Intertidal Fishes

Intertidal Fishes describes the fishes inhabiting the narrow strip of habitat between the high and low tide marks along the rocky coastlines of the world. It analyzes the specialized traits of these fishes that have adapted to living in the dynamic and challenging space where they are alternately exposed to the air and submerged in water with the ebb and flow of the tides. This book provides a comprehensive account of fishes largely overlooked in many previous studies of intertidal organisms and emphasizes how they differ from fishes living in other deeper-water habitats. Coverage includes air breathing, movements and homing, sensory systems, spawning and parental care, feeding habits, community structure, systematic relationships, distribution patterns, and the fossil record in the intertidal zone. Written by an international team of 21 experts on intertidal fish biology Worldwide coverage of intertidal fishes Comprehensive phylogenetic listing of all fish families with intertidal members Global biogeographic analysis involving over 700 species from 86 sites Outlines field and laboratory methods pertinent to studying intertidal fishes Thorough ecological coverage with chapters on vertical distribution, movements and homing, reproduction, feeding, and community structure Covers the physiology of aerial and aquatic respiration, osmoregulation, and sensory systems

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Behavioural Adaptation to Intertidal Life" held in Castiglioncello, Italy (May, 1987) was attended by 50 participants, most of whom presented requested lectures. It was perhaps the first time that specialists of various animal groups, from cnidarians to birds, were able to meet and discuss the importance of behavioural adaptation to this peculiar, sometimes very harsh environment. But the taxonomic barrier is not the only one which the meeting attemped to over come. Lately, the research on intertidal biology has spread from pure taxonomy and static analysis of community structure to such dynamic aspects as intra- and interspecific relationships, and physiological mechanisms aimed at avoiding stress and exploitation of limited-resources. This increasing interest stems not only from an inclination for this particular ecological system and some of its typical inhabitants, but also from the realization that rocky and sandy shore communities are suitable models for testing and improving some global theories of evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and sociobiology. The number of eco-physiological and eco-ethological problems emerging from the study of intertidal animals is fascinatingly large and a complete understanding of this environment cannot be reached using a strictly "reductionistic" or a pure "holistic" approach.

This is the second edition of an extremely important and well received book. The editor has brought together an international team of experts in the subject, producing a book which contains vital information on major aspects of this important subject. It should appear on the shelves of animal behaviourists, fish biologists and fisheries scientists.

"We have developed this community profile to serve as an introduction to the ecology of intertidal sand and mud flats. Our main goal is to describe the ecological processes that characterize a habitat which, at first glance, appears barren and almost devoid of life."--p.iii