Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae

Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae, Second Edition provides the most comprehensive presentation of all marine larval forms. Marine invertebrate larvae pass through the most common developmental pathway in the animal kingdom and are observed within the largest habitat on planet Earth. Our understanding of biological diversity would be quite incomplete without careful study and presentation of the critical life-history stages of marine invertebrate animals. This book covers the origins and history of the marine larval science, contemporary state-of-the-art approaches to larval development and biology, and the highest-quality images and schematics showing the broadest diversity of marine larvae in the animal tree of life. This book illustrates a wide diversity of larval body plans, the anatomy of their organ systems (muscular, sensory, digestive) including distinct ciliation patterns that facilitate swimming, and the complex metamorphic changes they undergo between different larval forms and growth stages. Each chapter contains numerous In-text references that direct readers to both historical and contemporary research on the forms, functions, behaviors and biogeographical distributions of marine larvae. Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae, Second Edition is a valuable and foundational resource for biologists across various disciplines, including biodiversity, biogeography, and developmental biology. Ecologists, taxonomists, oceanographers, and environmental scientists also benefit from the complete coverage of marine larval forms offered by this book. Additionally, the broad scope and phyletic coverage of marine biodiversity presented in this atlas is ideal for students in oceanography and marine biology, animal development, biological oceanography and invertebrate zoology. Covers every major marine invertebrate clade within the MetazoaIncludes an expanded introductory chapter on the biology, ecology and roles of larvae in marine food webs and the movements of marine invertebrate species within the world’s oceans Provides complete updates to each chapter, including condensed, comparative background information on taxon-specific development and life-history patternsFeatures detailed anatomical schematics and drawings, accompanied by compound, confocal and scanning electron micrographs for multiple recognized clades within each phylum