Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Antarctic Research Series, Volume 10. The existence of insects, mites, and their relatives on the antarctic continent is of great interest to many. These terrestrial arthropods may be said to be the dominant land animals in the absence of land vertebrates and many major groups of invertebrates. They are important in the simple food cycles which involve most segments of the land flora and microorganisms, and they play a part in soil formation. Thus a knowledge of their ecology is essential to the understanding of various biotic balances and processes. That several species live in the area of 85°S latitude in the face of harsh climatic factors is of great concern to the ecologist and the physiologist—therin lie many unanswered questions for future research.

Oribatid mites are ancient, minute arthropods that live in soil, plant litter, mosses and lichens, and on trees and shrubs. Prior to the production of this catalogue, Australian Oribatid mites had been poorly documented. This catalogue summarises our knowledge of the fauna of Australian Oribatid mites, including many new records of species and genera. It forms a fundamental resource for anyone interested in these important organisms and their role in soil ecology and as environmental indicators.

Low temperature is a major environmental constraint impacting the geographic distribution and seasonal activity patterns of insects. Written for academic researchers in environmental physiology and entomology, this book explores the physiological and molecular mechanisms that enable insects to cope with a cold environment and places these findings into an evolutionary and ecological context. An introductory chapter provides a primer on insect cold tolerance and subsequent chapters in the first section discuss the organismal, cellular and molecular responses that allow insects to survive in the cold despite their, at best, limited ability to regulate their own body temperature. The second section, highlighting the evolutionary and macrophysiological responses to low temperature, is especially relevant for understanding the impact of global climate change on insect systems. A final section translates the knowledge gained from the rest of the book into practical applications including cryopreservation and the augmentation of pest management strategies.

This volume merges all geographical and paleogeographical data on all groups of the arachnofauna. The book features topics such as the ecological factors, climate and other barriers that influence the distribution of arachnida. It also elaborates on the characteristics of the distribution such as arachnida at high altitude (e.g. Himalaya), in caves, in polar regions and highlights differences between the arachnofauna of e.g. Mediterranean regions vs Central Europe, West African vs Indomalayan and more. Furthermore, amongst other topics the volume also includes chapters on the systems of arachnida, fossil orders, dispersal and dispersion, endemics and relicts, regional arachnogeography, cave and high altitude arachnida.

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Although the ancestral home of chelicerates was the sea, the vast majority of modern species live on land. Most students of spiders and mites also restrict themselves to terrestrial habitats. However, a surprising number of mites (Arachnida: Acari) have returned to a watery existence. Approximately 7000 species from the Mesostigmata, Astigmata, Oribatida, and especially the Prostigmata, now live in marine and freshwater habitats. In Aquatic Mites, a dozen chapters explore the distribution, ecology, behavior, genetics, and evolution of the most diverse of these astonishing arachnids. The results of these studies raise as many interesting questions as they answer, and should provoke more investigations of the biology of freshwater and marine Acari.

Collection of 15 papers on Antarctic ecology: The terrestrial environment by D.W.H. Walton; Terrestrial plant biology by R.I. Lewis Smith; Terrestrial microbiology, invertebrates and ecosystems by W. Block; Introduced mammals by W.N. Bonner; Inland waters by R.B. Heywood; The marine environment by T.D. Foster; The marine flora by R.B. Heywood and T.M. Whitaker; Marine zooplankton by J. Everson; Fish by J. Everson; Seabirds by J.P. Croxall; Seals by R.M. Laws; Whales by S.G. Brown and C.H. Lockyer; Marine interactions by J. Everson; Conservation and the Antarctic by W.N. Bonner.

The study of Antarctic communities can provide a valuable step forward in investigating the control of community development, the utilization of habitats and the interaction among species in both species rich and species poor communities. This book contains chapters characterizing the present approaches to both aquatic and terrestrial communities in the Antarctic. From biodiversity to trophic flows, from ecophysiological strategies to the impacts of environmental change and the effects of human disturbance, this volume provides an up to the minute overview of community studies in an area covering ten percent of the Earth's surface.