Sturgeons and Paddlefish of North America
Modern North American sturgeons and paddlefish are the result of 100 million years of evolution. Once an integral part of aboriginal culture, their numbers were decimated by overfishing and habitat destruction during the past two centuries. This book deta
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Fish and Fisheries Series VOLUME 27
The Kluwer Fish and Fisheries Series begins with the new millennium. The volumes in this series will cover topics ranging from the biology of individual species or groups of fishes, to broader concepts in fisheries science, conservation and management. The Series is directed to professionals and researchers in fish biology, senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, and those concerned with commercial production or harvest of fishes. It is difficult to know if this is the best of times or the worst of times for fish and fisheries. For example, many of the historically important marine fisheries are at or very near harvest capacity, according to the best scientific data and predictions. Many of the changes in commercial harvests fit a predictable, depressing pattern. We tend to produce simplified communities, harvested by ever more efficient technology, at increasing rates of exploitation. Some would suggest that nothing can stop the apparently inevitable destruction of all commercially harvested fishes. Fish habitats seem to be increasingly degraded, and the deliberate or accidental introductions of exotic species threaten endemic native fishes. We always do things to the limit of our technology. However, in contrast, we can point to a number of very favourable examples of current success and future promise in fish and fisheries. Our knowledge of the basic biology of fishes continues to expand. We disseminate that knowledge with ever increasing speed to libraries and personal computers around the world. Many fishes are increasingly recognized as fundamentally important subjects for basic research. Studies of the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio, have produced a veritable explosion of fundamental scientific information at major research institutions around the world. Fishes as diverse as arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, and stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, are providing insights and new understanding of the fundamental processes of natural selection and speciation. Science and technology give us a better understanding of the implications of long term climate change for fish populations. We continue to see fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of development, genetics and evolution of fishes on almost a daily basis. Production of fishes through our increasingly sophisticated and efficient aquaculture rivals or exceeds the harvest of wild fishes in many places. Our knowledge and understanding continue to develop to the limits of our science and technology. Science and the promise it holds for us to deal with our questions and concerns about fish and fisheries, is the basis for this Series. The future is certainly not what it used to be. This and forthcoming volumes in the Kluwer Fish and Fisheries Series will define the scientific basis for our future interactions with fishes. It is truly an exciting time.
Dr. David L. G. Noakes Series Editor, Fish and Fisheries Series Professor of Zoology, University of Guelph Guelph, Canada
Sturgeons and Paddlefish of North Ame
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