trout Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

Trout Fins Are Designed for Efficient Swimming — Rainbow Trout

Technology has allowed us to see the design of things in the natural world. Dr. Haibo Dong at the University of Virginia has used 3D computer models to study the turbulence created with each fin of a trout. American Scientist magazine states, “Interactions between swirling eddies created by a swimming trout show how its body is optimally laid out for energy-efficient movement.” Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming.

A trout’s body is shaped to swim through the water with less drag than any other shape. However, the role of various fins is not easy to see. Virtually all fish have a dorsal fin on the back and a caudal fin on the tail. Trout have other fins, including pectoral fins near their heads and pelvic fins near the center of their bellies. Toward the back of the trout’s body is a small adipose fin on top and an anal fin on the underside. The researchers have shown that the fin locations increase the thrust the tail produces. The anal fin produces 8.6% more thrust reducing the drag by 18.6%. Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming, or as the researchers conclude, “the whole trout is optimized for efficient swimming.”

Other fish have different fin arrangements to match their survival needs. A tuna living in the open ocean has a different layout of fins because it is designed for speed rather than efficiency. Fish that confine their existence to the bottom of a lake or river will not have the same fin layout as the tuna or the trout. For example, catfish have a fin arrangement designed for protection. Those of us who have grabbed a catfish incorrectly may have suffered a painful jab from its fins. Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming since they make long migrations, swimming upstream and sometimes over waterfalls.

Our technology allows us to understand the various designs seen in living things. Trout fishermen know that catching a trout differs from catching any other fish because of their mobility and muscular nature. Research has shown that the trout’s design shows wisdom right down to the shape and location of its fins. We suggest that this design is the product of a Designer, not just blind opportunistic chance. Genesis 1:21 tells us, “God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems..” Thanks to technology, we understand how over-simplified that statement is.

Reference: “Fins Working Together” in American Scientist magazine for July-August 2024, pages 204-206.

Every summer and early fall, the newspapers start talking about how horrible mosquitoes are. Then I have to deal with questions of why mosquitoes exist. If there is a kind and loving God, why do we have to worry about the diseases that mosquitoes carry? I have heard some people give rather foolish answers to this question, and I don’t wish to over-simplify in discussing it. But why do we have mosquitoes?

Many years ago, one of my professors at Notre Dame was Dr. George B. Craig, whose specialty was mosquitoes. He was “an internationally recognized expert on the biology and control of mosquitoes” according to a publication of the National Academies of Sciences. As one of his students, I learned some fantastic things about mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are pollinating insects. Most species of mosquitoes pollinate plants and don’t “bite” anything.

The word “mosquito” is Spanish for “little fly” and there are some 3500 species of them. The larvae of the mosquito are a significant part of the diet of fish and other water creatures. The mutation which turned some of them into bloodsuckers seems to have come into existence in recent history. It appears they were not created that way, and certainly have not always carried malaria and other diseases. The fact that there were no mosquitoes in Hawaii until the white man came to the islands with water barrels containing mosquito larvae is another important point to consider. The question of “why do we have mosquitoes” won’t always get answered to everyone’s satisfaction, but at least we can raise some points to make people think.

The design of the various food chains on Earth is very complex. This is especially true in freshwater areas with unique problems. In Alaska, for example, the necessary minerals for plants and the food sources for bears come from the salmon runs that bring the nutrients. The soil is sparse and nutrient-poor, and much of the year, the cold prevents normal food chains from functioning. Insects provide a significant means of moving nutrients through the system, so they are the base of the food chain in those freshwater systems. Without mosquito larvae to feed the freshwater creatures, including the salmon, that life would not exist.

Research has not given us enough data to understand how mutations in insects allow them to become disease carriers. There are multiple possible answers to that question, and future discoveries will make it more clear. Those of us who live in the north may not like the mosquitoes that make our outside activities uncomfortable, but we know how to cope with them. Why do we have mosquitoes? As we tie our dry flies to fish for trout and salmon, we see why the beauty of the north is at least partially rooted in things that complicate our lives. Mosquitoes are among those complications.
— John N. Clayton © 2019

Tag: trout

Trout Fins Are Designed for Efficient Swimming

Why Do We Have Mosquitoes?