Author: Aldemaro Romero
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401597952
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366
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Book Description
Hypogean (cave, artesian) fishes have fascinated researchers even before they were described in the scientific literature in 1842. Since then, a number of scientists have used them to justify their own evolutionary ideas, from neo-Lamarckism to neo-Darwinism, from neutral evolution to selectionist approaches. Research in recent years has shown that these fishes are much more complex in their adaptations to the subterranean environment than previously believed: there are those with features expected from living in total darkness (complete blindness and depigmentation) and poor in nutrients (extremely low metabolic rates); others differ very little, if any, from their epigean (surface) ancestors in their morphology and physiology (but not so in their behavior). Some of them even live in nutrient-rich environments. Actually, one of the most overlooked facets of these animals is that there are more species of hypogean fishes without troglomorphisms (blindness, depigmentation) than with troglomorphic ones. The study of these apparently `unadapted' fishes is providing new insights into our understanding of the evolution of phenotypic characters, founding effect, behavioral, and physiological adaptations. The 86 species of troglomorphic fishes described so far belong to 18 different families, many of which would hardly fit the notion that they were 'preadapted' to conquer the underground environment. Further, many troglomorphic `species' show very little genotypic differentiation when compared with their putative ancestors, indicating that massive phenotype changes can be achieved via little genetic reorganization, a reorganization that mostly affects regulatory genes. These and many other topics are discussed in this volume containing 29 papers, written by 41 authors from 9 countries. Hopefully, this volume will convince many other researchers that hypogean fishes represent a unique opportunity to study a concept in evolutionary biology that is only superficially understood: convergent evolution.
Author: Eleonora Trajano
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439840482
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 496
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Book Description
In most habitats, adaptations are the single most obvious aspects of an organism's phenotype. However, the most obvious feature of many subterranean animals are losses, not adaptations. Even Darwin saw subterranean animals as degenerates: examples of eyelessness and loss of structure in general. For him, the explanation was a straightforward Lamarc
Author: Adalberto Luis Val
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080454275
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 642
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Book Description
The Physiology of Tropical Fishes is the 21st volume of the well-known Fish Physiology series and consists of 12 chapters. The purpose of the book is to consolidate and integrate what is known about tropical fishes (marine and freshwater species). The twelve chapters focus on the physiological adaptations acquired during the evolutionary process to cope with warm and shallow hypoxic waters from tropical and neotropical hydrographic basins as well as with the intertidal and coral reef habitats which occur in abundance in tropical seas. The special characteristics of tropical fish fauna will be issued in order to explain the tropical fish radiation, which gave rise to such extreme fish diversity. This present volume, is a voyage through the tropical region reviewing the fish diversity of the main tropical freshwater sheds, including the major tropical rivers and lakes, the major dams, and marine environments. - State-of-the-art information on tropical fish physiology - Written by specialists working in the Tropics - Offers a diverse depiction of the various tropical fishes and the environment where they inhabit - 12 innovative chapters covering a concise view of growth rate, biological rhythms, feeding plasticity, cardio-respiratory design and function, diversity of structure, and much more
Author: John Gunn
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1579583997
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1971
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Book Description
The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science examines cave and karst geoscience, cave archaeology and human use of caves, art in caves, hydrology and groundwater, cave and karst history, and conservation and management.
Author: Alex Keene
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128023651
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 419
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Book Description
Biology and Evolution of the Mexican Cavefish features contributions by leading researchers in a comprehensive, unique work that examines a number of distinct areas of biology—evolution, development, ecology, and behavior—using the Mexican cavefish as a powerful model system to further understanding of basic biological processes such as eye degeneration, hearing, craniofacial development, sleep, and metabolic function. These fish are currently being used to better understand a number of issues related to human health, including age-related blindness, sleep, obesity, mood-related disorders, and aging. The recent sequencing of the cavefish genome broadens the interest of this system to groups working with diverse biological systems, and has helped researchers identify genes that regulate sleep, eye degeneration, and metabolic function. Mexican cavefish are particularly powerful for the study of biological processes because these fish evolved independently in twenty-nine caves in the Sierra de el Abra Region of Northeast Mexico. These fish have dramatic adaptations to the cave environment, and this can be used to identify genes involved in disease-related traits. This scholarly text will be of interest to researchers and students throughout diverse areas of biology and ecology. It includes photographs of animals and behavior in laboratory and natural settings that will also increase interest and accessibility to non-experts. - Includes a mixture of images and illustrations such as the geographical distribution of cave pools and the developmental biology of the nervous system - Features a companion site with geographical maps - Fills a notable gap in the literature on a topic of broad interest to the scientific community - Presents the recent sequencing of the cavefish genome as a groundbreaking development for researchers working with diverse biological systems
Author: Melvin L. Warren Jr.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421435128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 934
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Book Description
