This unique book offers a comprehensive guide to the fascinating world of polystomatid flatworms. It introduces the reader to the individual life histories of polystomes and the chronological advances in our knowledge, with descriptions of species discovered over the past centuries. It equips newcomers to the field with basic protocols and techniques for collecting, processing and interpreting material. It also presents the history of research on this group of parasites, provides information on the discovery of each polystome and acknowledges the authors that have made major contributions. For the established researcher in the field, it offers a reference book containing taxonomic data, measurements and drawings of all known polystomes. The authors have brought together all the available material, creating a resource that will stimulate research and revive the global focus on this unique group of parasites. Thus, this work provides an essential reference for both established researchers and newcomers to the field.

Fossil Parasites, the latest edition in the Advances in Parasitology series established in 1963, contains comprehensive and up-to-date reviews on all areas of interest in contemporary parasitology, including medical studies of parasites of major influence, such as plasmodium falciparum and trypanosomes. The series also contains reviews of more traditional areas, such as zoology, taxonomy, and life history, which help to shape current thinking and applications. Parasitism is a dominant life history strategy and we know it has existed for millions of years. Detecting parasitism in the fossil record is problematic because we rarely see direct evidence and usually must rely on indirect evidence to infer its existence. This unique volume takes a broad and systematic view of direct and indirect evidence for parasitism in the fossil record. - Expert contributors providing timely reviews of different aspects of palaeoparasitology - Comprehensive treatments of taxonomic groups never before summarized - Comprehensive coverage of important historical and recent advances in the field - New avenues for research are explored and suggested

Mapping phylogenetics on geographical scales is one of the most important scientific aspects of bioscience research. Changes in the environment have evidently shaped the geographical distribution of organisms on land and in the oceans seen today. Overexploitation of key species has caused not only changes in the distribution and diversity of organisms and composition of the ecosystems, but is also leading to species extinction at accelerating rates. It is our duty as scientists to find ways of protecting the species endangered with extinction and preventing other species from entering the endangered stage. To manage this effectively, we need to map species distribution, understand life-history traits, define genetic variation within species and populations, identify lineages - especially at the molecular level - and correlate the historical, phylogenetic components with the spatial distributions of gene lineages. In this book, phylogenetics and phylogeography of a diverse range of organisms are reviewed: from microorganisms causing gastroenteritis in humans, fishes in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and spiders of the western Indian Ocean, to mountain tapirs in South America and birch tree species of the Arctic tundra.

Turbellaria, the mainly free-living flatworms, and some of their parasitic relatives, are among the simplest of the metazoa and, as such, provide ideal models for a wide range of fundamental studies. The 60 contributions to Biology of Turbellaria and some Related Flatworms cover taxonomy and phylogeny, biogeography and genetics, ecology and behaviour, Anatomy and ultrastructure, development and regeneration, genes and sequences, and neurophysiology. Biology of Turbellaria and some Related Flatworms is the most recent compilation in the series published in Hydrobiologia since 1981, covering research on these flatworms assembled by the world's leading authorities on the group. Audience: These papers present the advanced student and serious researcher with up to date information on an important, but often neglected group whose place in the animal kingdom demands greater attention.

Parasites experience two environments; one reflecting external conditions, the other created by the living host. The subjects of this volume are relevant to evolution, ecology, physiology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and phylogenetic analysis. Papers review familiar and unfamiliar extreme physical conditions from low temperatures and desiccation to the powerful water currents faced by some fish parasites. The environment created by the host and parasite adaptation to host immunity is covered in several papers, including immune evasion, host-switching and the effect of parasites on the evolution of immunity.

In Parasitism, Claude Combes explores the fascinating adaptations parasites have developed through their intimate interactions with their hosts. He begins with the biology of parasites—their life cycles, habitats, and different types of associations with their hosts. Next he discusses genetic interactions between hosts and parasites, and he ends with a section on the community ecology of parasites and their role in the evolution of their hosts. Throughout the book Combes enlivens his discussion with a wealth of concrete examples of host-parasite interactions.

This second edition provides a comprehensive review of the facts and trends in veterinarian and human parasitology. Several internationally renowned specialists have been added to the authors of the first edition, and the whole is now organised in an encyclopedic arrangement of comprehensive keywords, thus speeding up the search for information.

This collection of articles, edited by D. W. Halton, is the specially commissioned supplement to the journal Parasitology, volume 113.