Biology of the Three-Spined Stickleback

Sara Ostlund-Nilsson editor Ian Mayer editor Felicity Anne Huntingford editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Inc

Published:15th Dec '06

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Biology of the Three-Spined Stickleback cover

Highlighting the growing importance of the sticklebacks as a model species in emerging fields such as molecular genetics, genomics, and environmental toxicology, Biology of the Three-Spined Stickleback examines data from researchers who use studies of the stickleback to address a wide range of biological issues. This state-of-the-art volume is the first comprehensive review of the biological research on this important fish in more than a decade.

The book presents current knowledge on the geographic and genetic variation of the ubiquitous three-spined stickleback and explores the possibility of any subdivision within currently recognized stickleback species. It provides a summary of important new molecular tools available, and how these tools can be used to study the genetic architecture and molecular basis of evolutionary change in different stickleback populations around the world. The book also lays out their physiology, historical factors, geographic distribution, and describes the features of their biology that seem to promote rapid speciation. It covers reproductive behavior in chronological order, and the mechanisms and selection pressures behind the activities that sticklebacks perform during the different phases of the breeding season.

Full of cutting-edge data, the book discusses the umwelt of the three-spine stickleback, with particular reference to how that world interacts with and shapes intraspecific communication during the breeding season. It covers developments in stickleback reproductive physiology from 1991 onward and summarizes studies performed — mainly within the fields of behavioral ecology and physiology — on some of the less-studied stickleback species. The book touches on the biology, in particular the behavioral ecology, of the 15-spined stickleback. Emphasizing the importance of the sticklebacks to a variety of disciplines, this book presents information that is both extensive and authoritative.

“… introduce(s) 11 contributed chapters that examine the dramatic structural and behavioral differences in naturally isolated stickleback populations in light of the latest genetic mapping studies. …”
— In Book News Inc., June 2007

"Biology of the Three-Spined Stickleback includes a good selection of important topics and some well-conceived and well-written reviews."

– Michael A. Bell, Ecology & Evolution, Stony Brook University, in The Quarterly Review of Biology, June 2008, Vol. 83, No. 2

ISBN: 9780849332197

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 703g

404 pages