Apart from malaria, schistosomiasis is the most prevalent parasitic infection in the world. It affects more than 200 million people in 76 tropical and subtropical countries, causing great suffering and resulting in thousands of deaths. Written by world authorities, this book examines many aspects of the biology, pathology, and control of the schistosoma parasite. Ranging in topic from infection in Pharaonic Egypt, through DNA relationships and biological systems, to advances in development of vaccines against the parasite, this book is a comprehensive text written for researchers and medical professionals alike.

One of the little known species in the danger of extinction, gymophionan amphibians, are also known as caecilians or apoda. Gymnophiona contains 154 species belonging to 34 genera and 6 families. For many years, studies on the Gymnophiona were disparate and still only a few species have been deeply studied. Fortunately, in recent years, some new works have been published on their systematics, using both the classical methods as well as immunology and molecular biology. New data have also been obtained on the biology, life history, reproductive biology, endocrinology and embryonic development of several species. These fascinating aspects along with other important ones on gymnophionan studies are ably reviewed in this book.

It is perhaps because fishes live in a buoyant medium, whether it be fresh or sea water, that they show a diversity in body shapes that is unparalleled by other vertebrates. There is also a unique diversity in the modes of reproduction, whether by external or internal fertilization, and this, with the morphology and fine structure of the reproductive system and its components, is the subject of the present volume. A large part of this book deals with the ultrastructure of spermatozoa, with some discussion of phylogenetic implications.

The animals loosely termed fish constitute more than half of all known vertebrate species. There are approximately 27,000 described living species of bony fishes (Euteleostomi = Osteichthyes), about 70 species of hagfishes and some 34 species of lampreys. Approximately 970 species are chondrichthyans, the sharks and their relatives, which were the subject of volume 3 in this series. It is perhaps because fishes live in a buoyant medium, whether it be fresh or sea water, that they show a diversity in body shapes that is unparalleled by other vertebrates. There is also a unique diversity in the modes of reproduction, whether by external or internal fertilization, and this, with the morphology and fine structure of the reproductive system and its components, is the subject of Part A. Part B deals with complementary topics: testes, sperm, and sperm competition; endocrinology of reproduction; pheromones and reproduction; copulatory structures: taxonomic overview and the potential for sexual selection; sexual selection: signaling and courtship; adaptation and evolution of reproductive mode in copulating cottoid species; fertilization; sex determination; parental care; reproduction in relation to conservation and exploitation of marine fishes; Cryopreservation of Gametes; Embryogenesis and Development; and Molecular Genetics of Development.

The second part of volume 6 discusses sexual selection of ultraviolet and structural signals; melanins and carotenoids as feather colorants and signals; sexual selection and auditory signaling; odors and chemical signaling; sexual dimorphism; sexual selection, signal selection and the handicap principle; courtship and copulation; sexual conflict and its implications for fitness; intra- and extra-pair paternity; parental care (including cooperative breeding); brood parasitism in birds; applications of reproductive biology to bird conservation and population management; embryogenesis and development; molecular genetics of avian sex determination and gonadal development. Many new illustrations are provided throughout the volume.

Aspects of reproduction covered in this volume include classification and phylogeny as revealed by molecular biology; anatomy of the male reproductive tract and organs; anatomy and evolution of copulatory structures; development and anatomy of the female reproductive tract; endocrinology of reproduction; ovarian dynamics and follicle development; spermatogenesis and testicular cycles; avian spermatozoa: structure and phylogeny; testis size, sperm size and sperm competition and lastly, fertilization.

Annelida is a diverse group of animals, commonly referred to as segmented worms and currently comprising around 14000 described species. Found in most marine and freshwater areas, annelids have also successfully occupied many subterranean habitats. This volume documents annelid reproduction in the context of their phylogenetic relationships. It presents an introduction and overview to the current systematics of annelids and provides reviews to broad aspects of reproduction across Annelida. The chapters cover oogenesis, sperm, mating, early development, larval development and larval ecology. The book also covers some of the major clades (or purported clades) of annelids and addresses similar issues. The final chapter covers some of the more problematic annelid groups in terms of their phylogenetic placement.

In this 1991 book, Professor Jamieson masterfully brings together the literature on fish spermatozoa and voluminous work on the evolutionary history of fishes to provide a detailed synthesis of the two fields of fish spermatology and fish systematics. The author begins by considering invertebrate phyla related to the chordates, and goes through the lower chordates and early fishes to the line leading to amphibians and to highest teleosts. His treatment provides a review of fish systematics based on the classical evidence of gross morphology in a cladistic framework and a critical integration of this with information on the degree to which spermatozoa support of conflict with the various hypotheses of relationship. Additionally, Professor Jamieson is joined by Luke K. -P. Leung to give a review of the principles of biological cryopreservation and of the live preservation of fish gametes.

This 1987 book reviews and illustrates the structure, as seen by the scanning and transmission electron microscopes, of the spermatozoa of insects, centipedes, millipedes and onychophorans. Virtually every reference in the large literature on sperm ultrastructure in these groups is cited and many further observations are included. The spermatozoa of spiders and other arachnids and crustaceans are also briefly treated. The remarkable diversity of sperm structure in arthropods is shown to have great value for the study of taxonomic and evolutionary relationships. These variations and omissions have important lessons for students familiar with the more orthodox sperm of mammals. Giant sperm reaching a length of 15mm, much longer than the male fly, are described for Drosophila and the genetic control of sperm structure and its manipulation by x-ray irradiation and hybridization, with implications for control of lepidopteran insect pests is discussed.

Apart from malaria, schistosomiasis is the most prevalent parasitic infection in the world. It affects more than 200 million people in 76 tropical and subtropical countries, causing great suffering and resulting in thousands of deaths. Written by world authorities, this book examines many aspects of the biology, pathology, and control of the schistosoma parasite. Ranging in topic from infection in Pharaonic Egypt, through DNA relationships and biological systems, to advances in development of vaccines against the parasite, this book is a comprehensive text written for researchers and medical professionals alike.

It is perhaps because fishes live in a buoyant medium, whether it be fresh or sea water, that they show a diversity in body shapes that is unparalleled by other vertebrates. There is also a unique diversity in the modes of reproduction, whether by external or internal fertilization, and this, with the morphology and fine structure of the reproductive system and its components, is the subject of the present volume. A large part of this book deals with the ultrastructure of spermatozoa, with some discussion of phylogenetic implications.