Fish have evolved to colonise almost every type of aquatic habitat and today they are a hugely diverse group of over 25,000 species. This title presents a current and comprehensive overview of fish physiology to demonstrate how living fish function in their environment.

Fishes have evolved to colonise almost every type of aquatic habitat and today they are a hugely diverse group of over 25,000 species. The evolution of this great diversity of species has resulted in a myriad of solutions to the demands posed by the aquatic environment. Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Fishes presents a current and comprehensive overview of fish physiology to demonstrate how living fishes function in their environment. As with other books in the Series, the emphasis is on the unique physiological characteristics of the fish, but with applications to questions of broad relevance in physiological ecology. A preliminary chapter introduces the aquatic environment and gives a general description of fish biology, evolution, and taxonomy. Subsequent sections discuss the particular problems of living in water, life in extreme environments, techniques for studying fish ecophysiology, and future research directions.

This book summarizes the key adaptations enabling extremophile fishes to survive under harsh environmental conditions. It reviews the most recent research on acidic, Antarctic, cave, desert, hypersaline, hypoxic, temporary, and fast-flowing habitats, as well as naturally and anthropogenically toxic waters, while pointing out generalities that are evident across different study systems. Knowledge of the different adaptations that allow fish to cope with stressful environmental conditions furthers our understanding of basic physiological, ecological, and evolutionary principles. In several cases, evidence is provided for how the adaptation to extreme environments promotes the emergence of new species. Furthermore, a link is made to conservation biology, and how human activities have exacerbated existing extreme environments and created new ones. The book concludes with a discussion of major open questions in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of life in extreme environments.

Among the fishes, a remarkably wide range of biological adaptations to diverse habitats has evolved. As well as living in the conventional habitats of lakes, ponds, rivers, rock pools and the open sea, fish have solved the problems of life in deserts, in the deep sea, in the cold antarctic, and in warm waters of high alkalinity or of low oxygen. Along with these adaptations, we find the most impressive specializations of morphology, physiology and behaviour. For example we can marvel at the high-speed swimming of the marlins, sailfish and warm-blooded tunas, air-breathing in catfish and lungfish, parental care in the mouth-brooding cichlids and viviparity in many sharks and toothcarps. Moreover, fish are of considerable importance to the survival of the human species in the form of nutritious and delicious food of numerous kinds. Rational expoitation and management of our global stocks of fishes must rely upon a detailed and precise insight of their biology. The Chapman and Hall Fish and Fisheries Series aims to present timely volumes reviewing important aspects of fish biology. Most volumes will be of interest to research workers in biology, zoology, ecology and physiology but an additional aim is for the books to be accessible to a wide spectrum of non specialist readers ranging from undergraduates and postgraduates to those with an interest in industrial and commercial aspects of fish and fisheries.

This book provides a synthesis of current research on the unique physiological characteristics of amphibians with a particular emphasis on water balance. It includes a wealth of information on ecology, phylogeny and development. The latest experimental techniques and future research directions are also considered.

Marine fishes have been intensively studied, and some of the fundamental ideas in the science of marine ecology have emerged from the body of knowledge derived from this diverse group of organisms. This unique, authoritative, and accessible reference, compiled by 35 luminary ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and ichthyologists, provides a synthesis and interpretation of the large, often daunting, body of information on the ecology of marine fishes. The focus is on the fauna of the eastern Pacific, especially the fishes of the California coast, a group among the most diverse and best studied of all marine ecosystems. A generously illustrated and comprehensive source of information, this volume will also be an important launching pad for future research and will shed new light on the study of marine fish ecology worldwide. The contributors touch on many fields in biology, including physiology, development, genetics, behavior, ecology, and evolution. The book includes sections on the history of research, both published and unpublished data, sections on collecting techniques, and references to important earlier studies.

New scientific approaches have dramatically evolved in the decade since The Physiology of Fishes was first published. With the genomic revolution and a heightened understanding of molecular biology, we now have the tools and the knowledge to apply a fresh approach to the study of fishes. Consequently, The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition is not merely another updating, but rather an entire reworking of the original. To satisfy that need for a fresh approach, the editors have employed a new set of expert contributors steeped in the very latest research; their contemporary perspective pervades the entire text. In addition to new chapters on gas transport, temperature physiology, and stress, as well as one dedicated to functional genomics, readers will discover that many of these new contributors approach their material with a contemporary molecular perspective. While much of the material is new, the editors have completely adhered to the original’s style in creating a text that continues to be highly readable and perpetually insightful in bridging the gap between pure and applied science. The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition, completely updated with a molecular perspective, continues to be regarded as the best single-volume general reference on all major areas of research in fish physiology. The Physiology of Fishes, Third Edition provides background information for advanced students as well as material of interest to marine and fisheries biologists, ichthyologists, and comparative physiologists looking to differentiate between the physiological strategies unique to fishes, and those shared with other organisms.