The highly anticipated second volume of Freshwater Fishes of North America, a monumental, fully illustrated reference that provides comprehensive details on the freshwater fishes of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. When the first volume of Freshwater Fishes of North America was published, it was immediately hailed as the definitive reference in the field. Readers have been fervently awaiting the next volume in this encompassing three-book set ever since. Now complete, volume 2, covering families Characidae to Poeciliidae, is the result of decades of analysis by leading fish experts from universities and research laboratories across North America. Each volume in this authoritative synthesis covers the ecology, morphology, reproduction, distribution, behavior, taxonomy, conservation, and the fossil record of the included North American fish families. The encyclopedic reviews of each family are accompanied by color photographs (nearly 250 in this volume alone), range maps, and artwork created by noted fish illustrator Joseph R. Tomelleri. The result is a rich textual and visual experience that covers everything known about the diversity, natural history, ecology, and biology of North American freshwater fishes. Volume 2 covers the following North American families of fishes: Characidae (Characins) Ictaluridae (North American Catfishes) Ariidae (Sea Catfishes) Heptapteridae (Three-barbeled Catfishes) Osmeridae (Smelts) Esociformes (Esocidae, Pikes and Umbridae, Mudminnows) Percopsidae (Trout-perches) Amblyopsidae (Cavefishes) Aphredoderidae (Pirate Perches) Gadidae (Cods and Cuskfishes) Mugilidae (Mullets) Atherinopsidae (New World Silversides) Beloniformes (Needlefishes and Halfbeaks) Rivulidae (New World Rivulines) Profundulidae (Middle American Killifishes) Goodeidae (Goodeids) Fundulidae (Topminnows) Cyprinodontidae (Pupfishes) Poeciliidae (Livebearers) The chapter authors of Volume 2 are: Gianetta Adams Clyde Barbour Micah Bennett Ricardo Bentancur-R. Peter B. Z. Berendzen Brooks M. Burr Mollie Cashner Robert C. Cashner Bruce B. Collette Matthew Davis Alice F. Echelle Anthony A. Echelle Fernando Galvez Michael Ghedotti Nicholas Gidmark Terry Grande Robert L. Hopkins Lauren M. Kuehne Frank McCormick Norman Mercado-Silva Ann U. O'Connell Martin T. O'Connell Julian D. Olden Claudia Patricia Ornelas-Garcia Mark Sabaj Perez Kyle R. Piller Steven Powers Jacob Schaefer Juan J. Schmitter-Soto Andrew M. Simons Roger A. Tabor Cheryl Thiele Matthew Thomas Melvin L. Warren, Jr. Mark V. H. Wilson
Author: Danté Fenolio
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421418630
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 318
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Book Description
Presents hundreds of creatures like the firefly squid, tarantula hawks, and blind spiny eels that have adapted to habitats devoid of light such as caves, the bottoms of oceans and lakes, and underground.
Author: Patrick Safran
Publisher: EOLSS Publications
ISBN: 1848261128
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 460
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Book Description
Fisheries and Aquaculture theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Fisheries are a major life support system and the main purpose of this theme on Fisheries and Aquaculture is to provide baseline information and latest knowledge at the dawn of this century to facilitate vital fisheries recovery before their irreparable collapse. This Theme on Fisheries and Aquaculture is divided into five topics. It starts with discussions on major issues and challenges in “Harvesting the Seas”, with emphasis on the role and importance of the fisheries sector and its environment, and introduces trends and perspectives in marine fisheries, including allocation of use rights, subsidies, and port management. The next two topics present an in-depth and detailed knowledge on fish and other aquatic living resources that are commercially exploited and/or farmed. The third topic on Inland Fisheries presents salmonid fish, eels, shad, whitefish and smelt, carp, perch, pike and bass, tilapia, frog, and crustaceans. The fourth topic presents a comprehensive review of trends and perspectives in Aquaculture: Principles and Prospects. The fifth topic on Economics of Fisheries and Aquaculture reviews the latest views and concepts useful to apprehend the fisheries management regime, including a comparative static economic theory and a dynamic theory of fishery, spatial bioeconomic dynamics and role of international law in the management of marine fisheries, rights-based and community fisheries management, aquaculture economics, and game theory and fisheries. These five 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, NGOs and GOs.
Author: Derek Burton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191088439
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
Essential Fish Biology provides an introductory overview of the functional biology of fish and how this may be affected by the widely contrasting habitat conditions within the aquatic environment. It describes the recent advances in comparative animal physiology which have greatly influenced our understanding of fish function as well as generating questions that have yet to be resolved. Fish taxa represent the largest number of vertebrates, with over 25,000 extant species. However, much of our knowledge, apart from taxonomy and habitat descriptions, has been based on relatively few of them , usually those which live in fresh water and/or are of commercial interest. Unfortunately there has also been a tendency to base our interpretation of fish physiology on that of mammalian systems, as well as to rely on a few type species of fish. This accessible textbook will redress the balance by using examples of fish from a wide range of species and habitats, emphasizing diversity as well as recognizing shared attributes with other vertebrates.
Author: Joseph A. Sisneros
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319210599
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics is an anthology of review papers that were presented at a special symposium to honor Arthur Popper and Richard Fay on May 25th 2013 at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL. The research presentations at this conference spanned the range of disciplines covered by Fay and Popper during their long and productive careers. The book includes the following thematic areas for the papers in this special volume: morphology and anatomy of the inner ear and lateral line systems; physiology of inner ear, lateral line, and central auditory systems; acoustically mediated behavior, including communication and sound localization; and environmental influences on fish hearing and bioacoustics, including anthropogenic effects of noise on fishes. Each chapter reviews and summarizes the past studies of particular area that will lead the reader up to the current work presented at the symposium. In addition, each chapters includes a perspective of how Arthur Popper and Richard Fay have influenced their particular area of fish bio acoustic research. Each manuscript also includes a hypotheses for future studies. These hypotheses will provide a springboard for future work in each field.
