Fungal growths affect both human and animal well-being. Many natural pathogens of laboratory animals alter host physiology, rendering the host unsuitable for experimental uses. While the number and prevalence of few pathogens have declined considerably, many still turn up in laboratory animals and represent unwanted variables in research. Investigators using laboratory animals in biomedical experimentation should be aware of the profound effects that many of these agents can have on research. What does the future hold regarding the natural pathogens of laboratory animals? The selection of an animal model must carefully address issues of the type of human disease to mimic, the parameters to follow, and the collection of the appropriate data to answer those questions being asked. Overall, animal models of fungal infection will continue to deepen our understanding of how these infections occur. This book provides a valuable source of information to biological and biomedical scientists and to clinical and doctoral researchers working in the area of fungal infections and diseases of laboratory animal species.

Advances in Insect Physiology, Volume 56, provides readers with the latest interdisciplinary reviews on the topic. It is an essential reference source for invertebrate physiologists, neurobiologists, entomologists, zoologists, and insect chemists, with this new release focusing on the Effects of resource limitation on the strengths of tradeoffs in insect lifecycles, The circadian system in insects: cellular, molecular, and functional organization, Molecular Physiology of the Insect Midgut, The Cryptonephridic system in Lepidoptera, Subsocial insects and the physiology of parental care, Mechanisms regulating phenotypically plastic traits in wing polymorphic insects, and more.

This book offers the first comprehensive review of parasitic Crustacea, which are among the most successful and diverse parasites. Starting with an introductory chapter, followed by an historic overview and topic-specific chapters, each presenting a different aspect of parasitic crustacean biology, it enables readers to gain a better understanding of how these parasites function and allows direct comparisons between the different parasitic crustacean groups. The authors also discuss, in depth, the adaptations and interactions that have made parasitic Crustacea as successful as they are today, covering topics ranging from the history of their discovery, their biodiversity, phylogeny, evolution and life strategies to their role as vectors, or hosts of other organisms, and their significance in ecological processes. Consisting of ten chapters from leading international experts in the field, this volume offers a one-stop resource for all researchers, lecturers, students and practitioners.

By far, the most widely used subjects in psychological and biological research today are rodents. Although rats and mice comprise the largest group of animals used in research, there are over 2,000 species and 27 families of rodents, living all over the world (except Antarctica) and thriving in many different habitat types. The vast environmental diversity that rodents face has led to numerous adaptations for communication, including vocalizing and hearing in both the sonic and ultrasonic ranges, effectively communicating in the open air and underground, and using vocalizations for coordinating sexual behavior, for mother-pup interactions, and for signaling an alarming situation to the group. Some rodent species have even developed foot drumming behaviors for communication. Comparative studies from around the globe, using both field and laboratory methodologies, reveal the vast differences in acoustic communication behavior across many rodent species. Some rodents are amenable to training and have been domesticated and bred purely for research purposes. Since the early 1900s, rats and mice have been indispensable to research programs around the world. Thus, much of what we know about hearing and vocalizations in rodents come from these two species tested in the laboratory. The sequencing of the mouse genome in 2002, followed by the rat genome in 2004, only increased the utility of these animals as research subjects since genetically engineered strains mimicking human diseases and disorders could be developed more easily. In the laboratory, rats and mice are used as models for human communication and hearing disorders and are involved in studies on hearing loss and prevention, hormones, and auditory plasticity, to name a few. We know that certain strains of mice retain hearing better than others throughout their lifespan, and about the genes involved in those differences. We know about the effects of noise, hormones, sex, aging, and circadian rhythms on hearing in mice and other rodents. We also know about normal hearing in many families of rodents, including the perception of simple and complex stimuli and the anatomy and physiology of hearing and sound localization. The importance of acoustic communication to these animals, as well as the significance of these mammals to biomedical research, are summarized in the chapters.

