Crustaceans

Anyone who attempts to study crustaceans soon realises that there are many scientific fields involved. As a major subphylum of arthropods – the largest phylum in the animal kingdom – crustaceans exhibit an extraordinary diversity of taxa, shapes, physiology and styles of life. These invertebrates play key ecological roles in all aquatic environments, while only a few species are adapted to subaerial and humid environments. Their evolutionary success is not only due to a wide set of morphological and biological adaptations, but also because of some key features, e.g., their peculiar endocrinology. In addition, crustaceans are characterized by chemical and optical sensors deserving attention because they play important biological roles, linked to chemical ecology issues, and their functioning is impaired by global changes and ocean acidification. Several crustaceans have critical roles in aquatic ecology (e.g., copepods in the plankton, amphipods and isopods in the benthos). Select species are technologically important as "models" for scientific research. Furthermore, aquaculture of several decapod crustaceans is important for providing high-protein products to meet the need for nutrition. Understanding the physiology and ecology of crustaceans is important to fulfil these diverse purposes and practical applications.

In this book, leading world scientists have pooled their excellence to provide vibrant and expert views of fundamental biological and physiological mechanisms involving crustaceans. To this end, a comprehensive view of crustacean endocrinology and reproductive ecology is provided, along with information about their molecular physiology, adaptations, aquaculture and welfare. In particular, we attempted to span the breadth of their adaptations, presenting behavioural and physiological peculiarities, considering key groups of crustaceans to describe general features and global biodiversity. This book is offered as a tool for students and scientists in various fields of physiological, ecological, biotechnological and aquacultural research.

PHYSIOLOGY ISSUES
- Crustacean Endocrinology: Fascinating Topic for Biologists or a Peculiar Opportunity for Biotechnologies? A Historical View with Functional Perspectives / Valerio Zupo and Penny M. Hopkins
- Sexual Biology and Reproduction / Valerio Zupo and Alan N. Hodgson
- Crustacean Yolk Proteins: Structure, Function and Diversity / Ulrich Hoeger and Sven Schenk
- Infochemicals Recognized by Crustaceans / Jörg D. Hardege, Nicky Fletcher and Thomas Breithaupt
- Crustaceans as Good Marine Model Organisms to Study Stress Responses by –Omics Approaches / Maria Costantini, Roberta Esposito and Nadia Ruocco

ECOLOGY AND TAXONOMY
- Crustacean Decapods are Models to Describe the General Trends of Biodiversity According to Ocean Acidification / Valerio Zupo and Emanuele Somma
- Isopod Crustaceans as Seagrass Consumers: A Mediterranean Perspective / Maurizio Lorenti
- Ecology and Ethology of Littoral Amphipods / Felicita Scapini
- Ethology of Crustaceans Influencing their Ecology / Giuseppe Mazza and Elena Tricarico
- Crustacean Ecology in a Changing Climate / Jörg D. Hardege and Nicky Fletcher
- The Biodiversity of Freshwater Crustaceans Revealed by Taxonomy and Mitochondrial DNA Barcodes / Adrian A. Vasquez, Brittany L. Bonnici, Donna R. Kashian, Jorge Trejo-Martinez, Carol J. Miller and Jeffrey L. Ram

AQUACULTURE AND BIOTECH
- Crustaceans as Pathogens and Most Common Pathogens of Crustaceans / Francesca Carella
- Biotechnologies Linked to Crustaceans / Antonietta Siciliano, Giovanni Libralato and Marco Guida
- Copepods vs. Salmons: Environmental Treats for Crustaceans or Possible Eco-Sustainable Solutions? / Valerio Zupo, Valerio Mazzella, Patrick Fink, Mahasweta Saha, Ylenia Carotenuto and Mirko Mutalipassi
- Automatic Culture of Crustaceans as Models for Science / Francesca Glaviano and Mirko Mutalipassi
- Current Issues on Freshwater Crayfish Aquaculture with a Focus on Crustacean Welfare / Marina Paolucci, Elena Coccia, Gianluca Polese and Anna Di Cosmo
- Advanced Molecular Biology Techniques Applied to Crustacean Aquaculture / Maria Costantini, Roberta Esposito, Serena Federico and Valerio Zupo