The Library
Facts!
Did You Know? ...
Fisher S. Thompson has researched a vast array of subjects and come up with
some very interesting facts. We've talked him into sharing them with you!
Freshwater fish don’t drink any water. All living things have to carefully
balance the amount of water and salt in their bodies. In lakes and rivers, too
much water already diffuses into their bodies through their skin and gills.
They have to work to take in extra salt through their gills to maintain the
proper water/salt balance. Drinking the water would just make the problem worse.
Male largemouth bass are protective fathers. In the spring they build a nest
in clear water near a log or boulder. They stay there guarding the eggs and
baby fish for a month. That’s why bass fishing is not allowed in the spring.
Cold water is heavier than warm water so cold water sinks. This means that the
bottom of most lakes is much colder than the surface. In the summer, deep lakes
can feel warm enough to swim in on top, but may be as cold as 4°C at the
bottom. Some fish, like lake trout, don’t like warm water and depend on
these cool deep areas to survive the warm summer weather.
Wetlands are areas that are covered with water most of the time and have emergent
vegetation (plants that grow up out of water). They are amazing places that
are very important to fish habitat. As water flows slowly through wetlands,
plants remove many of the nutrients that might otherwise cause eutrophication
in lakes and rivers.
Rudyard Kipling's 1897 children's novel 'Captains Courageous' dramatizes life
on a sailing fishing schooner on the Grand Banks. Spencer Tracy won an Oscar
for his role in the 1937 movie of the book. (Ref 1)
J.E. Williamson made the first underwater movie, in 1914. Called 'The Williamson
Submarine Expedition', it included a scene of a fight between Williamson and
a shark in which the shark was killed. (Ref 5)
Louis Bouton of Paris took the first underwater still photograph in 1892. One
of his first pictures was of himself. (Ref 9)
In 1899, Louis Bouton took an underwater photograph at a depth of 50m, using
a remotely operated camera. (Ref 9)
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