Frontiers in Invertebrate Physiology A Collection of Reviews

This new 3-volume set provides informative reviews on the physiology of sponges, cnidarians, round and flat worms, annelids, echinoderms, and crustaceans, advancing our knowledge of the physiology of these major invertebrate groups (Phyla). Invertebrates exhibit the largest number of species and occupy virtually every conceivable ecological niche. They are economically important in food chains, they recycle organic waste, and they are crucial pollinators of plants and sources of food. They are also medically important as parasites that cause major diseases of both humans and livestock.

Volume 1 focuses on non-bilaterian phyla; Volume 2 looks at crustacea; and Volume 3 discusses annelida and echinodermata.

Volume 1 looks at non-bilaterian (sponges, cnidarians, placozoans). The focus on sponge biology has recently been on symbiosis, nutrient uptake, and sensory biology. The research on cnidarians primarily has been on biomineralization, the nervous system, and development as well as neuropeptide biology of placozoans involved in feeding and neuropeptides in cnidarians.

Chapters on crustacean physiology are grouped in Volume 2 and cover diverse physiological topics ranging from moulting, respiration, water balance, biomineralization, bioreceptors, and temperature regulation to the land adaptation of terrestrial crustaceans. The chapters are comprehensive and add new knowledge to crustacean biology.

Echinoderm and annelid are covered in Volume 3. The volume looks at temporary adhesion and regeneration as two important areas in echinoderm biology. It includes an important review of juxtaligamental cells, which may regulate the mechanical properties of connective tissue. Annelid physiology is discussed (neurobiology of locomotion in leeches, regeneration, reproduction) as is neuro-endocrine-immune response.

The information provided here will advance the knowledge of invertebrate physiology and will serve as an important resource for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers/professionals.

Saber Saleuddin, PhD, is a University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His research on biomineralization in mollusks started at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada and continued at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, in the laboratory of Karl Wilbur. Though offered a teaching position at Duke University, he accepted a faculty position at York University, where he taught for nearly forty years. His outstanding contributions in teaching, research, and administration were recognized by York University in awarding him a university professorship. He has published extensively in international journals and co-edited seven books on molluscan physiology, including several published by Apple Academic Press. He served as co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Zoology for 18 years and was president of the Canadian Society of Zoologists, from whom he received a Distinguished Service Medal. He was chair of the Department of Biology, acting Dean of Research, and Chair of the Senate of York University. He received his early education in Bangladesh and his doctorate from the University of Reading in the UK.

Sally P. Leys, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. She held a Commander C. Bellairs Postdoctoral Fellowship from McGill University, Canada, for postdoctoral research in Barbados (1997) and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship from 1998–2000 with which she worked both at the University Aix Marseille, France, and the University of Queensland, Australia. She won an NSERC Women’s University Research Award in 2000 and was Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. In 2002 Dr. Leys became a Canada Research Chair Tier II in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology at the University of Alberta. Professor Leys’ research interests broadly concern understanding the origin of multicellularity in metazoans, and more specifically the cellular and molecular characteristics of representative groups of non-bilaterian animals (sponges, ctenophores, placozoans, and cnidarians). Most of her work centers on studies on sponges, and she is a world expert on many aspects of sponge biology, but in particular on the physiology, ecology and cell biology of glass sponges. Dr. Leys has authored over 100 journal articles, book chapters and advisory reports. She has supervised many graduate students. She is presently a member of the Council of Ocean Networks Canada and was the President of the Canadian Society of Zoologists from 2020-2021. She obtained her BSc from the University of British Columbia (1990) and PhD from the University of Victoria under George Mackie in 1996, for which she received the Canadian Society of Zoologists Cameron Award in 1997.

Robert Roer, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He joined the faculty at UNCW in 1979 and was promoted to the rank of professor in 1990. Dr. Roer served as Dean of the Graduate School and Research and Chief Research Officer at UNCW from 2002 to 2012. He was the recipient of UNCW’s first Graduate Mentor Award and of the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. He retired from the faculty in 2016. Dr. Roer is a member of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB), the Society of Sigma Xi, The Crustacean Society, and Phi Kappa Phi. He served as Treasurer of SICB and President of the NC Conference of Graduate Schools. He was on the executive board of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools. Dr. Roer conducted research principally in the fields of biomineralization and ion transport and is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters. His research was funded by grants from NSF, NOAA, NASA, NC Sea Grant, and other state and national agencies. He received his ScB in Aquatic Biology from Brown University in 1974 and his PhD in Zoology from Duke University in 1979.

Iain Wilkie, PhD, is an Affiliate Researcher in the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow Scotland. He held a faculty position at Glasgow Caledonian University for over 30 years. He retired from there as Head of Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in 2008 in order to pursue his research interests, which are echinoderm physiology and functional morphology, invertebrate matrix biology, and the physiology and mechanics of animal detachment mechanisms. He has published over 90 papers and, is on the editorial board of Zoomorphology and is Chief Editor of The Glasgow Naturalist. In 2006 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology by the University of Milan, Italy. He was recently in receipt of a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship. Dr. Wilkie earned a BSc and PhD in Zoology from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.