VI
Preface
The Final Conference of the Network was held in May 1997 at the
Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, Italy. The contributions presented at the
Conference have been collected together in this volume after peer-review.
They focus on the evolutionary adaptation of the Antarctic ichthyofauna to
the Southern Ocean, how this has been achieved and the mechanisms
involved. Several papers also make comparison with Arctic fish. The
taxonomic composition and evolutionary history of the Arctic fish fauna
differ from that of the Southern Ocean, and such comparisons are thus
important in distinguishing factors that might be related to polar
conditions from those that are simply a general feature of notothenioid
fishes.
This volume provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of
research into Antarctic fish. It also emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature
of recent work in this field, and particularly the important interactions
between taxonomists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists and molecular
biologists. The resulting synthesis could not currently be achieved for any
other group of Antarctic marine organisms. Five keynote presentations,
given by Joe Eastman and Andrew Clarke, George Somero, Luca
Bargelloni and Guillaume Lecointre, Chris Cheng DeVries, and Charles
Gerday and Guido di Prisco, paved the way for wide-ranging and
stimulating discussions. These demonstrated the extent to which the
subject has benefitted from the interactions between traditional biologists
and molecular biologists in elucidating the pattern and timing of the
notothenioid radiation in the Southern Ocean. This was particularly
pleasing as it was a major reason behind the setting up of the Network.
We would like to express our gratitude to the speakers, authors and
referees of the papers collected together in this volume. The financial
support of the European Science Foundation and PNRA (Italian National
Programme for Antarctic Research) is gratefully acknowledged. The help
offered by Silvano Focardi of the University of Siena ensured that the
stimulating conclusive Conference of the Network was held in beautiful
surroundings.
Guido di Prisco
Eva Pisano
Andrew Clarke
May 1998
Preface
The Final Conference of the Network was held in May 1997 at the
Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, Italy. The contributions presented at the
Conference have been collected together in this volume after peer-review.
They focus on the evolutionary adaptation of the Antarctic ichthyofauna to
the Southern Ocean, how this has been achieved and the mechanisms
involved. Several papers also make comparison with Arctic fish. The
taxonomic composition and evolutionary history of the Arctic fish fauna
differ from that of the Southern Ocean, and such comparisons are thus
important in distinguishing factors that might be related to polar
conditions from those that are simply a general feature of notothenioid
fishes.
This volume provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of
research into Antarctic fish. It also emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature
of recent work in this field, and particularly the important interactions
between taxonomists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists and molecular
biologists. The resulting synthesis could not currently be achieved for any
other group of Antarctic marine organisms. Five keynote presentations,
given by Joe Eastman and Andrew Clarke, George Somero, Luca
Bargelloni and Guillaume Lecointre, Chris Cheng DeVries, and Charles
Gerday and Guido di Prisco, paved the way for wide-ranging and
stimulating discussions. These demonstrated the extent to which the
subject has benefitted from the interactions between traditional biologists
and molecular biologists in elucidating the pattern and timing of the
notothenioid radiation in the Southern Ocean. This was particularly
pleasing as it was a major reason behind the setting up of the Network.
We would like to express our gratitude to the speakers, authors and
referees of the papers collected together in this volume. The financial
support of the European Science Foundation and PNRA (Italian National
Programme for Antarctic Research) is gratefully acknowledged. The help
offered by Silvano Focardi of the University of Siena ensured that the
stimulating conclusive Conference of the Network was held in beautiful
surroundings.
Guido di Prisco
Eva Pisano
Andrew Clarke
May 1998