Dramatic changes in the environment, including habitat degradation and climate change, have focused attention on how individuals and populations respond to a shifting biotic and abiotic landscape. A critical step toward meeting this goal is a clear understanding of the capacity of individuals to defend themselves against threats. Changes in water q

The study of animal cognition has been largely confined to birds and mammals; a historical bias which has led to the belief that learning plays little or no part in the development of behaviour in fishes and reptiles. Research in recent decades has begun to redress this misconception and it is now recognised that fishes exhibit a rich array of sophisticated behaviour with impressive learning capabilities entirely comparable with those of mammals and other terrestrial animals. In this fascinating book an international team of experts have been brought together to explore all major areas of fish learning, including: foraging skills Predator recognition Social organisation and learning Welfare and pain Fish Cognition and Behavior is an important contribution to all fish biologists and ethologists and contains much information of commercial importance for fisheries managers and aquaculture personnel. Libraries in universities and research establishments will find it an important addition to their shelves.

It is generally accepted that the recent progress in molecular and cellular biology would not have been possible without an understanding of the mechanisms and signaling pathways of communication inside the cell and between various cells of the animal organism. In fact a similar progress occurred in the field of chemical communication between individual organisms of vertebrate species, and this volume is aimed at presenting the current state of the art on this subject. The reader can find here both original results obtained in the laboratory or field studies and comprehensive reviews summarizing many years of research. The presentations of over 60 scientists have been grouped according to their approach into nine parts covering such fields as ecological and evolutionary aspects of chemical communication, structure and neuronal mechanisms of chemosensory systems, chemical structure of pheromones and binding proteins, kin, individual and sexual recognition, predator-prey relationships, purpose and consequences of marking behavior, scent signals and reproductive processes. Expanding on former volumes of this series, entirely new chapters have been added on prenatal chemical communication describing specific effects of the intrauterine environment. In many cases a truly multidisciplinary approach was required, such as with the population analysis of polymorphic variants of the mouse's major urinary proteins that function in carrying pheromones.

Fishes are by far the most species-rich vertebrate taxon, and it is also the vertebrate group with the most strikingly diverse repertoire of behaviours and behavioural adaptations. As such, they provide us with many opportunities to explore the fascinating complexities of animal behaviour. Central questions addressed in this book include: How do se

The editors and contributors to this volume should be justifiably proud of their participation in the tenth triennial meeting of the Chemical Signals in Vertebrates International Symposium. This meeting was held 27 years after the initial gathering of participants in Saratoga Springs, New York from June 6* to 9*, 1976. Subsequent meetings have been held every three years in Syracuse, New York; Sarasota, Florida; Laramie, Wyoming; Oxford, England; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Tubingen, Germany; Ithaca, New York; and Krakow, Poland. This tenth aimiversary symposium was held from July 29* through August 1*' in Corvallis, Oregon and was hosted by the Zoology Department and Biology Programs of Oregon State University. This book also represents the tenth in a series of books on chemical communication, chemical ecology, olfactory and vomeronasal research in vertebrate species. The species covered in the chapters herein range from fish to mammals including humans. By taxonomic breakdown the mammals are the most represented in number of species and chapter contributions. However, the hosts of the meeting endeavored to have some representative contributions covering all of the major vertebrate taxa. As in past years, the meeting was well-represented with just over 100 participants from 13 different nations. Plenary talks focused on some of the non-mammalian groups that have tended to be less represented in these symposia. Thus, we had a very nice overview of comparisons and contrasts of invertebrate chemical commimication to vertebrate systems.

Warren, Jr.