Aboard a long-range research vessel, in the vast reaches of the South Pacific, the cast and crew of the reality show Sealife believe they have found a ratings bonanza. For a director dying for drama, a distress call from Henders Island—a mere blip on any radar—might be just the ticket. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of survival begins. For when they reach the island’s shores, the scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time; this is Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years—a fragment of a lost continent, with an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.

In Remarkable Shrimps, Raymond T. Bauer explores the evolution, natural history, biological diversity, and commercial importance of caridean shrimps--a fascinating and colorful group of aquatic organisms that inhabit freshwater and marine environments from the tropics to the poles. The biological diversity of carideans encompasses a remarkable array of adaptations in body form and function, coloration, breeding biology, and mating behavior. Carideans’ important grooming and antifouling adaptations are examined in detail, and Bauer discusses the structural basis of their coloration, the role of color change in concealment, and other forms of camouflage. Reproductive biology and sexual systems, including hermaphroditism and sex change, are reviewed, and Bauer provides evidence for sex pheromones in the attraction of males to females. Seasonal, latitudinal, and depth variation in life history patterns are also analyzed. The symbiotic relationships of shrimps with invertebrates such as corals, sea anemones, and sea urchins and also with fishes are fascinating phenomena of marine ecosystems. Different views on the ancestry and evolutionary history of carideans are evaluated as a stimulus for further work. The status of caridean fisheries and aquaculture is appraised, and shrimp productivity is explained in terms of life history adaptations. Profiling each of the nearly thirty families of caridean shrimps, Bauer writes in an informal style that is nevertheless rich with precise and useful references. Over one hundred figures and 11 plates with 70 color and half-tone photographs accompany the text. Extensive fieldwork is showcased in life history studies on shrimps, employing both behavioral observations using time-lapse video and experimental work to test hypotheses on mating strategies.

Magnificent coral formations create a lovely and mysterious ocean home for schools of anemones, sharks, and barracuda in this photo essay by one of the world's leading underwater photographers. Flounders hide in the sandy bottom and predators lurk at the edges while a sea turtle swims through to lay her eggs on the beach beyond. Colorful and dramatic photos bring to the reader the wonders of a very special undersea realm.

These are the amazing fish that live a charmed existence among the stinging tentacles of the sea anemones. This very readable field guide investigates the symbiotic relationship of these tropical animals and includes comprehensive information on the biology of the many different species that add breathtaking color to the tropical reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Beautifully illustrated for quick and accurate identification for everyone from the teenage aquarist to research scientists.