Last May 20th we had a video conference with the students in Vila do Conde, where they were able to ask several questions to the researchers at Tavira. They also let us know that they had their own sunfish to study, and that prompted another encounter on June 6th. This time the goal would be for them to dissect the fish, with the help from our biologists Lara and Ana.

Despite the initial complaints about the smell, curiosity kept every single student (along with some of their teachers) watching the process really up close.
The fish initially named “Zé Carlos” (a male name) turned out to be a very young female. As the dissection went on several questions were asked about the fish behavior, about the organs and even about the several parasite easily identified with the naked eye. The latter caused great surprise on the audience. A few students even asked to take a closer look and touch one of the fish’s eye.

At the end of the day there was some time left to answer a few questions about the data collected and about the fish path map, displayed on our page.