Part 1 The environment, organisms and relationships: properties of water; diversity of fishes; relationships. Part 2 Effects of abiotic environmental identities on distribution: effects of abiotic identities; abiotic factors and the distribution of river fishes, fishes in lakes, fishes in estuaries, fishes in littoral and sub-littoral marine waters, open-sea species. Part 3 biotic factors and the structure of fish communities: classification of the interactions; role of biotic factors and community structure; biotic interactions and community structure in rivers, in lakes, in estuaries, in the sea. Part 4 Migration, territoriality and shoaling in fishes: swimming capacity and energy costs; patterns of site attachment and social interactions; migration; fish movements in rivers; social structure and movement in lakes, on reefs and rocky shores, of marine fishes; diadromy; homing; implications for exploitation. Part 5 Feeding and growth: feeding ecology in riverine environments, lakes, estuaries, marine fishes; detection and selection of food; ecomorphology of feeding; trophic categories of fishes; utilization of food; rate of food consumption; growth. Part 6 Life histories and population dynamics: life-history traits and the concept of trade-offs; reproductive pattern of riverine fishes; reproductive patterns of lake fishes; breeding patterns of estuarine fishes; breeding patterns in the sea; population characteristics; dynamics of fish populations; production. Part 7 Applied ecology of fishes: a classification of problems in applied ecology; applied fish ecology of rivers; applied ecology of lacustrine fishes; applied fish ecology in the sea. Appendix: classification of living fishes.