Evolutionary Ecology of Social and Sexual Systems ― Crustaceans As Model Organisms

Duffy (marine science, College of William and Mary, US) and Thiel (marine biology, U. Catolica del Norte, Chile) present 21 papers that collectively provide an overview of recent research in crustacean sexual and social biology. Following three contributions providing conceptual background on behavioral ecology, evolution of mating systems, and molecular approaches in crustacean evolutionary ecology, the papers are organized into sections on communication, mating and courtship, social systems, and cross-cutting issues. Examples of specific topics include the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on agonistic behavior in freshwater crayfish, chemical communication and social behavior of the lobster Homarus americanus, ecology and evolution of mating behavior in freshwater amphipods, mating strategies in isopods, sperm demand and allocation in decapod crustaceans, hermaphroditism in caridean shrimps, social behavior of parent-offspring groups in crustaceans, sociobiology of terrestrial isopods, the social breeding system of the Jamaican bromeliad crab, ecology and evolution of eusociality in sponge-dwelling shrimp, and anthropogenic stressors and their effects on the behavior of aquatic crustaceans. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)