The opportunity to prepare a second edition of a book that was originally written 30 years ago has provided me with both a challenge and a source of pleas- over ure; the former as it needed to be spatially constrained within its original limits. Nevertheless, over 1000 references have been added. I must apologize to the many biologists whose contributions could not be included. I have attempted to keep the original format and historical perspective. The information has been princi- pally described within the context of each phyletic group of the vertebrates and their habitats. Each chapter is...

The opportunity to prepare a second edition of a book that was originally written 30 years ago has provided me with both a challenge and a source of pleas- over ure; the former as it needed to be spatially constrained within its original limits. Nevertheless, over 1000 references have been added. I must apologize to the many biologists whose contributions could not be included. I have attempted to keep the original format and historical perspective. The information has been princi- pally described within the context of each phyletic group of the vertebrates and their habitats. Each chapter is...

This work documents various studies on hearing in marsupials and relates this information to their vocal behaviour. The organization of the brain auditory pathways of marsupials is compared with those of eutherian mammals and related to the structure of the periphery. The information on marsupials provides insight into the development of the brain and hearing in other mammals.

The Amazon is a giant piece of "amphibian" land which is the result of complex geological and evolutionary processes. The number of living beings in such a land is difficult to estimate. The interactions between these organ isms and the environment are fascinating but barely understood. These features lured us to the Amazon in 1981. However, soon after, we realized that the dimensions of these interactions were overwhelming. This book is designed to review aspects of the physiology and biochemistry of fishes of the Amazon. The description of the pulsative nature of the environment and the...

Biological effects of magnetic fields have been studied in many animals and plants. The magnetic fields were of a wide intensity range and, as alternating fields, of a wide frequency range and of a variety of impulse shapes. Effects on the cellular level, on bio chemical processes, growth and development, interactions with physiology, sensory input, reflexes and rhythm control, to name just a few, have been reported. Numerous magnetically induced changes in behavior have also been described. Recently, the amount of literature covering biological effects of magnetic fields has been rapidly...

Invertebrate animals represent a diversity of solutions to life's challenges. Success in a wide range of environments has been achieved by an almost bewildering range of invertebrate body forms. These body forms are reflected in the wonderful diversity of their nervous systems. Despite this apparent diversity, studies of the development of invertebrates and vertebrates are yielding common themes at the molecular level. Likewise, the phenome non of neural regeneration is based upon properties intrinsic to neurons and responses to a remarkably conserved chemical lan guage. This monograph...

This book presents a comparative view of chelonian reproduction and discusses ecophysiological implications for their captive breeding. Chelonians, with their protective rigid armour, are a phylogenetically antique group of reptiles which radiated to occupy niches from the open waters of the oceans, to rivers, creeks, swamps, forests, savannahs, and deserts. A few North American turtle species have been well studied, but until recently reproductive data on other chelonian species have been scarce. The way in which chelonians adjust their conservative mode of reproduction to the various...

As the title indicates, the theme of this book is the functions of biochromes in animals. Recent works on zoochromes, such as those of D. L. Fox (1953), H. M. Fox and VEVERS (1960) and VUILLAUME (1969), have been concerned primarily with the chemical nature and the taxonomic distribution of these materials, and although function has been considered where relevant this has not been the centre of interest and certainly not the basis for the arrangement of the subject matter. Functional significance is a profitable focus of interest, since it is the one theme which can make biochromatology a...

Mention the words 'arthropod cuticle' to most biologists and they usually provoke a glazed expression. This is because the cuticle is commonly regarded as an inert substance. It is hoped that this book will dispel this fallacy. The study of cuticle in its proper context now involves many of the wider aspects of biology which are currently in vogue (e. g. how a hormone like ecdyson induces a specific enzyme like dopa decarboxylase; the unsolved major problem of cell gradient and polarity; the involvement of cyclic AMP in hormonal mechanisms; the extra cellular control of cuticular enzymes, of...

On being asked to write a book on migration and homing in animals, intended as an introductory text to inform and stimulate both students and non-specialists, I saw the following alternatives for an outline: (1) I could discuss known or hypothetical mechanisms of orientation, and enumerate animals known or thought to use these mechanisms in migration and homing. (2) I could discuss the known feats of orientation by animals under field observation (e. g. migration), following some practic able order, with a subsequent discussion of the attempts at and possible success in elucidating the basic...