The Biology of Pelagic Tunicates


Book Description

Pelagic tunicates play an important role in the sea as filter feeding animals of the macroplankton in geochemical cycling. This text provides a full account of all the Tunicate groups, and should be of use to plankton workers as it contains keys to aid identification.




The Biology of Ascidians


Book Description

Ascidians are the invertebrate group that gave rise to vertebrates, thus the biology of ascidians provides an essential key to understanding both invertebrates and vertebrates. This book is the first to cover all areas of ascidian biology, including development, evolution, biologically active substances, heavy metal accumulation, asexual reproduction, host-defense mechanisms, allorecognition mechanisms, comparative immunology, neuroscience, taxonomy, ecology, genome science, and food science. The 69 articles that make up the collection were contributed by leading ascidiologists from all over the world who participated in the First International Symposium on the Biology of Ascidians, held in June 2000 in Sapporo, Japan. For scientists and students alike, the book is an invaluable source of information from the latest, most comprehensive studies of ascidian biology.




BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE FUNDAMENTALS AND SYSTEMATICS - Volume IV


Book Description

Biological Science Fundamentals and Systematics is a component of Encyclopedia of Biological, Physiological and Health Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Biological Science Fundamentals and Systematics provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: History and Scope of Biological Sciences; The Origin and Evolution of Early Life; Evolution; Classification and Diversity of Life Forms; Systematics of Microbial Kingdom (s) and Fungi; Systematic Botany; Systematic Zoology: Invertebrates; Systematic Zoology: Vertebrates which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.




The Light and Smith Manual


Book Description

The Fourth Edition of The Light and Smith Manual continues a sixty-five-year tradition of providing to both students and professionals an indispensable, comprehensive, and authoritative guide to Pacific coast marine invertebrates of coastal waters, rocky shores, sandy beaches, tidal mud flats, salt marshes, and floats and docks. This classic and unparalleled reference has been newly expanded to include all common and many rare species from Point Conception, California, to the Columbia River, one of the most studied areas in the world for marine invertebrates. In addition, although focused on the central and northern California and Oregon coasts, this encyclopedic source is useful for anyone working in North American coastal ecosystems, from Alaska to Mexico. More than one hundred scholars have provided new keys, illustrations, and annotated species lists for over 3,500 species of intertidal and many shallow water marine organisms ranging from protozoans to sea squirts. This expanded volume covers sponges, sea anemones, hydroids, jellyfish, flatworms, polychaetes, amphipods, crabs, insects, snails, clams, chitons, and scores of other important groups. The Fourth Edition also features introductory chapters on marine habitats and biogeography, interstitial marine life, and intertidal parasites, as well as expanded treatments of common planktonic organisms likely to be encountered in near-to-shore shallow waters.




Flows of Energy and Materials in Marine Ecosystems


Book Description

The impetus for the conference held at Bombannes, France in May, 1982 arose out of a Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group on "Mathematical Models in Biological Oceanography". This group was chaired by K.H. Mann and held two meetings in 1977 and 1979. At both meetings it was felt that, although reductionist modelling of marine ecosystems had achieved some successes, the future progress lay in the development of holistic ecosystem models. The members of the group (K.H. Mann, T. Platt, J.M. Colebrook, D.F. Smith, M.J.R. Fasham, J. Field, G. Radach, R.E. Ulanowicz and F. Wulff) produced a critical review of reductionist and holistic models which was published by the Unesco Press (Platt, Mann and Ulanowicz, 1981). One of the conclusions of this review was that, whether holistic or reductionist models are preferred, it is critically important to increase the scientific effort in the measurement of physiological rates for the computation of ecological fluxes. The Working Group therefore recommended that an international meeting should be organized which would attempt to bring together theoretical ecologists and biological oceanographers to assess the present and future capability for measuring ecological fluxes and incorporating these data into models. An approach was made to the Marine Sciences Panel of the NATO Science Committee who expressed an interest in funding such a meeting. They awarded a planning grant and a planning group was formed consisting of M.J.R. Fasham, M.V. Angel, T. Platt, R.E.




