Explores the appearance, characteristics, and behavior of protists and fungi, lifeforms which are neither plants nor animals, using specific examples such as algae, mold, and mushrooms.

This book provides an in-depth yet concise overview of the most common and emerging protozoa that cause diseases in both farm animals and companion animals. As outlined in the concise introduction, pathogenic protozoans represent an evolutionary highly diverse and little understood group of disease-causing microorganisms. For each of the featured parasitic unicellular eukaryotes, it discusses the morphology, lifecycle, epidemiology and host-pathogen interactions. In addition, the book highlights the latest developments in diagnostic methods, as well as prevention and treatment strategies. Thorough information on genomes and genetic manipulation strategies for some of the protozoa covered in this book is also included. Infections involving parasitic protozoa can cause productivity losses and/or reduce the quality of life of infected animals. Some infections are zoonotic, posing an on-going public health threat. In most cases, prevention and treatment are either non-existent or need considerable improvement. On the other hand, a great deal of research has recently been conducted on these organisms, yielding valuable new information on their global distribution and revealing the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions at the molecular level – and essential insights that can be used for the development of new control tools. This book includes extensive information on both basic aspects and recent scientific discoveries on these protozoa and thus constitutes a unique resource for students, veterinarians, and researchers alike.

The aim of this open access book is to facilitate the identification and description of the different organs as well as pathogens and diseases affecting the most representative species of cephalopods focussed on Sepia officinalis, Loligo vulgaris and Octopus vulgaris. These species are valuable ‘morphotype’ models and belong to the taxonomic groups Sepioidea, Myopsida and Octopoda, which include most of the species with a high market value and aquaculture potential. The study is based on photographs at macroscopic and histological level in order to illustrate the role of the most important pathogens and related diseases from the view of a pathological diagnosis. The reader is able to familiarize with functional anatomy, necropsy and general histology of adults and paralarvae, as well as with the identification of different pathogens and pathologies. This work is thus an invaluable guide for the diagnosis of cephalopod diseases. Besides including pathogens for non-European cephalopod species, it also provides a useful contribution encouraging marine pathologists, parasitologists, veterinarians and those involved in fishery sanitary assessments, aquarium maintenance and aquaculture practices aiming to increase their knowledge about the pathology of cephalopods.

Protists are by far the most diverse and abundant eukaryotes in soils. Nevertheless, very little is known about individual representatives, the diversity and community composition and ecological functioning of these important organisms. For instance, soil protists are commonly lumped into a single functional unit, i.e. bacterivores. This work tackles missing knowledge gaps on soil protists and common misconceptions using multi-methodological approaches including cultivation, microcosm experiments and environmental sequencing. In a first part, several new species and genera of amoeboid protists are described showing their immense unknown diversity. In the second part, the enormous complexity of soil protists communities is highlighted using cultivation- and sequence-based approaches. In the third part, the present of diverse mycophagous and nematophagous protists are shown in functional studies on cultivated taxa and their environmental importance supported by sequence-based approaches. This work is just a start for a promising future of soil Protistology that is likely to find other important roles of these diverse organisms.

This book emphasises the important role that protozoa play in many natural ecosystems. To shed new light on their individual adaptive skills, the respective chapters examine the ecology and functional biology of this diverse group of eukaryotic microbes. Protozoa are well-established model organisms that exemplify many general problems in population ecology and community ecology, as well as evolutionary biology. Their particular characteristics, like large population sizes, life cycles and motile sensory behaviour, have a profound impact on their survival, distribution, and interaction with other species. Thus, readers will also be introduced to protozoan habitats in a broad range of environments. Even though this group of unicellular organisms is highly diverse, the authors focus on shared ecological patterns. Students and scientists working in the areas of eukaryotic microbiology and ecology will appreciate this updated and revised 2nd Edition as a valuable reference guide to the “lifestyles” of protozoa.

This textbook will provide a systematic comprehension of the various medically important human parasites; their distribution, habitat, morphology and life cycle, pathogenesis and clinical features, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. The main emphasis is on the protozoan and helminthic diseases, also medical entomology covering vectors relevant to these diseases. The book aims to promote an easy yet comprehensive way of learning parasitology. It attempts to break down the complexity of medical parasitology into parts that are easy to understand yet integrating the essential information of parasitic infections. The integration of knowledge of parasites will be achieved through student friendly illustrations, inclusion of a collection of recent case reports, examples of test questions and scenarios, and the images of human parasites. Essentially, it provides a “one-stop learning package” for medical parasitology.

Canine Parasites and Parasitic Diseases offers a concise summary, including the distribution, epidemiology, lifecycle, morphology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, prophylaxis and therapeutic measures on the most important parasites affecting dogs. The book includes their classification, structure, lifecycles, occurrence, and the diagnosis and treatment of infestations. Chapters are presented in a consistent and logical format with extensive use of tables, photographs and line drawings that help veterinarians and students quickly find answers to questions. The book informs on 100 different species of parasite related to the canine world and is is aimed not only at veterinary practitioners but also in dog enthusiasts, pharmacies and laboratories. - Fully illustrated with high-quality figures and illustrations - Provides insights on the risk factors and prevention of parasite infections in dogs and gives guidelines for anthelmintic treatment - Serves professionals, students, parasitologists and veterinary scientists - Present an easy-to-use handbook on the identification of canine parasites and the diseases associated with parasitic infection

distances between groups of ciliates were as vast as significant hurdles to obtain copyright permissions the genetic distances between plants and animals for the over 1,000 required illustrations, and I put – THE major eukaryotic kingdoms at that time! the publication schedule ahead of this element. I continued to collaborate with Mitch, and in There are a number of significant illustrated guides 1991 my first “molecular” Magisterial student, to genera and species that have recently been pub- Spencer Greenwood, published an article estab- lished. References are made to these throughout lishing 1990 or thereabouts as the beginning of the book as sources that readers can consult for this the “Age of Refinement” – the period when gene aspect of ciliate diversity. A future project that I am sequencing techniques would deepen our under- contemplating is an illustrated guide to all the valid standing of the major lines of evolution within ciliate genera.