Australia's varied grasslands have suffered massive losses and changes since European settlement, and those changes continue under increasingly intensive human pressures for development and agricultural production. The values of native grasslands for conservation of endemic native biodiversity, both flora and fauna, have led to strong interests in the protection of remaining fragments, especially near urban centres, and documentation of the insects and other inhabitants of grasslands spanning tropical to cool temperate parts of the country. Attention to conservation of grassland insects in Australia is relatively recent, but it is increasingly apparent that grasslands harbour many localised and ecologically specialised endemic species. Their conservation necessarily advances from very incomplete documentation, and draws heavily on lessons from the far better-documented grasslands elsewhere, most notably in the northern hemisphere, and undertaken over far longer periods. From those cases, and the extensive background to grassland management to harmonise conservation with production and amenity values through honing use of processes such as grazing, mowing and fire, the needs and priorities for Australia can become clearer, together with needs for grassland restoration at a variety of scales. This book is a broad overview of conservation needs of grassland insects in Australia, drawing on the background provided elsewhere in the world on the responses to disturbances, and the ecological importance, of some key insect groups (notably Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera) to suggest how insect conservation in native, pastoral and urban grasslands may be advanced. The substantial references given for each chapter facilitate entry for non-entomologist grassland managers and stewards to appreciate the diversity and importance of Australia's grassland insects, their vulnerabilities to changes, and the possibilities for conserving them and the wider ecological roles in which they participate.

This book provides an up-to-date review of fasciolosis, a disease caused by Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica, including its biology, transmission, epidemiology, host distribution, economic impact, and novel approaches for its diagnosis, treatment and prevention. It first offers a brief overview of the history of the disease, the genetic diversity of the parasite and its distribution, and the ecology of the vector snail, which belongs to the Lymnaeidae/Planorbidae family. It also examines the current strategies and novel approaches for controlling the parasite, diagnosing infections and vaccine development. Importantly, it highlights issues relating to the control of fasciolosis, including drug resistance, lack of effective diagnostics, and the parasite's long-term survival strategies based on regulation and modulation of the host immune system. Lastly, it discusses the novel control snail vectors using bait formulations, and synergetic and phototherapy treatment with chlorophyllin, which does not kill the vector.

Our understanding of the basic biology of owls is poor compared to that of other bird species. The Little Owl, Athene noctua, has become one of the best models for biological and conservation research, due to its commonness and the fact that it occupies nest-boxes very easily. In this unique book the authors synthesise the substantial literature, and detail current information regarding the Little Owl. They discuss its wide-ranging ecology, genetics and subspecies and population status by country. In addition, they outline a strategy and monitoring program for its conservation. The book features an outstanding bibliography of literature on the Little Owl, listing publications dated from 1769 to 2007, in many languages, including Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch. Whilst being an invaluable resource for academic researchers, its straightforward style holds undoubted appeal for amateurs and enthusiasts.

The book reviews key developments in downy mildew research, including the disease, its distribution, symptomatology, host range, yield losses, and disease assessment; the pathogen, its taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny, variability, sporulation, survival and perpetuation, spore germination, infection, pathogenesis, seed infection, disease cycle, epidemiology, forecasting, and fine structures. The book also elaborates the mechanisms of host resistance (biochemical, histological, genetic, and molecular, including cloning and the mapping of R-genes), disease resistance breeding strategies, and the genetics of host-parasite interactions. It explores disease management based on cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance, and integrated approaches; and provides suggestions for future research areas. This book offers a comprehensive guide to an economically important disease, reviewing in detail the extant body of literature. Divided into 16 chapters, each of which includes a wealth of photographs, graphs, histograms, tables, figures, flow charts, micrographs etc., it represents an invaluable source of information for all researchers, teachers, students, industrialists, farmers, policymakers, and all others who are interested in growing healthy and profitable cruciferous crops all over the world.

