would follow you and stick its head out of the tank, making eye contact with you (knowing that you would eventually feed it). Food drives a lot of us!
We also had a pet lobster who soon knew that our presence meant food and after a while he would literally stick its claws out of his tank and click them to get our attention as we walked into the room. One day, one of my technicians and I were talking and gesturing around one of the large tanks and one very large flounder jumped out of the tank, slapped itself against her yellow foul-weather overalls and flopped back into the tank as if to say, “enough talking, feed me.” We also had Snoopy the dog fish shark who would tail-walk; literally raising himself out of the water 5-6 inches and peer at us. We would hand-feed him shrimp. He learned this trick within a week of being brought into the tank. My other memorable fish encounters involved eye contact with a sizeable puffer when snorkeling. This fish swam up to my face mask and we locked eyes for a long time. Another time I felt like I bonded with a Beluga whale in the aquarium in Vancouver. He or she just kept staring at me and I swear just kept smiling.
We know marine mammals are highly intelligent. Fish behavior, though, is typically considered a study of instinct, not of intelligence. People have not tried to demonstrate much learned intelligence with fish. The fact that the flounder seemed to recognize the yellow overalls of my technician who usually did the feeding or the Tautog followed me as I walked around the tank, or that Snoopy the shark recognized our presence and could be hand-fed does show responsiveness and trainability. One study I found did show that a red parrot fish was able to distinguish colors and shapes associated with food. It went to the red color circle and was rewarded with food, and when it went to the brown circle it did not, so eventually the fish consistently went to the red circle. Those creatures we share our planet with continue to amaze!
Breckenridge resident Dr. Joanne Stolen is a former professor of microbiology from Rutgers now teaching classes at CMC. Her scientific interests are in emerging infectious diseases and environmental pollution.
One notable thing I have discovered is that fish are interactive. We kept large, 500-gallon tanks with a flow-through salt water system. We mostly worked with various species of flounder, but from time to time brought other fish in. One was a Tautog, who soon became a pet. The tank was essentially a large square box, and when you walked around the tank this fairly large fish would follow you and stick its head out of the tank, making eye contact with you (knowing that you would eventually feed it). Food drives a lot of us!
We also had a pet lobster who soon knew that our presence meant food and after a while he would literally stick its claws out of his tank and click them to get our attention as we walked into the room. One day, one of my technicians and I were talking and gesturing around one of the large tanks and one very large flounder jumped out of the tank, slapped itself against her yellow foul-weather overalls and flopped back into the tank as if to say, “enough talking, feed me.” We also had Snoopy the dog fish shark who would tail-walk; literally raising himself out of the water 5-6 inches and peer at us. We would hand-feed him shrimp. He learned this trick within a week of being brought into the tank. My other memorable fish encounters involved eye contact with a sizeable puffer when snorkeling. This fish swam up to my face mask and we locked eyes for a long time. Another time I felt like I bonded with a Beluga whale in the aquarium in Vancouver. He or she just kept staring at me and I swear just kept smiling.
We know marine mammals are highly intelligent. Fish behavior, though, is typically considered a study of instinct, not of intelligence. People have not tried to demonstrate much learned intelligence with fish. The fact that the flounder seemed to recognize the yellow overalls of my technician who usually did the feeding or the Tautog followed me as I walked around the tank, or that Snoopy the shark recognized our presence and could be hand-fed does show responsiveness and trainability. One study I found did show that a red parrot fish was able to distinguish colors and shapes associated with food. It went to the red color circle and was rewarded with food, and when it went to the brown circle it did not, so eventually the fish consistently went to the red circle. Those creatures we share our planet with continue to amaze!
Breckenridge resident Dr. Joanne Stolen is a former professor of microbiology from Rutgers now teaching classes at CMC. Her scientific interests are in emerging infectious diseases and environmental pollution.
