Almost three decades after the publication of the first edition, this book remains the only published single-volume work on fish physiology. The fifth edition is an important reference for new students of fish biology, marine and freshwater biologists, ichthyologists, and comparative physiologists.
Building on the success of its four predecessor volumes, the fifth edition of The Physiology of Fishes presents an outstanding collection of seventeen reviews of how fishes "work" (to use the felicitous term favored by Knut Schmidt-Nielson). This new edition of the long-running series, which originated in 1993, again provides a one-volume assemblage of what we should know about the biology of fishes, the most speciose group of vertebrates (34,000 species identified so far). Drs. Currie and Evans have done a masterful job of selecting topics, include both familiar, long-standing ones like respiration, temperature, and iono-regulation, and newer ones like epigenetics. The authors selected to pen these reviews are well-chosen and include many younger, rising stars in fish physiology. The format and illustrations of the chapters make them user-friendly and most inviting to read. For "fish people" like myself, there is no better single-volume source of information on our favorite group of organisms. This new edition of the classic series should be on all of our bookshelves!
George N. Somero, David and Lucile Packard Emeritus Professor of Marine Science, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, USA
This book, written by the top of modern comparative fish physiologists, offers an integrative and comprehensive overview of how fish function in the environment in which they live. It covers the past, present and future of our research, from evolution and phylogeny to epigenetics. For undergraduate students it gives a complete overview of the fishes' systems biology; for the graduate students it gives the necessary details on the latest developments in their field as well as an up-to-date review of literature, and for researchers and professionals from either applied or fundamental fields, it gives the integrative overview they need to interpret and frame their findings. It is an excellent desk reference for when you quickly need to check something, for teaching or research, or to read up on something that is not in the core of your field. Anyone working with fish, young or old, would find this book a fascinating and interesting read.
Gudrun De Boeck, Lecturer in Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Perfect for newcomers to fish biology as well as a reference for experts in the field, this new edition of The Physiology of Fishes is an engaging introduction to a variety of subjects from taxonomy to locomotion. Providing important updates to fish physiology topics such as epigenetics and the microbiome, this book also serves as a concise compilation of the basics of "what it means to be a fish". The 5th edition is sure to be found on the desks and shelves of students and scientists around the world!
Carol Bucking, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada
