Sea Stars Of Australasia And Their Relatives

Defines echinoderms, such as sand dollars and crown-of-thorns sea stars, and describes their physical characteristics, life cycles, habitats, sense, food, and means of self-defense.

Seastars are some of the most beautiful and intriguing animals living in our oceans. Their shapes, diversity of colours, sizes and surface patterns are unique and amazing. Found from the deep sea to the shallow waters of intertidal areas, these 'stars of the sea' are often encountered by swimmers, snorkellers and divers, or even washed up on shore after storms and wild seas. This comprehensive guide covers over 200 species of shallow water seastars found in Australia, how to identify them, where they live, what they eat, when and how they reproduce, and many other fascinating aspects of their biology.

Echinoderms, including feather stars, seastars, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers, are some of the most beautiful and interesting animals in the sea. They play an important ecological role and several species of sea urchins and sea cucumbers form the basis of important fisheries. Over 1000 species live in Australian waters, from the shoreline to the depths of the abyssal plain and the tropics to Antarctic waters. Australian Echinoderms is an authoritative account of Australia’s 110 families of echinoderms. It brings together in a single volume comprehensive information on the identification, biology, evolution, ecology and management of these animals for the first time. Richly illustrated with beautiful photographs and written in an accessible style, Australian Echinoderms suits the needs of marine enthusiasts, academics and fisheries managers both in Australia and other geographical areas where echinoderms are studied.

A guide to the marine and plant life of Australia on the beach, on rocky and sheltered shores and in the water all year round.

The types of plants and animals that live on seashores in temperate regions are similar around the globe, but many of the individual species in south-eastern Australia are found only in this region. Field Guide to the Seashores of South-Eastern Australia features colour photographs, descriptions and ecological notes for around 240 species of the more common plants and animals found on rocky, sandy and muddy shores along the coastline from Port Lincoln, South Australia, to the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, and Tasmania. This guide will allow beachgoers to learn interesting details about the plants and animals they come across, while also having sufficient scientific detail for natural history enthusiasts and biology students to develop their understanding of these shore ecosystems.

This volume contains abstracts of all papers presented at the International Echinoderms Conferences, and complete papers of those which were submitted for publication and accepted upon recommendation of referees.