This book provides an overview of the XI International Congress on Medical and Applied Malacology: “Crossing Boundaries: Integrative Approaches to Malacology”. The event was held at the State University of Rio de Janeiro between the 25th and 29th of September 2012. A number of the plenary lecturers from the conference were invited to contribute their papers to these proceedings, as were speakers whose papers were eligible for student awards. The volume contains articles on bioprospecting methods; medical malacology; aquaculture; biomonitoring; alien species; reproductive and developmental biology; interdisciplinary teaching and education; and trends in malacological research. The information contained here will convey to the general public the importance of mollusks to human and animal health, as well as their applications in various areas of knowledge.

Sir Charles Maurice Yonge who died in 1986 was the foremost authority on the Bivalvia and one of the greatest marine biologists of this century. The volume is a memorial to his achievements and comprises 22 papers presented at a symposium in his honour during the IX International Malacological Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1986. It contains 4 sections: Evolution, Feeding and Digestion, Functional Morphology, and Ecology, and will be of interest to all students of the Mollusca.

The book with two sections represents the current trend of research in basic and applied malacology. In the section "Organismal Malacology", high-impact articles were contributed in the frontier areas of taxonomy, ecology and aquaculture of molluscs. Importance of mussel in water quality monitoring was highlighted. Biology and conservation of keystone molluscs were discussed from organismal point of view. "Cellular and Molecular Biology" section contains informative chapters on toxin-induced differential gene expression, spatiotemporal neural activity in olfactory processing in slug and immunity of hydrothermal vent molluscs. Biochemistry of cellulose degradation, lipid profile and C-reactive protein were elucidated in detail in separate chapters. This book represents a rich source of malacological information for the scientists, teachers and students.

Update on Malacology is a compilation of high-impact research articles on the frontier areas of molluscan biology, physiology, aquaculture, and paleoecology. Topics covered include effects of dietary intake of shellfish in humans, beneficial effects of herbal compounds on the cognitive ability of molluscs, seasonal variation of molluscs acting as intermediate hosts of human parasites, current understanding of freshwater pearl culture, and the role of environmental parameters on the infectivity of freshwater snails and their paleoecological aspects. This book is an enriched edition of current trends of malacological research and is a useful resource for students, teachers, and researchers working in basic and applied malacology.

The current volume focuses on behavioral similarities and differences within individual animals, larger populations, and species as a whole. Research from ecological, social ontogenetic, physiological, and other perspectives is presented to explicate specific behaviors, as well as to provide a more profound understanding of how behavior work influences thought about evolutionary processes.