The reproduction and development of sharks, skates, rays and ratfishes

Leo S. Demski, John P. Wourms (Herausgeber)

Buch | Softcover

301 Seiten

2010 | Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1993
Springer (Verlag)
978-90-481-4330-6 (ISBN)

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This volume had its origin in a symposium on the Reproduction and Development of Cartilaginous Fishes that was held at the annual meetings of the American Elasmobranch Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Charleston, South Carolina in 1990. The cartilaginous fishes, class Chondrichthyes, are a large and diverse group of fishes that include approximately 900 to 1100 living species of sharks, skates, rays and ratfishes. Throughout their history, which dates back at least 400 million years, they have been a successful major component of the marine ecosystem. The chondrichthyan fishes occupy a pivotal position in comparative and evolutionary studies of vertebrate reproduction and development. They are the oldest surviving group of jawed vertebrates and they possess both the adult vertebrate Bauplan and the vertebrate program of embryonic development. The major features of the female reproductive system, including its embryonic origin, structure, physiological function, and biochemistry, apparently were established early in vertebrate evolution and are fully developed in chondrichthyan fishes. These features of the female reproductive system have been retained during the evolution of the other classes of vertebrates. Much the same can be said for the male reproductive system. Moreover, viviparity, placental nourishment of developing embryos, and the hormonal regulation of these events made an initial appearance in this group. The 22 articles presented in this volume bring together a wide variety of complementary research by investigators from seven countries, allowing us to broaden the scope and implications of our studies while identifying opportunities for future research. The appearance of a volume on the reproduction and development of cartilaginous fishes is quite opportune. The continued existence of these fishes, which survived the great extinction events of Earth's history, is nowthreatened by overexploitation unless immediate steps for their conservation are undertaken. Knowledge of their reproduction and development not only is an end in itself, but is of critical importance in devising successful conservation and resource management strategies.

The reproduction and development of sharks, skates, rays and ratfishes: introduction, history, overview, and future prospects.- Fish imagery in art 52: Ellis’ Megamouth shark.- 1. Reproductive ecology and life history.- Geographic variation in reproduction between two populations of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo.- The shark nursery of Bulls Bay, South Carolina, with a review of the shark nurseries of the southeastern coast of the United States.- Age and length at maturity of the female spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias, in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada.- Reproductive biology of the slender smoothhound, Gollum attenuatus, collected from New Zealand waters.- New data on the reproductive biology of the thorny stingray, Dasyatis centroura (Pisces: Dasyatidae) from off the Tunisian coast.- Reproductive biology of the guitarfish, Rhinobatos hynnicephalus.- Reproductive biology of lamnoid sharks.- 2. Structure and function of the reproductive system.- Predation on elasmobranch eggs.- Structure and functions of the genital ducts of the male Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni.- The storage of spermatozoa in the oviducal glands of western North Atlantic sharks.- Stabilization and sclerotization of Raja erinacea egg capsule proteins.- Pre-copulatory behaviour of captive sandtiger sharks, Carcharias taures.- 3. Neural and endocrine control of reproduction.- Serum concentrations of reproductively-related circulating steroid hormones in the free-ranging lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris.- Ovarian steroid synthesis and the hormonal control of the elasmobranch reproductive tract.- Morpho-functional aspects of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis of elasmobranch fishes.- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone in cartilaginous fishes: structure,location, and transport.- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pathways and reproductive control in elasmobranchs.- Clasper control in the round stingray, Urolophus halleri: lower sensorimotor pathways.- 4. Embryonic development and viviparity.- Ionic and osmotic environment of developing elasmobranch embryos.- Yolk utilization in Scyliorhinus canicula, an oviparous dogfish.- Ontogeny of the umbilical cord and placenta in the Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae.- Maximization of evolutionary trends for placental viviparity in the spadenose shark, Scoliodon laticaudus.- 1. Species and subject index.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	5.12.2010
Reihe/Serie	Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes ; 14
Zusatzinfo	3 Illustrations, color; 103 Illustrations, black and white; 301 p. 106 illus., 3 illus. in color.
Verlagsort	Dordrecht
Sprache	englisch
Maße	210 x 279 mm
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
ISBN-10	90-481-4330-6 / 9048143306
ISBN-13	978-90-481-4330-6 / 9789048143306
Zustand	Neuware