Since 1972, scientists from all over the world working on fundamental questions of echinoderm biology and palaeontology have conferred every three years to exchange current views and results. The 11th International Echinoderm Conference held at the University of Munich, Germany, from 6-10 October 2003,continued this tradition. This volume

Echinoderms, including feather stars, seastars, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers, are some of the most beautiful and interesting animals in the sea. They play an important ecological role and several species of sea urchins and sea cucumbers form the basis of important fisheries. Over 1000 species live in Australian waters, from the shoreline to the depths of the abyssal plain and the tropics to Antarctic waters. Australian Echinoderms is an authoritative account of Australia’s 110 families of echinoderms. It brings together in a single volume comprehensive information on the identification, biology, evolution, ecology and management of these animals for the first time. Richly illustrated with beautiful photographs and written in an accessible style, Australian Echinoderms suits the needs of marine enthusiasts, academics and fisheries managers both in Australia and other geographical areas where echinoderms are studied.

Echinoderms are an ancient and diverse group of marine animals with a rich fossil record. They occur abundantly in all modern oceans and at all depths, where they contribute importantly to patterns in biodiversity and to the structure and functioning of marine systems. It is therefore vital to understand how they will respond to a rapidly cha

This book compiles for the first time the development of echinoderm research in Latin America. The book contains 17 chapters, one introductory, 15 country chapters, and a final biogeographic analysis. It compiles all the investigations published in international and local journals, reports, theses and other gray literature. Each chapter is composed of 7 sections: introduction describes the marine environments, and main oceanographic characteristics, followed by a history of research account divided by specific subjects. The next section addresses patterns of distribution and diversity. A specific section would explain fishery or aquaculture activities. The next sections deal with environmental and anthropogenic threats that are affecting echinoderm, and any conservation or management action. Finally, a section with conclusions, needs and new lines of research. The book will include two appendixes with species lists of all echinoderms with bathimetric data, habitat and distribution.

The geological record contains a fascinating diversity of reefs and shell accumulations. As with many other biosedimentary structures, their facies characterization requires careful observation at outcrop and sample scale, and in thin-section to provide information about the global geometries, fabrics and textures respectively. This collection of papers encompasses the breadth of sedimentary geometries and facies displayed by Palaeozoic reefs, shell accumulations, and transitional composite deposits. The definition of reefs and shell concentrations has given rise to variations in nomenclature. The papers in this volume cover specific problems regarding the nomenclature and facies characterization of reefs, shell accumulations and transitional composite deposits. However, rather than attempt a complete revision of terms, the authors have touched on some of the important issues at this stage of development in the field: the main climatic, environmental and evolutionary factors that controlled the Palaeozoic development of shell accumulations and reefs.

The dominant faunal elements in shallow Paleozoic oceans, echinoderms are important to understanding these marine ecosystems. Echinoderms (which include such animals as sea stars, crinoids or sea lilies, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers) have left a rich and, for science, extremely useful fossil record. For various reasons, they provide the ideal source for answers to the questions that will help us develop a more complete understanding of global environmental and biodiversity changes. This volume highlights the modern study of fossil echinoderms and is organized into five parts: echinoderm paleoecology, functional morphology, and paleoecology; evolutionary paleoecology; morphology for refined phylogenetic studies; innovative applications of data encoded in echinoderms; and information on new crinoid data sets.

Phylonyms is an implementation of PhyloCode, which is a set of principles, rules, and recommendations governing phylogenetic nomenclature. Nearly 300 clades - lineages of organisms - are defined by reference to hypotheses of phylogenetic history rather than by taxonomic ranks and types. This volume will document the Real World uses of PhyloCode and will govern and apply to the names of clades, while species names will still be governed by traditional codes. Key Features Provides clear regulations for implementing new guidelines for naming lineages of organisms incorporates expressly evolutionary and phylogenetic principles Works with existing codes of nomenclature Eliminates the reliance on rank-based classification in favor of phylogenetic relationships Related Titles: Rieppel, O. Phylogenetic Systematics: Haeckel to Hennig (ISBN 978-1-4987-5488-0) Cantino, P. D. and de Queiroz, K. International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature (PhyloCode) (ISBN 978-1-138-33282-9).

The nervous system is particularly fascinating for many biologists because it controls animal characteristics such as movement, behavior, and coordinated thinking. Invertebrate neurobiology has traditionally been studied in specific model organisms, whilst knowledge of the broad diversity of nervous system architecture and its evolution among metazoan animals has received less attention. This is the first major reference work in the field for 50 years, bringing together many leading evolutionary neurobiologists to review the most recent research on the structure of invertebrate nervous systems and provide a comprehensive and authoritative overview for a new generation of researchers. Presented in full colour throughout, Structure and Evolution of Invertebrate Nervous Systems synthesizes and illustrates the numerous new findings that have been made possible with light and electron microscopy. These include the recent introduction of new molecular and optical techniques such as immunohistochemical staining of neuron-specific antigens and fluorescence in-situ-hybridization, combined with visualization by confocal laser scanning microscopy. New approaches to analysing the structure of the nervous system are also included such as micro-computational tomography, cryo-soft X-ray tomography, and various 3-D visualization techniques. The book follows a systematic and phylogenetic structure, covering a broad range of taxa, interspersed with chapters focusing on selected topics in nervous system functioning which are presented as research highlights and perspectives. This comprehensive reference work will be an essential companion for graduate students and researchers alike in the fields of metazoan neurobiology, morphology, zoology, phylogeny and evolution.

Special Publication 485 About 40 million years after the Cambrian Explosion, the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE) represents a second and dramatic burst in marine biodiversity, with major changes in the structure of ecosystems and the progressive replacement of the distinctive Cambrian Evolutionary Fauna by the Paleozoic Evolutionary Fauna. However, the GOBE is not a single, worldwide, short-term event, but rather the complex sum of successive diversifications occurring in distinct taxonomic groups, trophic guilds and regions. This book focuses on the Late Ordovician Tafilalt Biota, Anti-Atlas Morocco, which provides a snapshot of the GOBE in high-latitude regions of the Southern Hemisphere. A series of contributions explore different aspects of the Tafilalt Biota, including its geological setting, the international fossil trade in this area and a series of detailed systematic contributions describing many new taxa of marine invertebrates. This volume represents a significant contribution to the understanding of the Tafilalt Biota and its significance to the GOBE.