In Remarkable Shrimps, Raymond T. Bauer explores the evolution, natural history, biological diversity, and commercial importance of caridean shrimps--a fascinating and colorful group of aquatic organisms that inhabit freshwater and marine environments from the tropics to the poles.
The biological diversity of carideans encompasses a remarkable array of adaptations in body form and function, coloration, breeding biology, and mating behavior. Carideans' important grooming and antifouling adaptations are examined in detail, and Bauer discusses the structural basis of their coloration, the role of color change in concealment, and other forms of camouflage. Reproductive biology and sexual systems, including hermaphroditism and sex change, are reviewed, and Bauer provides evidence for sex pheromones in the attraction of males to females. Seasonal, latitudinal, and depth variation in life history patterns are also analyzed.
The symbiotic relationships of shrimps with invertebrates such as corals, sea anemones, and sea urchins and also with fishes are fascinating phenomena of marine ecosystems. Different views on the ancestry and evolutionary history of carideans are evaluated as a stimulus for further work. The status of caridean fisheries and aquaculture is appraised, and shrimp productivity is explained in terms of life history adaptations.
Profiling each of the nearly thirty families of caridean shrimps, Bauer writes in an informal style that is nevertheless rich with precise and useful references. Over one hundred figures and 11 plates with 70 color and half-tone photographs accompany the text.
Extensive fieldwork is showcased in life history studies on shrimps, employing both behavioral observations using time-lapse video and experimental work to test hypotheses on mating strategies.