Chemical Signals In Vertebrates 11

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference of the same name held in July 2006 at the University of Chester in the United Kingdom. It includes all the latest research on chemical communication relevant to vertebrates, particularly focusing on new research since the last meeting in 2003. Topics covered include the chemical ecology, biochemistry, behavior, olfactory receptors, and the neurobiology of both the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems of vertebrates.

This volume reviews recent developments in our understanding of che~ ical signaling in vertebrates. After sections dealing with general princi ples and chemical aspects of vertebrate pheromones, it follows a taxonomic approach, progressing from fish to. mammals. The editors asked a diverse, international group of leading investigators, working on a wide array of vertebrate taxa and specific issues, to consider their efforts from compar ative, evolutionary, and ecological viewpoints. The relative number of manuscripts in each part does not necessarily reflect current intensity of research, since the editors invited speakers who together would provide a balanced and comprehensive overview, while avoiding duplication. Still, the part on mammals is the longest. Fourth in a series dating from 1977, this volume illuminates current trends and likely future developments in the field of chemical signaling in vertebrates. Going back even farther, the first chapter, a personal account of the past quarter century by Dr. Mykytowycz recalls the most important milestones, such as symposia, or the founding of societies and journals. He also credits those investigators who stand out by their seminal studies.

The editors and contributors to this volume should be justifiably proud of their participation in the tenth triennial meeting of the Chemical Signals in Vertebrates International Symposium. This meeting was held 27 years after the initial gathering of participants in Saratoga Springs, New York from June 6* to 9*, 1976. Subsequent meetings have been held every three years in Syracuse, New York; Sarasota, Florida; Laramie, Wyoming; Oxford, England; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Tubingen, Germany; Ithaca, New York; and Krakow, Poland. This tenth aimiversary symposium was held from July 29* through August 1*' in Corvallis, Oregon and was hosted by the Zoology Department and Biology Programs of Oregon State University. This book also represents the tenth in a series of books on chemical communication, chemical ecology, olfactory and vomeronasal research in vertebrate species. The species covered in the chapters herein range from fish to mammals including humans. By taxonomic breakdown the mammals are the most represented in number of species and chapter contributions. However, the hosts of the meeting endeavored to have some representative contributions covering all of the major vertebrate taxa. As in past years, the meeting was well-represented with just over 100 participants from 13 different nations. Plenary talks focused on some of the non-mammalian groups that have tended to be less represented in these symposia. Thus, we had a very nice overview of comparisons and contrasts of invertebrate chemical commimication to vertebrate systems.

In August 2017, the Chemical Signals in Vertebrates (CSiV) group held its 14th triennial meeting at Cardiff University in Wales. This well established international conference brings together leaders and students in the field of olfactory communication and chemical signaling of vertebrates to present new advances in their research as well as synopses of disparate areas under new angles. This volume is a collection of the proceedings of this meeting authored by leading experts in this field that covers a wide variety of topics in chemical ecology.

It is generally accepted that the recent progress in molecular and cellular biology would not have been possible without an understanding of the mechanisms and signaling pathways of communication inside the cell and between various cells of the animal organism. In fact a similar progress occurred in the field of chemical communication between individual organisms of vertebrate species, and this volume is aimed at presenting the current state of the art on this subject. The reader can find here both original results obtained in the laboratory or field studies and comprehensive reviews summarizing many years of research. The presentations of over 60 scientists have been grouped according to their approach into nine parts covering such fields as ecological and evolutionary aspects of chemical communication, structure and neuronal mechanisms of chemosensory systems, chemical structure of pheromones and binding proteins, kin, individual and sexual recognition, predator-prey relationships, purpose and consequences of marking behavior, scent signals and reproductive processes. Expanding on former volumes of this series, entirely new chapters have been added on prenatal chemical communication describing specific effects of the intrauterine environment. In many cases a truly multidisciplinary approach was required, such as with the population analysis of polymorphic variants of the mouse's major urinary proteins that function in carrying pheromones.

In 2014, the Chemical Signals in Vertebrates (CSiV) group held its 13th triennial meeting in conjunction with the 30th meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE). The meeting convened on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This meeting was the first held jointly with these two groups, which share common history and are dedicated to understanding the role of chemical communication in the lives of organisms. This volume is a collection of the proceedings of this meeting and, like the meeting, cover a variety of topics in chemical ecology, including Chemical Ecology of Social Behavior; Chemical Signals – Analysis and Synthesis; Evolution, Genomics, and Transcriptomics of Chemical Signals; Molecular Mechanisms of Semiochemical Perception and Processing; Multimodal Communication; and Neuroethology and Neurophysiology.

This volume is an up-to-date treatise of chemosensory vertebrate research performed by over 200 scientists from 22 countries. Importantly, data from over 25 taxa of vertebrates are presented, including those from human beings. Unlike other volumes on this topic, a significant nurober of the contributions come from leading workers in the former Soviet Union and reflect studies within a wide variety of disciplines, including behavior, biochemistry, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, psychophysics, and morphol ogy. Most of the studies described in this volume were presented at the Chemical Signals in Vertbrates VI (CSV VI) symposium held at the University of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1991. This international symposium was the largest and the most recent of a series of six such symposia, the first of which was held in Saratoga Springe, New York (June 6-9, 1976) and the last in Oxford, England (August 8-10, 1988). Unlike the previous symposia, Chemical Signals in Vertabrates VI lasted a full week, reflecting the increased number of participants and the desire of many to present their research findings orally to the group as a whole.