The Biology and Ecology of Tintinnid Ciliates Models for Marine Plankton

Planktonicprotistsbothproduceandconsumemostoftheprimaryproductionintheworldocean.Theynotonlyplaykeyrolesintheoceansbutalsorepresentanastoundingamountofdiversity:ecologicalmorphologicalandgenetic.However,formosttaxatheirecology,morphology,phylogenyandbiogeographyareeitherpoorlyknownorappeartobelargelyunrelatedtooneanother;thishindersourunderstandingoftheirbiologyaswellasinterpretationofemerginggeneticdata.Tintinnidciliatesrepresentasingularexception.Comparedtonearlyallothergroupsofplanktonicprotists,thereisaverysubstantialandrelativelydetailedliterature(bothmodernandhistorical)ontintinnids.Thisvolumesynthesizesknowledgeconcerningawidevarietyoftopicsrangingfromanatomyandsystematics,physiology,behavior,ecology(includingecologicalroles,predators,parasites,biogeography,andcysts)tofossilhistory.ItwillappealtoanaudiencerangingfromadvancedundergraduatestoresearchersinthefieldsofOceanography,MarineBiologyandMicrobialEcology.