A Little Bit More
The Walleye has long been a favorite of fishermen. Not only does it put up a reasonable fight when hooked, but it is one of the best-tasting fish too. Walleye are found in the cooler freshwaters of North America. Their range has been expanded somewhat with the introduction of these tasty fish into many deep-water reservoirs around the country.
The eyes of this fish do command attention when caught and this is no doubt why the name “Walleye” was coined. Looking at a Walleye when they’re pulled from the depths, you’ll notice that the eyes have a glassy, white look that is quite striking. As the poster points out, a layer of special cells at the back of the eye helps to maximize the absorption of light entering the eye and allows Walleyes to see better than other fishes. This super vision is not unlike that found in your pet cat or dog, called eyeshine, and gives these fish an adaptive advantage for feeding.
Activities
Science – Dominant Eye
Objectives: Better understanding of our own eyes
Materials: None
Most of us use our eyesight throughout each and every waking day without giving it a thought. Here’s an interesting little exercise that your students can try that may surprise them about their own eyes.
Most people ( I suppose there may be a few exceptions) have a dominant eye. In this exercise, you’ll be able to quickly and easily determine which of your own eyes is the dominant one.
1. Have your students find an “apple-sized” object in the room that’s about 10-15 feet away.
2. Now have them extend both hands toward that object and overlap their hands (fingers above and thumbs below) leaving a space - an open-space between their two hands – through which they can see the object.
3. Have students keep both of their eyes open as they look through the space at their object
4. Now have the students close their left eye. If the object being viewed stays in sight, they are right eye dominant. If your students lose sight of the object and it moves to the left, then they are left eye dominant.
5. Students can repeat step #4 but instead have them close their right eye and see what happens. This will make sense once students try this exercise.
Here’s a diagram of how to hold your hands. Check out: www.archeryweb.com
Once they’ve determined which of their eyes is dominant, they may want to keep this in mind when looking through a microscope, telescope, or any time they use only one eye for viewing something.
Key Concepts
Structures and Functions, Predator/Prey Relationships, Adaptations and Diversity
Questions
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