Oxygen binding proteins are large multi unit proteins ideally suited for the study of structure function relationships in biological molecules. This book, based on a Symposium at the Xth International Biophysics Congress in 1990, provides a synthesis of recent advances in our knowledge of invertebrate oxygen carriers such as hemoglobins, hemocyanins, and hemorythrins. Comprehensive reviews are combined with new research results of importance to all biochemists and molecular biologists interested in oxygen carriers in general, their gene structure and comparative biochemistry. Of particular value are the studies of invertebrate oxygen binding proteins which perform their function and have structures vastly different from the vertebrate hemoglobins and myoglobins, as well as numerous examples of modern molecular techniques as applied to research on this diverse group of proteins.

This volume offers contributions from leading experts in the biology of chaetognaths, or arrow worms--voracious carnivores which are exceptionally abundant in all the seas of the world. Until now there has been a lack of easily accessible information on this group, despite the fact that their vast numbers very likely render chaetognaths of major ecological significance in marine planktonic communities. This work is the first comprehensive survey. It deals with all aspects of chaetognath biology, including much recent and unpublished work. Two chapters are devoted to taxonomic relationships, two chapters cover morphology and anatomy, four chapters are concerned with physiology and behavior, three are devoted to ecology, and one chapter provides detailed information about the techniques necessary for studying the organism. The book will interest all marine biologists and zoologists working on plankton, along with invertebrate biologists, systematists, and advanced students of marine biology.