Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Fishes


Book Description

Fish have evolved to colonise almost every type of aquatic habitat and today they are a hugely diverse group of over 25,000 species. This title presents a current and comprehensive overview of fish physiology to demonstrate how living fish function in their environment.




Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Fishes


Book Description

Fishes have evolved to colonise almost every type of aquatic habitat and today they are a hugely diverse group of over 25,000 species. The evolution of this great diversity of species has resulted in a myriad of solutions to the demands posed by the aquatic environment. Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Fishes presents a current and comprehensive overview of fish physiology to demonstrate how living fishes function in their environment. As with other books in the Series, the emphasis is on the unique physiological characteristics of the fish, but with applications to questions of broad relevance in physiological ecology. A preliminary chapter introduces the aquatic environment and gives a general description of fish biology, evolution, and taxonomy. Subsequent sections discuss the particular problems of living in water, life in extreme environments, techniques for studying fish ecophysiology, and future research directions.




Ecology of Teleost Fishes


Book Description

Among the fishes, a remarkably wide range of biological adaptations to diverse habitats has evolved. As well as living in the conventional habitats of lakes, ponds, rivers, rock pools and the open sea, fish have solved the problems of life in deserts, in the deep sea, in the cold antarctic, and in warm waters of high alkalinity or of low oxygen. Along with these adaptations, we find the most impressive specializations of morphology, physiology and behaviour. For example we can marvel at the high-speed swimming of the marlins, sailfish and warm-blooded tunas, air-breathing in catfish and lungfish, parental care in the mouth-brooding cichlids and viviparity in many sharks and toothcarps. Moreover, fish are of considerable importance to the survival of the human species in the form of nutritious and delicious food of numerous kinds. Rational expoitation and management of our global stocks of fishes must rely upon a detailed and precise insight of their biology. The Chapman and Hall Fish and Fisheries Series aims to present timely volumes reviewing important aspects of fish biology. Most volumes will be of interest to research workers in biology, zoology, ecology and physiology but an additional aim is for the books to be accessible to a wide spectrum of non specialist readers ranging from undergraduates and postgraduates to those with an interest in industrial and commercial aspects of fish and fisheries.




Extremophile Fishes


Book Description

This book summarizes the key adaptations enabling extremophile fishes to survive under harsh environmental conditions. It reviews the most recent research on acidic, Antarctic, cave, desert, hypersaline, hypoxic, temporary, and fast-flowing habitats, as well as naturally and anthropogenically toxic waters, while pointing out generalities that are evident across different study systems. Knowledge of the different adaptations that allow fish to cope with stressful environmental conditions furthers our understanding of basic physiological, ecological, and evolutionary principles. In several cases, evidence is provided for how the adaptation to extreme environments promotes the emergence of new species. Furthermore, a link is made to conservation biology, and how human activities have exacerbated existing extreme environments and created new ones. The book concludes with a discussion of major open questions in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of life in extreme environments.




The Ecology of Marine Fishes


Book Description

Marine fishes have been intensively studied, and some of the fundamental ideas in the science of marine ecology have emerged from the body of knowledge derived from this diverse group of organisms. This unique, authoritative, and accessible reference, compiled by 35 luminary ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and ichthyologists, provides a synthesis and interpretation of the large, often daunting, body of information on the ecology of marine fishes. The focus is on the fauna of the eastern Pacific, especially the fishes of the California coast, a group among the most diverse and best studied of all marine ecosystems. A generously illustrated and comprehensive source of information, this volume will also be an important launching pad for future research and will shed new light on the study of marine fish ecology worldwide. The contributors touch on many fields in biology, including physiology, development, genetics, behavior, ecology, and evolution. The book includes sections on the history of research, both published and unpublished data, sections on collecting techniques, and references to important earlier studies.




Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Amphibians


Book Description

This book provides a synthesis of current research on the unique physiological characteristics of amphibians with a particular emphasis on water balance. It includes a wealth of information on ecology, phylogeny and development. The latest experimental techniques and future research directions are also considered.




