Permalien :
Advances in marine biology : the biology of euphasiids (volume 7)
- Date_TXT
- New York : Academic press , 1969
- Cote
- 578.77 RUS/T7
- Auteur
- Russell, F. S
- Type de document
- Livre
Description :
This volume contains a single contribution by J. Mauchline and the late L. R. Fisher, who, together, provide a well integrated account of the biology of that group of organisms, some of which are commonly known as "krill", which form the major portion of the food of whale-bone whales and of some fish.
The Euphausiacea are extremely important members of the planktonic community of the ocean forming, in many areas, the greater part of the total mass of pelagic organisms. This study reviews the taxonomic relations of the eighty-five known species and provides a map of the geographical distribution of each species. Larval development, vertical distribution, food, biochemistry, processes of vision and bioluminescence, anatomy, physiology, growth, predators, and parasites are all discussed in detail. An attempt is made to relate each of these aspects to one another so that the outlook of the book is ecological. The final chapter correlates the information presented in earlier chapters and assesses the importance of euphausids in the food chains and general economy of the oceans. It also contains some thoughts on the possibility of economically harvesting the vast populations present in the Antarctic and in northern seas. The volume should be of interest to the general zoologist as well as to marine biologists and to those concerned with fishery research and the food resources of the sea.