Techniques and theory for processing otoliths from tropical marine fish have developed only recently due to an historic misconception that these organisms could not be aged. Otoliths are the most commonly used structures from which daily, seasonal or annual records of a fish’s environmental history are inferred, and are also used as indicators of migration patterns, home range, spatial distribution, stock structure and life history events. A large proportion of projects undertaken on tropical marine organisms involve removal and processing of calcified structures such as otoliths, statoliths or vertebrae to retrieve biological, biochemical or genetic information. Current techniques and principles have evolved rapidly and are under constant modification and these differ among laboratories, and more particularly among species and within life history stages. Tropical fish otoliths: Information for assessment, management and ecology is a comprehensive description of the current status of knowledge about otoliths in the tropics. This book has contributions from leading experts in the field, encompassing a tropical perspective on daily and annual ageing in fish and invertebrates, microchemistry, interpreting otolith microstructure and using it to back-calculate life history events, and includes a treatise on the significance of validating periodicity in otoliths.

Proceedings of a symposium that focused on new, innovative evaluation of the implications and needs for changing management approaches and demands in invertebrate fishery science. Species covered in the presentations include crustaceans, gastropods, echinoderms, and bivalves. Presentations are organized in the following subject areas: assessment of abundance and related parameters; growth, mortality, and yield per recruit; spatial pattern and its implications; the fishing process; population dynamics; the fishery as a selective force; invertebrate fisheries management; and regional perspectives from the north Pacific. The proceedings conclude with a symposium overview.

A fully updated overview of the causation, function, development and evolution of cephalopod behaviour, richly illustrated in full colour.

This United Nations report examines the current state of knowledge of the world's oceans, for policymakers, and provides a reference for marine science courses.

Systems Analysis and Simulation in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences William E. Grant This hands-on approach provides guidance to the step-by-step applications of systems analysis and simulation to questions about ecological systems. At the same time, it explains general principles without requiring that readers have a strong background in mathematics, statistics, or computer science. Chapter 1 traces the development of systems ecology introducing basic concepts, while Chapters 2 through 5 present the four phases of systems analysis: conceptual model formulation, quantitative specification of the model, model validation, and model use. 1986 (0 471-89236-X) 338 pp. Bioeconomic Modelling and Fisheries Management Colin W. Clark Discusses the management of commercial marine fisheries and the relationship between the economic forces affecting the fishing industry and the biological factors that determine the production and supply of fish in the sea. Topics focus on methods of preventing overfishing and overcapitalization, economically effective and practical forms of regulation, management of developing fisheries, natural fluctuations of fish stocks, and complexities of marine ecosystems. 1985 (0 471-87394-2) 291 pp. Methods in Marine Zooplankton Ecology Makoto Omori and Tsutomu Ikeda Encompassing basic principles, procedures, and research problems, this book serves as a complete guide to current methods used in the study of marine zooplankton. The techniques are equally applicable to small organisms and to the larval stages of larger, commercially important organisms. Chapters start with a brief, but well-summarized introduction to zooplankton, followed by field sampling strategies and laboratory methods, and then conclude with estimates of productivity and analysis of community structure. Each method is described in detail, including a discussion of the problems inherent in using it. 1984 (0 471-80107-0) 322 pp.