# Predatory fish > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Predatory_fish > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Predatory_fish.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_fish > Source revision: 1354595880 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Hypercarnivorous fish that sometimes actively prey upon other fish}} [[File:Barracuda with prey.jpg|300px|thumb|A [barracuda](/source/barracuda) preying on a smaller fish]] '''Predatory fish''' are [hypercarnivorous](/source/hypercarnivorous) [fish](/source/fish) that actively [prey](/source/predation) upon other fish or [aquatic animal](/source/aquatic_animal)s, with examples including [shark](/source/shark), [billfish](/source/billfish), [barracuda](/source/barracuda), [alligator gar](/source/alligator_gar), [tuna](/source/tuna), [dolphinfish](/source/dolphinfish), [walleye](/source/walleye), [perch](/source/perch) and [salmon](/source/salmon). Some [omnivorous](/source/omnivorous) fish, such as the [red-bellied piranha](/source/red-bellied_piranha), can occasionally also be predatory, although they are not strictly regarded as [obligately predatory](/source/obligate_carnivore) fish. Populations of large predatory fish in the [global oceans](/source/ocean) were estimated to be about 10% of their [pre-industrial](/source/pre-industrial) levels by 2003,{{Citation|last1=Myers|first1=Ransom A.|first2=Boris|last2=Worm|date=15 May 2003|title=Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities|journal=Nature|publisher=Macmillan|volume=423|pages=280–283|doi=10.1038/nature01610|pmid=12748640|issue=6937|bibcode=2003Natur.423..280M|s2cid=2392394|postscript=.}} and they are most at risk of [extinction](/source/extinction); there was a disproportionate level of large predatory fish extinctions during the [Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event](/source/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event) 66 million years ago.{{cite news|url=http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/03/26/study.unravels.why.certain.fishes.went.extinct.65.million.years.ago|title=Study unravels why certain fishes became extinct 65 million years ago|date=26 March 2009|work=eScienceNews|access-date=2009-09-30}} Creation of [marine reserve](/source/marine_reserve)s has been found to restore populations of large predatory fish such as the ''[Serranidae](/source/Serranidae)'' — [grouper](/source/grouper)s and [sea bass](/source/sea_bass).{{citation |author1=Garry R. Russ |author2=Angel C. Alcala |year=2003 |title=Marine Reserves: rates and patterns of recovery and decline of predatory fish, 1983–2000 |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=1553–1565 |doi=10.1890/01-5341|url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/1464/1/Russ_and_Alcala_2003.pdf }} 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.{{citation |doi=10.2307/1936149 |jstor=1936149 |title=Switching in predatory fish |author1=WW Murdoch |author2=S Avery |author3=MEB Smyth |journal=Ecology |year=1975 |pages=1094–1105 |volume=56 |issue=5 |publisher=Ecological Society of America}} Predatory fish may become a [pest](/source/Pest_(organism)) if they are introduced into an [ecosystem](/source/ecosystem) in which they become a new [top predator](/source/top_predator). An example, which has caused much trouble in [Maryland](/source/Maryland) and [Florida](/source/Florida), is the [snakehead fish](/source/snakehead_(fish)).{{citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2145741.stm |date=23 July 2002|title=US acts over predatory fish|publisher=BBC}} Predatory fish such as [shark](/source/shark)s, [billfish](/source/billfish), [alligator gar](/source/alligator_gar) and [tuna](/source/tuna) form a part of the [human diet](/source/human_diet) and are targeted by [fisheries](/source/fisheries), but they tend to concentrate significant quantities of [mercury](/source/mercury_(element)) [in their bodies](/source/mercury_in_fish) because they are high in the [food chain](/source/food_chain), especially as [apex predators](/source/apex_predators), due to [biomagnification](/source/biomagnification).{{citation|title=Definition of predatory species of fish to which the higher level of methyl mercury applies|date=6 May 1994|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|url=http://www4.fao.org/cgi-bin/faobib.exe?rec_id=347423&database=faobib&search_type=link&table=mona&back_path=/faobib/mona&lang=eng&format_name=EFMON|access-date=10 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192807/http://www4.fao.org/cgi-bin/faobib.exe?rec_id=347423&database=faobib&search_type=link&table=mona&back_path=%2Ffaobib%2Fmona&lang=eng&format_name=EFMON|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} Predators are an important factor to consider in managing fisheries, and methods for doing so are available and used in some places.{{citation |title=Methods to consider predators in fishery management|date=7 May 2013 |publisher=The Pew Charitable Trusts |url=http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/fact-sheets/methods-to-consider-predators-in-fishery-management-85899474050}} Additionally, the existence of these predators also allows its prey to [evolve](/source/evolution) [countermeasure](/source/anti-predator_adaptation)s through [natural selection](/source/natural_selection). Consequently, the predators and prey will be locked in an [evolutionary arms race](/source/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](/source/Lithobates_clamitans)'' [tadpole](/source/tadpole)s. 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](/source/Lamnidae) sharks, billfishes, tuna, [opah](/source/opah) and [butterfly kingfish](/source/butterfly_kingfish), have the ability for cranial endothermy, i.e., the ability to elevate [eye](/source/eye) and [brain](/source/brain) temperatures, which helps with vision and neural function during ambient temperature changes.{{Cite journal |last=Runcie |first=Rosa |display-authors=etal |date=2009 |title=Evidence for cranial endothermy in the opah (Lampris guttatus) |url=https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/212/4/461/18942/Evidence-for-cranial-endothermy-in-the-opah |journal=J Exp Biol |volume=212 |issue=4 |pages=461–470}} ==See also== *[Feeding frenzy](/source/Feeding_frenzy) *[Scale eating](/source/Lepidophagy) *[Shark attack](/source/Shark_attack) *[Shark feeding](/source/Shark) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/ Predatory fish on AquaticCommunity.com] * [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/experts-cite-alarming-decline-in-predator-fish-stocks/2011/02/18/ABkkc7H_story.html Predator fish in oceans on alarming decline, experts say] ''Washington Post'', 21 February 2011. {{Diversity of fish}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Predator Fish}} Category:Ichthyology Category:Predatory animals --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Predatory fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_fish) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_fish?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.