Kristy Forsgren, associate professor of biological sciences at Cal State Fullerton, admitted there are times when she and her students or colleagues get strange or confused looks from people who overhear snippets of their conversation.
“People will say, ‘Did you just say fish penis?’” Forsgren said, with a laugh.
Genitalia, gonads, sperm and so forth are just part of the daily vocabulary of biologists, such as Forsgren, with a special interest in reproduction.
Third-year graduate student Justin Stuart, 34, has similar memories from when he and coworkers would eat at the Ensenada Surf and Turf restaurant near the biology lab at Cal State Fullerton.
“We’d be chatting about our research,” he said of marine science.
They might speak of sperm packages or anal structures.
“There would definitely be looks,” Stuart said of the unusual mealtime discussions. “It would seem like we were a bunch of weirdos.”
One of the early hurdles in teaching reproductive biology can be to get past the snickering or blushing of students. After that is cleared, Forsgren said, students can settle into understanding, “Oh, this is just like any field of science.”
That’s how it worked for Shereen Lam, 23, a MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) scholar, who knew she wanted to study reproduction and stumbled into Forsgren’s lab. There she learned about the fascinating world of fish and their furtive flirtations.
Forsgren, 48, has been a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences for 18 years Although her teaching load contains courses on the physiology of mammals and comparative physiologies, Forsgren is happiest when she’s swimming with the fishes — in research, that is.
Recently her research interests have led to surfperches, among the few fish species that are viviparous, meaning they give live birth, rather than laying eggs. According to the Scientific Electronic Library Online, only 500 of more than 25,000 species produce by live birth. And half those are freshwater. A mother perch, depending on species, can give birth to between a half-dozen to many multiples of that.
Found mostly in the Pacific Ocean, with more than 20 known species, surfperches are a popular catch for shoreline and pier fishermen. However, beyond how to prepare them for the plate, little is understood or studied about the fish.
The team at CSUF has been a leader in identifying and discovering some of the 23 known species. They are generally oval-shaped, between 5 and 18 inches and gray or brownish. They are not a particularly “sexy” sea creature, according to Forsgren. (There’s that word again.)
However, they are endlessly fascinating to Forsgren, partially, perhaps, because of how little is known about them.
“It’s a humble family,” said Stuart, “with an incredible story.”
Lam, who recently defended her undergraduate dissertation on female surfperch, said she found little modern and reliable data and literature since the 1980s.
She said CSUF is “pioneering” much of the study of surfperches but admitted, “It gets overwhelming at times.”
One of Forsgren’s recent presentations was online to the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Coincidentally, it came out just in time for Valentine’s Day and was entitled “Fish Reproduction: Gonads, Genitals and Accessory.”
Forsgren said there are many reasons why reproduction in surfperches remains a mystery. Because they are widespread across the Pacific, the fish are not easy to track and marine aquariums are rare and hard to maintain.
Stuart said surfperch may reproduce in caves and other hidden areas.
Then there was a scientific version of a “Whoomp! (There It Is)” video caught by CSUF graduate student Evelyn Bond.
She was at the Academy of Sciences Steinhardt Aquarium in San Francisco.
Bond, who has earned national recognition for her study of external reproductive structures of surfperch, started videoing a presumably male surfperch doing what looked like a typical kind of preening, premating ritual.
Then, whoomp, in a snap the male tapped the back of the female and was gone.
During her presentation, Forsgren circled the fish on the video and when the believed copulation took place.
Forsgren said the video may be the first to capture the “moment.”
Forsgren’s interest in fish started in Idaho with her father, who was an avid fisherman.
“I used to tell people I got into marine biology so I could be on the ocean fishing every day,” she said.
Although she is now mostly lab-bound, Forsgren said, “I’m still exposed every day and it’s really important. I’m teaching students in the lab and the classroom, and I like both.”
And it makes for endlessly entertaining dinner conversation.
“If you can imagine any kind of crazy reproductive strategies,” she said, “you are going to find them in fishes.”
The Link LonkApril 28, 2021 at 11:11PM
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