The lake charr Salvelinus namaycush is a ubiquitous member of cold-water lake ecosystems in previously glaciated regions of northern continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada that often support important commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. The lake charr differs from other charrs by its large size, longevity, iteroparity, top-predator specialization, reduced sexual dimorphism, prevalence of lacustrine spawning, and use of deepwater habitat. The species is remarkably variable in phenotype, physiology, and life history, some of which is reflected in its ecology and genetics, with as many as four morphs or ecotypes co-occurring in a single lake. The lake charr is often the top predator in these systems, but is highly adaptable trophically, and is frequently planktivorous in small lakes. The lake charr by their name highlights their common habitat, lakes both large and small, but often frequents rivers and occasionally moves into the Arctic Ocean. Movement and behaviour of lake charr are motivated by access to cool, well-oxygenated water, foraging opportunities, predator avoidance, and reproduction. Owing to their broad distribution and trophic level, the lake charr serves as a sentinel of anthropogenic change. This volume will provide an up-to-date summary of what is currently known about lake charr from distribution to genetics to physiology to ecology. The book provides a compilation and synthesis of available information on the lake charr, beginning with an updated distribution and a revised treatment of the paleoecology of the species. Understanding of ecological and genetic diversity and movement and behaviour of the species has advanced remarkably since the last major synthesis on the species over 40 years ago. Mid-sections of the book provide detailed accounts of the biology and life history of the species, and later sections are devoted to threats to conservation and fishery management practices used to ensure sustainability. A new standard lake charr-specific terminology is also presented. The book will be a valuable reference text for biologists around the world, ecologists, and fishery managers, and of interest to the angling public.

Population genomics has revolutionized various disciplines of biology including population, evolutionary, ecological and conservation genetics, plant and animal breeding, human health, medicine and pharmacology by allowing to address novel and long-standing questions with unprecedented power and accuracy. It employs large-scale or genome-wide genetic information and bioinformatics to address various fundamental and applied aspects in biology and related disciplines, and provides a comprehensive genome-wide perspective and new insights that were not possible before. These advances have become possible due to the development of new and low-cost sequencing and genotyping technologies and novel statistical approaches and software, bioinformatics tools, and models. Population genomics is tremendously advancing our understanding the roles of evolutionary processes, such as mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection, in shaping up genetic variation at individual loci and across the genome and populations; improving the assessment of population genetic parameters or processes such as adaptive evolution, effective population size, gene flow, admixture, inbreeding and outbreeding depression, demography, and biogeography; resolving evolutionary histories and phylogenetic relationships of extant, ancient and extinct species; understanding the genomic basis of fitness, adaptation, speciation, complex ecological and economically important traits, and disease and insect resistance; facilitating forensics, genetic medicine and pharmacology; delineating conservation genetic units; and understanding the genetic effects of resource management practices, and assisting conservation and sustainable management of genetic resources. This Population Genomics book discusses the concepts, approaches, applications and promises of population genomics in addressing most of the above fundamental and applied crucial aspects in a variety of organisms from microorganisms to humans. The book provides insights into a range of emerging population genomics topics including population epigenomics, landscape genomics, seascape genomics, paleogenomics, ecological and evolutionary genomics, biogeography, demography, speciation, admixture, colonization and invasion, genomic selection, and plant and animal domestication. This book fills a vacuum in the field and is expected to become a primary reference in Population Genomics world-wide.

This volume describes cell culture protocols for the maintenance, propagation, manipulation, and analysis of primary explanted cells from various mouse organ systems. After introductory chapters that examine the applicability of mouse models as a discovery tool and describe critical factors and variables that influence cell culture endpoints, protocol chapters explore cell culture methodologies for specific mouse cell types and lineages. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, these chapters include introductions to their respective topics, comprehensive lists of the essential materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Mouse Cell Culture: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results utilizing these protocols in further studies, leading to the identification of key factors, genes, and cellular pathways regulating cell lineage commitment and differentiation, modeling disease, and identifying novel therapeutic targets.