A Functional Biology of Scyphozoa

Scyphozoa have attracted the attention of many types of people. Naturalists watch their graceful locomotion. Fishermen may dread the swarms which can prevent fishing or eat larval fish. Bathers retreat from the water if they are stung. People from some Asiatic countries eat the medusae. Comparative physiologists examine them as possibly simple models for the functioning of various systems. The present book integrates data from those and other investigations into a functional biology of scyphozoa. It should emphasize the wide range of adaptive responses possible to these morphologically relatively simple animals. This book should be of interest to undergraduate and post-graduate marine biologists.