The crustaceans are ecologically and economically important organisms. They constitute one of the dominant invertebrate groups on earth, particularly within the aquatic realm. Crustaceans include some of the preferred scientific model organism, profitable aquaculture specimen, but also invasive nuisance species threatening native animal communities throughout the world. Chemoreception is the most important sensory modality of crustaceans, acquiring important information about their environment and picking up the chemical signals that mediate communication with conspecifics.
Significant advances have been made in our understanding of crustacean chemical communication during the past decade. This includes knowledge about the identity, production, transfer, reception and behavioral function of chemical signals in selected crustacean groups. While it is well known that chemical communication is an integral part of the behavioral ecology of most living organisms, the intricate ways in which organisms allocate chemicals in communication remains enigmatic. How does the environment influence the evolution of chemical communication? What are the environmental cues that induce production or release of chemicals? How do individuals economize production and utilization of chemicals? What is the importance of molecule specificity or mix of a molecule cocktail in chemical communication? What is the role of chemical cues in multimodal communication? How does the ontogenetic stage, the sex or the physiological status of an individual affect its reaction to chemical cues? Many of these questions still represent important challenges to biologists.
Crustaceans are ecologically and economically important. They are fished and farmed extensively for food and are model organisms for scientific research. However, as invasive species, some crustaceans also threaten native communities world-wide. Social interactions of these primarily aquatic invertebrates are generally mediated through chemicals. Hence, the study of chemical communication by crustaceans is fundamental to understanding their biology and developing strategies to manage and protect them. Research in this area also promises discoveries of new waterborne natural products. This book provides the first comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on crustacean chemical communication. Leading experts review different aspects of chemical communication and share their fascination with their research with the reader. Opening with an overview of the challenges and concepts of crustacean chemical communication research, the book proceeds to explore signal transmission and reception, and neural processing. The behavioral context of chemical communication is reviewed for the best-studied species. Recent advances in the molecular identification of crustacean chemical signals are presented, followed by discussions of their possible applications in aquaculture and management. Additional chapters provide complementary knowledge from other taxa (fish, insects) and topics (multimodal communication, deception, ecotoxicology), highlighting opportunities for future research. The book is richly illustrated and avoids technical jargon, making it accessible to a broad readership including researchers and students of ecology, evolution, behavior, and neurobiology, as well as non-scientists interested in fisheries, aquaculture, and environmental management. “This excellent and comprehensive volume fills a major gap in the field of chemical ecology and behavioral physiology. The editors assembled an outstanding group of expert contributors.” - Bert Hölldobler, ArizonaState University and University of Würzburg “The topics are timely, the reviews current and the approach refreshingly synthetic. I see this book being useful for many years to come to the entire community of aquatic chemical ecologists.” - Peter W. Sorensen, University of Minnesota “The chapters are lucidly written by the outstanding experts in their fields. The book is a must-read for all those interested in the underwater world.” - Jelle Atema, Boston University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ABOUT THE EDITORS Thomas Breithaupt is a lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Hull (UK) where he studies the mechanisms and evolution of chemical communication and orientation in crustaceans and fish. Martin Thiel is professor of Marine Biology at Universidad Católica del Norte in Coquimbo (Chile) where together with his students he uses crustaceans as model organisms to study the evolution of social behavior in the sea.
