Environmental Physiology Of Marine Animals

Within recent years man has become increasingly aware of the disastrous environmental changes that he has introduced, and therefore society is now more concerned about understanding the adaptations organisms have evolved in order to survive and flourish in their environment. Because much of the information pertaining to this subject is scattered in various journals or special symposia proceedings, our purpose in writing this book is to bring together in a college-and graduate-student text the principal concepts of the environmental physiology of the animals that inhabit one of the major realms of the earth, the sea. Our book is not meant to be a definitive treatise on the physiological adap tation of the animals that inhabit the marine environment. Instead, we have tried to highlight some of the physiological mechanisms through which these animals have been able to meet the challenges of their environment. We have not written this book for anyone particular scientific discipline; rather, we hope that it will have an interdisciplinary appeal. It is meant to be both a reference text and a text for teaching senior undergraduate and graduate courses in marine biology, physiological ecology of marine animals, and envi ronmental physiology of marine animals.

Adaptation to Environment: Essays on the Physiology of Marine Animals contains a series of essays that is intended as a review of the special adaptations of marine organisms to the particular environmental conditions they are likely to encounter in the natural habitat. This book emphasizes developments in physiology of marine animals and on approaches to the study of the adaptations of marine organisms. This compilation also interprets the term “Physiology in its widest sense to include all aspects of the functioning of the organism from the behavior of animals to the mode of function of enzymes. For this reason, structural adaptations have been reviewed in detail only where their functional role is understood and where they constitute a specific adaptation to defined environmental conditions. This publication benefits students and individuals conducting research on the physiology of marine animals.

The new and updated edition of this accessible text provides a comprehensive overview of the comparative physiology of animals within an environmental context. Includes two brand new chapters on Nerves and Muscles and the Endocrine System. Discusses both comparative systems physiology and environmental physiology. Analyses and integrates problems and adaptations for each kind of environment: marine, seashore and estuary, freshwater, terrestrial and parasitic. Examines mechanisms and responses beyond physiology. Applies an evolutionary perspective to the analysis of environmental adaptation. Provides modern molecular biology insights into the mechanistic basis of adaptation, and takes the level of analysis beyond the cell to the membrane, enzyme and gene. Incorporates more varied material from a wide range of animal types, with less of a focus purely on terrestrial reptiles, birds and mammals and rather more about the spectacularly successful strategies of invertebrates. A companion site for this book with artwork for downloading is available at: www.blackwellpublishing.com/willmer/

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.

A multitude of direct and indirect human influences have significantly altered the environmental conditions, composition, and diversity of marine communities. However, understanding and predicting the combined impacts of single and multiple stressors is particularly challenging because observed ecological feedbacks are underpinned by a number of physiological and behavioural responses that reflect stressor type, severity, and timing. Furthermore, integration between the traditional domains of physiology and ecology tends to be fragmented and focused towards the effects of a specific stressor or set of circumstances. This novel volume summarises the latest research in the physiological and ecological responses of marine species to a comprehensive range of marine stressors, including chemical and noise pollution, ocean acidification, hypoxia, UV radiation, thermal and salinity stress before providing a perspective on future outcomes for some of the most pressing environmental issues facing society today. Stressors in the Marine Environment synthesises the combined expertise of a range of international researchers, providing a truly interdisciplinary and accessible summary of the field. It is essential reading for graduate students as well as professional researchers in environmental physiology, ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, and marine resource management. It will also be of particular relevance and use to the regulatory agencies and authorities tasked with managing the marine environment, including social scientists and environmental economists.

Advances in Comparative and Environmental Physiology helps biologists, physiologists, and biochemists keep track of the extensive literature in the field. Providing comprehensive, integrated reviews and sound, critical, and provocative summaries, this series is a must for all active researchers in environmental and comparative physiology.

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