The opening chapter describes the characteristics, challenges and opportunities pertaining to the Strait of Hormuz and reviews the present and future conditions of the marine environment in the region. Next, the authors analyze phytoplankton chlorophyll-a data obtained on 27 oceanographic cruises in the southern Gulf of Mexico between 1979 and 2000. Four cruises were selected to report variations of chlorophyll-a associated with hydrographic conditions (temperature and salinity) in surface waters, one in April 1983 and three in different seasons in 1987. Data on the abundances of >105 cells/L of the non-toxic benthic-planktonic widely distributed ubiquitous pennate diatom Cylindrotheca closterium as a causative agent of harmful algal blooms in the coastal waters of the northern Yucatan Peninsula, with an emphasis on four marinas, are presented in the following chapter. Following this, studies are presented wherein it is shown that substrate type, species diversity, stem and root density, predator, seasons, and mate display activity affect the zonal and spatial distribution as well as the diameter of a burrow in semi-terrestrial crabs. The authors go on to highlight the applications of the most active compounds present in marine macroalgae known as polyphenols, as well as their isolation using green extraction methods. Their bioactive properties are reviewed and their potential for health improvement is evaluated. The penultimate chapter focuses on tributyltin, a toxic compound with broad-spectrum activity toward diverse marine species, and how it affects marine environments. The closing chapter examines the several molecular methods which have been evaluated for species identification, phylogenetic analyses, and determining the population structure of Thunnus.

The first comprehensive monograph on periphyton, this book contains contributions by scientists from around the globe. Multi-disciplinary in nature, it covers both basic and applied aspects of periphyton, and is applicable worldwide in natural, extensive and intensive managed systems. Periphyton, as described in this book, refers to the entire complex of attached aquatic biota on submerged substrates, including associated non-attached organisms and detritus. Thus the periphyton community comprises bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, zooplankton and other invertebrates. Periphyton is important for various reasons: as a major contributor to carbon fixation and nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems; as an important source of food in aquatic systems; as an indicator of environmental change. It can also be managed to improve water quality in lakes and reservoirs; it can greatly increase aquaculture production; it can be used in waste water treatment. The book provides an international review of periphyton ecology, exploitation and management. The ecology part focuses on periphyton structure and function in natural systems. The exploitation part covers its nutritive qualities and utilization by organisms, particularly in aquaculture. The final part considers the use of periphyton for increasing aquatic production and its effects on water quality and animal health in culture systems. This book will help scientists and entrepreneurs further understand the ecology and production of aquatic systems and venture into new and promising areas.

This is a book that has been divided into 9 chapters, including information on the recovery of highly valuable compounds for microalgae. The authors of this volume discuss seaweed as a renewable and globally available feedstock with potential applications in the food and feed industries, as well as the agricultural, chemical, or pharmaceutical fields. The chapters include discussions on a wide range of topics including an overview of seaweed by-products, Algae and microalgae biorefineries, the potential use of seaweed by-products in various products and materials, colour stability, and pigment contents of powdered laver (Pyropia yezoensis). The text also includes the interactions of the algae Sargassum muticum with metals as a starting point for the valorisation of invasive seaweed species, as well as new insights into the nutrition and functionality of seaweed. Microalgae biomass as an ingredient to design added value in food products, as well as seaweed biomass for bioremediation or Ethanol creation are additional topics.

A biomarker is a biochemical, cellular, physiological or behavioral variation that can be measured in tissue or body fluid samples or at the level of whole organisms that provides evidence of exposure to and/or effects of one or more chemical pollutants or radiations. Based on the facts related to the existence of contaminant stressors, an understanding of chemical modes of toxicity can be incorporated with diagnostic markers of aquatic animal physiology to help understand the health status of aquatic organisms in the field. New approaches in functional genomics and bioinformatics can help discriminate individual chemicals, or groups of chemicals among complex mixtures that may contribute to adverse biological effects. By using these recent methodologies, it could be useful to shed light on the molecular evolution of the biomarkers, and which role and functionality can be better understood based on exploring the relative evolution pathways in several aquatic organisms. PhD students and scientists with interests on physiology, ecotoxicology, biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular evolution and aquatic science disciplines will find this book very useful, based on the concepts and the relative biomarkers study cases, analyzed from the evolutionary point of view.

This practical manual of freshwater ecology and conservation provides a state-of-the-art review of the approaches and techniques used to measure, monitor, and conserve freshwater ecosystems. It offers a single, comprehensive, and accessible synthesis of the vast amount of literature for freshwater ecology and conservation that is currently dispersed in manuals, toolkits, journals, handbooks, 'grey' literature, and websites. Successful conservation outcomes are ultimately built on a sound ecological framework in which every species must be assessed and understood at the individual, community, catchment and landscape level of interaction. For example, freshwater ecologists need to understand hydrochemical storages and fluxes, the physical systems influencing freshwaters at the catchment and landscape scale, and the spatial and temporal processes that maintain species assemblages and their dynamics. A thorough understanding of all these varied processes, and the techniques for studying them, is essential for the effective conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems.

The Zoological Guide to Crustacea opens by providing an update on the cave crustacean decapods from Mexico, because in the last thirty years several species have been described. Mexico has diverse cave environments according to cave origin, such as: karstic caves, volcano caves with freshwater habitats and anchialine caves with marine and brackish habitats. The following study focuses on a total of 2,700 Artemia franciscana collected at the Al Wathba Reserve between December 2017 and May 2018, which were examined for the presence of larval helminths by direct microscopy of glycerin mounted specimens. Of these, 341 (= 12.6%) specimens contained different species of the Hymenopepididae and Progynotaeniidae families. The penultimate study investigates whether the non-marine ostracod Heterocypris incongruens can detect and react to chemical compounds derived from a predator and from injured conspecifics. The closing study demonstrates the diversity of larval phases and their importance to lobster populations and fisheries, and provides a summary of larval developmental patterns and behaviors and their potential impacts on larval dispersal and lobster demographic connectivity.