Jellyfish Blooms


Book Description

Jellyfish are one of the most conspicuous animals in our oceans and are renowned for their propensity to form spectacular blooms. The unique features of the biology and ecology of jellyfish that enable them to bloom also make them successful invasive species and, in a few places around the world, jellyfish have become problematic. As man increasingly populates the world’s coastlines, interactions between humans and jellyfish are rising, often to the detriment of coastal-based industries such as tourism, fishing and power generation. However we must not lose sight of the fact that jellyfish have been forming blooms in the oceans for at least 500 million years, and are an essential component of normal, healthy ocean ecosystems. Here many of the world’s leading jellyfish experts explore the science behind jellyfish blooms. We examine the unique features of jellyfish biology and ecology that cause populations to ‘bloom and bust’, and, using case studies, we show why jellyfish are important to coastal and ocean ecosystem function. We outline strategies coastal managers can use to mitigate the effects of blooms on coastal industries thereby enabling humans to coexist with these fascinating creatures. Finally we highlight how jellyfish benefit society; providing us with food and one of the most biomedically-important compounds discovered in the 20th century. ​




Textbook of Zoology


Book Description




Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota


Book Description

This landmark scientific reference for scientists, researchers, and students of marine biology tackles the monumental task of taking a complete biodiversity inventory of the Gulf of Mexico with full biotic and biogeographic information. Presenting a comprehensive summary of knowledge of Gulf biota through 2004, the book includes seventy-seven chapters, which list more than fifteen thousand species in thirty-eight phyla or divisions and were written by 138 authors from seventy-one institutions in fourteen countries.This first volume of Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota, a multivolumed set edited by John W. Tunnell Jr., Darryl L. Felder, and Sylvia A. Earle, provides information on each species' habitat, biology, and geographic range, along with full references and a narrative introduction to the group, which opens each chapter.




Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates


Book Description

This fine monograph is the first all-color photo guide to the jellies, comb jellies, pelagic snails, salps and pyrosomes. This field guide covers animals that are found from Alaska to Baja California, many of which occur in most of the world's seas. A total of 160 species are illustrated with a color photo-95 cnidarians, 28 ctenophers, 23 molluscs and 14 tunicates. The narrative for each species includes a detailed description, geographic range, and natural history. Also included are a glossary, selected references and an index.




Life in the Open Ocean


Book Description

Life in the Open Ocean Life in the Open Ocean: The Biology of Pelagic Species provides in-depth coverage of the different marine animal groups that form the communities inhabiting the ocean’s pelagic realm. This comprehensive resource explores the physical environment, foraging strategies, energetics, locomotion, sensory mechanisms, global and vertical distributions, special adaptations, and other characteristics of a wide array of marine taxa. Bringing together the most recent information available in a single volume, authors Joseph J. Torres and Thomas G. Bailey cover the Cnidaria (stinging jellies), the ctenophores (comb jellies), pelagic nemerteans, pelagic annelids, crustaceans, cephalopods and pelagic gastropods, invertebrate chordates, as well as micronektonic and larger fishes such as sharks, tunas, mackerels, and mahi-mahi. Detailed chapters on each pelagic group describe internal and external anatomy, classification and history, feeding and digestion, bioluminescent systems and their function, reproduction and development, respiration, excretion, nervous systems, and more. The first book of its kind to address all of the major animal groups comprising both the swimmers and drifters of the open sea, this important resource: Explains how different animals have adapted to live in the open-ocean environment Covers all sensory mechanisms of animals living in the pelagic habitat, including photoreception, mechanoreception, and chemoreception Treats the diverse micronekton assemblage as a community Includes a thorough introduction to the physical oceanography and properties of water in the pelagic realm Life in the Open Ocean: The Biology of Pelagic Species is an excellent senior-level undergraduate and graduate textbook for courses in biology and biological oceanography, and a valuable reference for all those with interest in open-ocean biology.