The Biology of Pelagic Tunicates

Up-to-date account of the biology of these group of filter-feeding marine animals which are important in geochemical cycling.

Introduction; Chapter 1 - Anatomy of Thaliacea; Chapter 2 - Anatomy of Appendicularia; Chapter 3 - Locomotion, locomotor muscles and buoyancy; Chapter 4 - Nervous system, sense organs and excitable epithelia; Chapter 5 - Feeding and energetics of Thaliaceans; Chapter 6 - The Appendicularian house; Chapter 7 - Salp and pyrosomid blooms and their importance in biogeochemical cycles; Chapter 8 - Feeding and metabolism of appendicularians; Chapter 9 - Life history of the appendicularians; Chapter 10 - The role of appendicularia in marine food webs; Chapter 11 - The parasites and predators of Thaliacea; Chapter 12 - Bioluminescence in the Appendicularia; Chapter 13 - The cladistic biogeography of salps and pyrosomas; Chapter 14 - Appendicularian distribution and zoogeography; Chapter 15 - Molecular phylogeny of tunicates. A preliminary study using 28 Sribosomal RNA partial sequences: implications in terms of evolution and ecology; Chapter 16 - The relationships and systematics of the Thaliacea, with keys for identification; Chapter 17 - The classification of Appendicularia; References; Taxonomic Index; Subject Index