This is the seventh volume of a ten-volume series on The Natural History of the Crustacea. Chapters in this volume synthesize our current understanding of early crustacean development from the egg through the embryonic and larval phase. The first part of this book focuses on the elemental aspects of crustacean embryonic development. The second part of the book provides an account of the larval phase of crustaceans and describes processes that influence the development from hatching to an adult-like juvenile. The third and final part of the book explores ecological interactions during the planktonic phase and how crustacean larvae manage to find food, navigate the dynamic water column, and avoid predators in a medium that offers few refuges.

This is the seventh volume of a ten-volume series on 'The Natural History of the Crustacea'. Chapters in this volume synthesize our current understanding of early crustacean development from the egg through the embryonic and larval phase. The first part of this book focuses on the elemental aspects of crustacean embryonic development. The second part of the book provides an account of the larval phase of crustaceans and describes processes that influence the development from hatching to an adult-like juvenile. The third and final part of the book explores ecological interactions during the planktonic phase and how crustacean larvae manage to find food, navigate the dynamic water column, and avoid predators in a medium that offers few refuges.

This is the seventh volume of a ten-volume series on The Natural History of the Crustacea. Chapters in this volume synthesize our current understanding of early crustacean development from the egg through the embryonic and larval phase. The first part of this book focuses on the elemental aspects of crustacean embryonic development. The second part of the book provides an account of the larval phase of crustaceans and describes processes that influence the development from hatching to an adult-like juvenile. The third and final part of the book explores ecological interactions during the planktonic phase and how crustacean larvae manage to find food, navigate the dynamic water column, and avoid predators in a medium that offers few refuges.

"More than seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered by the ocean which is home to a staggering and sometimes overwhelming diversity of organisms, the majority of which reside in pelagic form. Marine invertebrate larvae are an integral component of this pelagic diversity and have stimulated the curiosity of researchers for centuries. This accessible, upper-level text provides an important and timely update on the topic of larval evolution and ecology, representing the first major synthesis of this interdisciplinary field for more than 20 years. The content is structured around four major areas: evolutionary origins and transitions in developmental mode; functional morphology and ecology of larval forms; larval transport, settlement, and metamorphosis; larval ecology in extreme and changing environments. This novel synthesis integrates traditional larval ecology with life history theory, evolutionary developmental biology, and modern genomics research to provide a research and teaching tool for decades to come." -- from the rear cover.

This is the first book to provide a detailed treatment of the field of larval ecology. The 13 chapters use state-of-the-art reviews and critiques of nearly all of the major topics in this diverse and rapidly growing field. Topics include: patterns of larval diversity, reproductive energetics, spawning ecology, life history theory, larval feeding and nutrition, larval mortality, behavior and locomotion, larval transport, dispersal, population genetics, recruitment dynamics and larval evolution. Written by the leading new scientists in the field, chapters define the current state of larval ecology and outline the important questions for future research.

A classic problem in evolutionary biology is the origin of larvae - how and why did they occur? Indeed, it has often been suggested that many entirely unique body plans first originated as retained larvae of ancestral organisms. But what of the larvae themselves? What developmental and evolutionary forces shape and constrain them? These questions and others are dealt with by this international team of leading zoologists and developmental biologists. Intended to contribute to a continuing dialectic, this book presents diverse opinions as well as manifold conclusions. Certain to challenge and intrique, The Origin and Evolution of Larval Forms should be a part of the library of every evolutionary and developmental biologist interested in larvae and their significance.

This reference work is designed to provide background information on an array of northeastern Pacific marine invertebrate species so that they can be more easily included in comparative studies of morphology, cell biology, reproduction, embryology, larval biology, and ecology. It is meant to serve biologists who are new to the field as well as experienced investigators who may not be familiar with the invertebrate fauna of the northern Pacific Coast. The species discussed in this volume are mostly from the cold temperate waters of the San Juan Archipelago, near Puget SOund and the Strait of Georgia, but the information and methods given will be useful in laboratories from Alaska to central California and applicable to some extend in other coastal or inland facilities. An introductory chapter discusses basic prodcedures for collecting and maintaining mature specimens, for initiating spawning, and for culturing embryos and larvae in the laboratory. Subsequent chapters summarize reproduction and development in thirty different invertebrate groups and provided ercent references through which additional information can be traced, cite monographs or keys needed to identify species, and give methods useful for studying an array of selected species. Available information on habitat, diet, reproductive mode, egg size, developmental pattern, developmental times, larval type, and conditions for settlement and metamorphosis is reported for over 450 species.