Acipenser brevirostrum female 58 cm long from the Hudson River near Kingston, New York, above Acipenser oxyrinchus male 58 cm long from the Lawrence River near St. Vallier, Quebec, by Paul I. Voevodine from Vladykov & Greeley (1963). 1 Sturgeon landing on the Volga River. From an engraving in Moynet . p. 85. 1 Moynet, M. 1867. LaVolga. LeTourduMonde15: 81 96. Environmental Biology of Fishes 48: 373 380,1997. (c) 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Sturgeons and the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe Iliya Zholdasova Institute of Bioecology, Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Nukus, Republic Ka- kalpakstan Received5.4.1995 Accepted16.3.1996 Key words: Amu-Dar River, Syr-Dar River, Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, P. fedtschenkoi, P. hermanni, Acipenser nudiventris, pollution, acclimatization, Nitzschia Synopsis A short description of the catastrophic changes in the ecology of the Aral Sea basin during the three last decades is presented. These changes have influenced the status oftwo acipenserid endemics to the area, the large Amu-Dar shovelnose, Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, and the ship sturgeon, Acipensernudiventris. The main biological characteristics ofboth species in the new environmental conditions are given. Previous unsuccessful attempts to introduce other acipenserid species into the area are also described. International cooperationisneededforsavingthelastsurvivingspeciesrepresentingthegenusPseudoscaphirhynchus.The only twootherspeciesofthe same genus, P.fedtschenkoi and P . hermanni, have alreadybecome victims ofthe Aral Sea catastrophe and are apparently extinct. Introduction 1993). Twosturgeonspecies, the Syr-Dar and small Amu-Dar shovelnose sturgeons, were among the Historically the endemic fauna ofthe Aral Sea ba- first victims of this disaster and seem to be extinct."

Acipenser brevirostrum female 58 cm long from the Hudson River near Kingston, New York, above Acipenser oxyrinchus male 58 cm long from the Lawrence River near St. Vallier, Quebec, by Paul I. Voevodine from Vladykov & Greeley (1963). 1 Sturgeon landing on the Volga River. From an engraving in Moynet . p. 85. 1 Moynet, M. 1867. LaVolga. LeTourduMonde15: 81-96. Environmental Biology of Fishes 48: 373-380,1997. (c) 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Sturgeons and the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe Iliya Zholdasova Institute of Bioecology, Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Nukus, Republic Ka- kalpakstan Received5.4.1995 Accepted16.3.1996 Key words: Amu-Dar River, Syr-Dar River, Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, P. fedtschenkoi, P. hermanni, Acipenser nudiventris, pollution, acclimatization, Nitzschia Synopsis A short description of the catastrophic changes in the ecology of the Aral Sea basin during the three last decades is presented. These changes have influenced the status oftwo acipenserid endemics to the area, the large Amu-Dar shovelnose, Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, and the ship sturgeon,Acipensernudiventris. The main biological characteristics ofboth species in the new environmental conditions are given. Previous unsuccessful attempts to introduce other acipenserid species into the area are also described. International cooperationisneededforsavingthelastsurvivingspeciesrepresentingthegenusPseudoscaphirhynchus.The only twootherspeciesofthe same genus, P.fedtschenkoi and P . hermanni, have alreadybecome victims ofthe Aral Sea catastrophe and are apparently extinct. Introduction 1993). Twosturgeonspecies, the Syr-Dar and small Amu-Dar shovelnose sturgeons, were among the Historically the endemic fauna ofthe Aral Sea ba- first victims of this disaster and seem to be extinct.

Vertebrate Life distills the necessary information from vertebrate anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavioral studies and then helps students see important connections across levels of biological scale. The result is students come to understand how organisms function effectively in their environments and how lineages of organisms change through evolutionary time. Processing complex detailed information about expansive phylogenies and diverse anatomies can be difficult for even the most motivated students, and Vertebrate Life addresses this challenge by combining appropriately-detailed, clearly-written text with outstanding phylogenies and figures, making it a thorough and engaging reference for students and instructors alike. The text's impressive illustration program helps students visualize complex concepts, allowing them to parse difficult anatomical information. The 11th edition will have an upgraded illustration program with several new and revised figures, including layered figures presented in the new enhanced eBook.