front cover -- table of contents -- front matter -- Contributors -- Preface -- body -- 1 Tropical Environment -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Tropical Marine Environments -- Tropical Freshwater Environments -- World Fish Distribution -- Global Climate Changes -- Chapter 1 The Future -- Chapter 1 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 References -- 2 Diversity of Tropical Fishes -- Chapter 2 Introduction -- What is Diversity? -- The Evolutionary Implications of Salt Tolerance in Freshwater Fishes -- The Importance of Phylogenetic Information for Comparative Studies -- Freshwater Tropical Fishes -- Marine Tropical Fishes -- Chapter 2 Conclusions -- Chapter 2 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 2 References -- 3 The Growth of Tropical Fishes -- Chapter 3 Introduction -- The Variation Between Habitats and Populations -- Seasonality in Growth -- Chapter 3 References -- 4 Biological Rhythms -- Chapter 4 Introduction -- Basic Concepts in Chronobiology -- Activity Rhythms -- Social Organization -- Reproduction -- Migration -- Evolution of Circadian Rhythmicity and Cave Fishes -- Chapter 4 Future Directions -- Chapter 4 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 4 References -- 5 Feeding Plasticity and Nutritional Physiology in Tropical Fishes -- Food and Feeding -- Morphology and Physiology of Digestive Tract -- Nutrient Requirements -- Environmental Conditions and Fish Foraging Impact on Ecosystem -- Chapter 5 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 5 References -- 6 The Cardiorespiratory System in Tropical Fishes: Structure, Function, and Control -- Chapter 6 Introduction -- Respiratory Strategies -- Respiratory Organs -- Ventilatory Mechanisms (Pumps) -- Circulatory Patterns -- Cardiac Pumps -- Cardiorespiratory Control -- Chapter 6 References -- 7 Oxygen Transfer -- Chapter 7 Introduction -- Gas Exchange Organs: Diversity in Structure and Function -- Transport of Oxygen.

Environmental Effects on Oxygen Transport -- Contaminant Effects on Oxygen Transport -- Chapter 7 Concluding Remarks -- Chapter 7 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 7 References -- 8 Nitrogen Excretion And Defense Against Ammonia Toxicity -- Chapter 8 Introduction -- Effects of Environmental pH or Temperature on Ammonia Toxicity -- Mechanism of Ammonia Toxicity -- Defense Against Ammonia Toxicity at the Branchial and Epithelial Surfaces -- Defense Against Ammonia Toxicity at the Cellular and Sub-Cellular Levels -- Accumulation of Nitrogenous End-Products for Osmoregulation -- Chapter 8 Summary -- Chapter 8 References -- 9 Ionoregulation in Tropical Fishes from Ion-Poor, Acidic Blackwaters -- Chapter 9 Introduction -- General Mechanisms of Ion Regulation in Freshwater Fishes -- Effects of Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters on Model Teleosts -- Effects of Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters on North American Acidophilic Teleosts -- Adaptation to Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters in Rio Negro Teleosts -- Adaptation to Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters in Rio Negro Elasmobranchs -- The Role of Organic Matter in Adaptation of Fish to Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters -- Ammonia Excretion in Ion-Poor, Acidic Waters in Rio Negro Teleosts -- Chapter 9 Future Directions -- Chapter 9 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 9 References -- 10 Metabolic and Physiological Adjustments to Low Oxygen and High Temperature in Fishes of the Amazon -- Chapter 10 Introduction -- Environmental Challenges -- Effects of Temperature on Fish Metabolism -- Enzyme Levels Reflect the Natural History of Fish -- Fuel Preferences in Tropical Versus Temperate Fishes -- Relative Amount of Red Muscle in Fish and its Adaptive Role -- Oxygen Deprivation and its Consequences in Amazon Fishes -- The LDH Gene Family as a Study Model: Regulatory and Structural Changes and Their Evolutionary Adaptive Roles -- What the Future Holds -- Chapter 10 Acknowledgments.

Chapter 10 References -- 11 Physiological Adaptations of Fishes to Tropical Intertidal Environments -- Chapter 11 Introduction -- Respiratory Adaptations -- Physiological and Molecular Adaptations to Elevated Temperatures -- Osmoregulation -- Ammonia Tolerance -- Sulfide Tolerance -- Reproduction -- Chapter 11 Future Studies -- Chapter 11 Conclusions -- Chapter 11 Acknowledgments -- Chapter 11 References -- 12 Hypoxia Tolerance in Coral Reef Fishes -- Chapter 12 Introduction -- The Epaulette Shark: A Hypoxia-Tolerant Tropical Elasmobranch -- Widespread Hypoxia Tolerance in Coral Reef Fishes -- Chapter 12 Conclusions -- Chapter 12 References -- index -- back matter -- Other Volumes in the Fish Physiology Series.