The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition


Book Description

New scientific approaches have dramatically evolved in the decade since The Physiology of Fishes was first published. With the genomic revolution and a heightened understanding of molecular biology, we now have the tools and the knowledge to apply a fresh approach to the study of fishes. Consequently, The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition is not merely another updating, but rather an entire reworking of the original. To satisfy that need for a fresh approach, the editors have employed a new set of expert contributors steeped in the very latest research; their contemporary perspective pervades the entire text. In addition to new chapters on gas transport, temperature physiology, and stress, as well as one dedicated to functional genomics, readers will discover that many of these new contributors approach their material with a contemporary molecular perspective. While much of the material is new, the editors have completely adhered to the original’s style in creating a text that continues to be highly readable and perpetually insightful in bridging the gap between pure and applied science. The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition, completely updated with a molecular perspective, continues to be regarded as the best single-volume general reference on all major areas of research in fish physiology. The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition provides background information for advanced students as well as material of interest to marine and fisheries biologists, ichthyologists, and comparative physiologists looking to differentiate between the physiological strategies unique to fishes, and those shared with other organisms.




Fish Physiology: Hypoxia


Book Description

Periods of environmental hypoxia (Low Oxygen Availability) are extremely common in aquatic systems due to both natural causes such as diurnal oscillations in algal respiration, seasonal flooding, stratification, under ice cover in lakes, and isolation of densely vegetated water bodies, as well as more recent anthropogenic causes (e.g. eutrophication). In view of this, it is perhaps not surprising that among all vertebrates, fish boast the largest number of hypoxia tolerant species; hypoxia has clearly played an important role in shaping the evolution of many unique adaptive strategies. These unique adaptive strategies either allow fish to maintain function at low oxygen levels, thus extending hypoxia tolerance limits, or permit them to defend against the metabolic consequences of oxygen levels that fall below a threshold where metabolic functions cannot be maintained. The aim of this volume is two-fold. First, this book will review and synthesize the adaptive behavioural, morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular strategies used by fish to survive hypoxia exposure and place them within an environmental and ecological context. Second, through the development of a synthesis chapter this book will serve as the cornerstone for directing future research into the effects of hypoxia exposures on fish physiology and biochemistry. - The only single volume available to provide an in-depth discussion of the adaptations and responses of fish to environmental hypoxia - Reviews and synthesizes the adaptive behavioural, morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular strategies used by fish to survive hypoxia exposure - Includes discussion of the evolutionary and ecological consequences of hypoxia exposure in fish




Water Pollution and Fish Physiology


Book Description

This book provides a concise synthesis of how toxic chemical pollutants affect physiological processes in teleost fish. This Second Edition of the well-received Water Pollution and Fish Physiology has been completely updated, and chapters have been added on immunology and acid toxicity. The emphasis, as in the first edition, is on understanding mechanisms of sublethal effects on fish and their responses to these environmental stressors. The first chapter covers the basic principles involved in understanding how fish respond, in general, to environmental alterations. Each subsequent chapter is devoted to a particular organ system or physiological function and begins with a short overview of normal physiology of that system/function. This is followed by a review of how various toxic chemicals may alter normal conditions in fish. Chapters covering environmental hypoxia, behavior, cellular enzymes, and acid toxicity are also included. The book closes with a discussion on the practical application of physiological and biochemical measurements of fish in water pollution control in research and regulatory settings.




Environmental Physiology of Fishes


Book Description

A very good piece of work, I assure you, and a merry. -Now, good Peter Quince, call forth your actors by the scroll. -Masters, spread yourselves. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 1, Sc. 2 This volume is the outcome of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held in August 1979 at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada. About 130 participants from all the countries of the aJiiance as well as India and Japan attended this event which lasted two weeks. Seventeen of these participants had been invited to present reviews of chosen topics, usually in their specialty. This book is constituted mainly of these presentations, which were prepared as chapters. In addition, six of the participants, whose seminars were found to complement the main chapters, were coopted by the invited lectures/authors to provide additional chapters. Although a lecture was given on electric fields, a chapter on this matter is unfortunately absent due to the lack of preparation time. One may say that Environmental Physiology of Fishes as a discipline originated in Canada. Having been involved as a teacher and worker in this field since 19 54, it was but natural that I was tempted to organise an ASI and get a volume out on the matter. I was encouraged by discussions with colleagues and the acceptance on the part of a large number of eminent colleagues to attend the ASI, deliver lectures and write chapters.