Abstract

Environmental Adaptations examines the dynamic interaction between an organism and its external environment in order to emphasize the adaptive significance of its responses. Focusing on the adaptations of crustaceans, it bridges the gap between other volumes in the series which deal in detail with the functional machinery of crustaceans and those dealing with ecological, taxonomic, behavioral, and applied subjects.
This book is divided into seven chapters. The first two chapters highlight the range of respiratory responses exhibited by crustaceans when subjected to various environmental factors. Chapter 3 summarizes the mechanisms by which crustaceans take up energy and food from the environment under fluctuating conditions. It also reviews the assimilation efficiencies of crustaceans and the predator-prey interaction. Chapter 4 deals with ionic and osmoregulation from the view of its interaction with the environment. It emphasizes the adaptive nature of chemical regulation that enables various crustaceans to inhabit waters ranging from hypersaline ponds to fresh water. Chapter 5 discusses how the various species are reproductively adapted to generate offspring in the tremendous diversity of habitats occupied by crustaceans. The last two chapters report on the specific adaptations of crustaceans to terrestrial and freshwater habitats.
This book is a valuable source for zoologists, paleontologists, ecologists, physiologists, endocrinologists, morphologists, pathologists, and fisheries biologists, and an essential reference work for institutional libraries.