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1 Your web browser (Safari 7) is out of date. For more security, comfort and the best experience on this site: Update your browser Ignore FU NKY FISH A look at Tierney Thys and her work with the ocean sunfish For the complete article with media resources, visit: By Stuart Thornton Friday, January 21, 2011 Looking like a giant silver dollar with fins, the ocean sunfish s appearance is striking. But its unique shape is only one of many characteristics that cause the creature to stand out, according to Tierney Thys, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer who has traveled the world studying ocean sunfish, also called mola. This is the world s heaviest bony fish, she says. Some sharks are heavier, but sharks have a light, flexible skeleton of cartilage, not bone. Mola can weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). Thys lists other unique characteristics of mola. It produces more eggs in one individual than any other vertebrate on the planet. It s the growth champion of the world, so that from hatching size to adult size it puts on 60 million times its original weight, which just eclipses pretty much everything out there in the vertebrate world. So, it s this magnificent creature with all these world records to its name, and we don t really know that much about it at all. Like many others, Thys was initially drawn to the ocean sunfish because of its appearance. Having studied fish biomechanics at Duke University, the scientist was puzzled by the shape of the ocean sunfish. It didn t appear to be very functional. 1 of 6

2 You look at the sunfish, and at first glance, it really doesn t look stunningly efficient, she says. It doesn t really look streamlined. It doesn t really look very intuitive. So, it grabbed my attention. Why make a fish without a tail? What s the use of that? According to Thys, ocean sunfish don t really need speed because they pursue a diet of slow, floating jellyfish. A streamlined body or powerful tail are not required. It s not a big speedster, she says. It doesn t need to be. She and other scientists have debunked a misconception about the fish. Previously, ocean sunfish were perceived as lazy. They seemed to simply float along on the water s surface, which is one reason they received the common name sunfish. Thys and other biologists, however, found that ocean sunfish are actually quite active. We put these tags on them and found that they are diving industriously up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down to depths as deep as 800 meters, 2,100 feet down, she says. They are capable of a tremendous amount of activity. Studying Sunfish The ocean sunfish, found in every ocean in the world, is not endangered. Thys has traveled to Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and South Africa to study them. One unusual characteristic that Thys has observed in sunfish around the world is the high number of parasites on their bodies. Parasites are organisms that feed on other organisms. Most of the parasites that live on mola do not harm the fish. Thys says ocean sunfish are home to parasites because the fish are slow moving, which allows floating parasites to easily secure a place on the sunfish s thick skin. On her research expeditions, Thys has observed the ocean sunfish relax in what scientists call cleaning stations. In these areas, smaller fish remove the 2 of 6

3 parasites from the larger fish s body. In Bali, coral reef fish, banner fish, and butterfly fish will go in little groups off the reef and find these mola to clean them and give them a spa treatment, she says. Even though an ocean sunfish can reach 3.1 meters (ten feet) from snout tip to tail fin, they are prey to larger predators including sharks and killer whales. Off the coast of California, many ocean sunfish are killed by sea lions. Certainly in Monterey [California], sea lions rip the fins off and turn them into Frisbees and eat their guts, says Thys. Future of the Sunfish Thys says the greatest danger facing ocean sunfish are not natural predators but fishermen, who often unintentionally catch ocean sunfish while harvesting other species. In the Mediterranean, ocean sunfish are the unintentional victims of drift net swordfish fishing. Off of South Africa, they are caught as fishermen try to bring in horse mackerel. Thys contends ocean sunfish are one of the most evolved fish in the sea. [I]t looks like this prehistoric weirdo, but it s actually a modern marvel in fish terms. Recently, Thys received funding from the National Geographic Society to study a population of ocean sunfish located around the Galapagos Islands. In 2011, Thys will head to the Galapagos with a team of four scientists for several weeks. There, the research crew will attach satellite tags to the area s ocean sunfish. The satellite tags record the fishes locations, diving depths, and diving temperatures. Thys says her primary goal is to characterize the ocean sunfish s use of the 3 of 6

4 Galapagos ecosystem. Monitoring the fish will allow Thys to determine how they use the area s animals and plants for food, shelter, or activities like cleaning station spa treatments. Vocabulary Term Part of Speech banner fish tropical marine fish. biomechanics Definition study of movement in animals. bony fish fish with a skeleton made of bone. butterfly fish brightly colored tropical marine fish. bycatch fish or any other organisms accidentally caught in fishing gear. cartilage strong, flexible connective tissue found in many animals. cartilaginous fish fish with a flexible skeleton made of cartilage, not bone. characteristic adjective particular feature of an organism. coast edge of land along the sea or other large body of water. coral reef rocky ocean features made up of millions of coral skeletons. debunk verb to prove false or wrong. drift net extremely large fishing net that can drift with currents or tides. eclipse verb to block out or overshadow. efficient evolve fin flexible adjective performing a task with skill and minimal waste. verb to develop new characteristics based on adaptation and natural selection. device fixed to the bottom of a surfboard to aid in control. Also called a strut or skeg. adjective able to bend easily. Frisbee brand of round, circular discs used as throwing toys and athletic equipment. 4 of 6

5 Term Part of Speech Definition functional adjective usable. hatch verb to emerge from an egg. horse mackerel small ocean fish. industriously adverb with hard work and dedication. initially adverb at first. jellyfish type of marine animal, not a fish, with a soft body and stinging tentacles. killer whale carnivorous whale, actually the world's largest species of dolphin. Also called an orca. magnificent adjective very impressive. misconception misunderstanding or false statement. mola gigantic ocean fish with a circular body. Also called the ocean sunfish. ocean sunfish gigantic ocean fish with a circular body. Also called the mola. organism living or once-living thing. parasite organism that lives and feeds on another organism. predator animal that hunts other animals for food. prehistoric period of time that occurred before the invention of adjective written records. prey animal that is hunted and eaten by other animals. satellite tag device attached to animals that can track their movement using satellites and GPS technology. sea lion marine mammal. shark predatory fish. silver dollar coin made of light-colored metal, including silver, tin, and zinc. skeleton bones of a body. snout protruding nose and jaw of an animal such as a pig. 5 of 6

6 Term Part of Speech Definition spa facility, usually with mineral hot springs, offering health benefits. swordfish ocean fish with a large, pointed upper jaw tremendous adjective very large or important. unintentional adjective accidental, or not on purpose. unique adjective one of a kind. vertebrae plural (singular: vertebra) bones that make up the spinal column, or backbone, of an animal. Articles & Profiles National Geographic News: World s Heaviest Bony Fish Discovered? National Geographic News: Scientists Track Giant Sunfish by Satellite National Geographic: Emerging Explorers Tierney Thys, Marine Biologist/Filmmaker Websites The Ocean Sunfish Monterey Bay Aquarium: Ocean Sunfish National Geographic Animals: Mola (Sunfish) National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. 6 of 6