Why can't we be like fish?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We are fish, heavily modified and terribly silly fish.

[Fish Slapping video here.]

[mistermack]

You make it sound like this was planned.

Not intentionally. I'm just wondering how it evolved.
Not us in particular, I mean mammals in general.

It must be something to do with living out of water, I suppose. Fish evolved from creatures that HAD to take the temperature of the surrounding water, so they had no choice at all.

Our ancestors took to the land eventually, and had to evolve ways of coping with a big variation of temperature between day and night. It's probably down to something like that I suppose.

There must be some big advantage, because birds evolved the same trick, seperately.
.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You make it sound like this was planned.

Not intentionally. I'm just wondering how it evolved.
Not us in particular, I mean mammals in general.

It must be something to do with living out of water, I suppose. Fish evolved from creatures that HAD to take the temperature of the surrounding water, so they had no choice at all.

Our ancestors took to the land eventually, and had to evolve ways of coping with a big variation of temperature between day and night. It's probably down to something like that I suppose.

There must be some big advantage, because birds evolved the same trick, seperately.
.

Get Prothero's book, "What the fossils say and why it is important." Very worth the read. (I read it, then I read "Evolution for Dummies" and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Evolution", then I read Prothero again. The second time it made more sense.)

[GenesForLife]

Enzymes have a relatively narrow temperature range at which their efficiencies are optimal. Temperatures outside this range can greatly reduce the rate of a reaction or stop it altogether. A creature with a fairly constant body temperature can therefore specialize in enzymes which are efficient at that particular temperature. Another advantage of a homeothermic animal is its ability to maintain its constant body temperature even in cold weather. A poikilotherm must either operate well below optimum efficiency most of the time, migrate, hibernate or expend extra resources producing a wider range of enzymes to cover the wider range of body temperatures.

However, some environments offer much more consistent temperatures than others. For example, the tropics often have seasonal variations in temperature that are smaller than their diurnal variations. In addition, large bodies of water, such as the ocean and very large lakes, moderate temperature variations. The waters below the ocean surface are particularly stable in temperature.

Explains why Homeothermy is an advantage that may be selected for, of course.

[mistermack]

Explains why Homeothermy is an advantage that may be selected for, of course.

Yeh, I'm beginning to think I was wrong about fish. Maybe they can't handle as much variation in temperature as I thought.
I can remember a documentary about the sardine migrations off South Africa, and they seem to travel north on a cold current, and actually get hemmed in when they meet warmer water.

Maybe certain fish are adapted to certain temperatures, and move around keeping to bodies of water that best suit their particular enzymes.

I know they can adjust slowly though, over a certain range, because you can shock aquarium fish by adding cooler water too fast, but if you do it gradually, they are ok.
.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

There are fish in the Antarctic waters that have "natural antifreeze" in their blood.

[Pappa]

There are fish in the Antarctic waters that have "natural antifreeze" in their blood.

Some frogs have that too. They hibernate and let their bodies freeze in the snow.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

There are fish in the Antarctic waters that have "natural antifreeze" in their blood.

Some frogs have that too. They hibernate and let their bodies freeze in the snow.

Scotch works better.

[Rum]

I have fish fingers. When I get lucky I also have fishy fingers!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I have fish fingers. When I get lucky I also have fishy fingers!

I had buffalo wings once.


I blame Darwin.

[Rum]

I have fish fingers. When I get lucky I also have fishy fingers!

I had buffalo wings once.


I blame Darwin.

Flying fish, we have. So why not airborne bison!?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I have fish fingers. When I get lucky I also have fishy fingers!

I had buffalo wings once.


I blame Darwin.

Flying fish, we have. So why not airborne bison!?

Think about your windshield in a world where "cows" fly.

[Clinton Huxley]