The diagrams below show the life cycle of a species of large fish called the salmon. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparions where relevant.

The diagrams illustrate how salmons develop from

eggs

to fully grown adults.

Overall

, the cycle includes three main stages, starting with laying

eggs

and lasting approximately 10

years

.

First,

salmon

eggs

are laid in the upper areas of rivers, surrounded by reeds and small stones. The

eggs

remain unhatched there until 5 to 6 months later, when the first form of salmon, commonly termed “fry”, emerges. The extremely small fries (3 to 8 centimetres long)

then

move downstream to fast-flowing rivers and continue to stay there for the next 4

years

.

At the end

of the first stage, the fries turn into “smolt”, which are 12 to 15 centimetres in length. The smolts

then

migrate to the open ocean, where they spend their next 5

years

. During

this

stage, the fish will be growing significantly into adult salmons. An average mature salmon can length from 70 to 76 centimetres, much bigger than its initial form. After the mentioned five

years

, grown salmons travel back to their birthplace to mate and lay

eggs

and the cycle starts over again.