Shrimps

Most people know decapod shrimps as a tasty, nutritious food, but this book looks at them as animals. Shrimps vary enormously in size, shape, coloration, behavior and natural history. They are also important to people and ecosystems: shrimp fisheries and aquaculture are a vital part of the economy in the USA and worldwide, and these crustaceans are key parts of the food webs of marine and freshwater habitats.

The book brings together what is known about shrimp taxonomic and ecological diversity, anatomy and how it functions, antifouling adaptations, and coloration and camouflage. It also covers reproductive biology, sexual systems, mating systems and behavior, life history strategies, symbioses with other organisms, fisheries and aquaculture, and the evolution and phylogeny of shrimps. Every chapter takes an adaptational and evolutionary perspective. The author raises important open questions about shrimp biology and proposes hypotheses for future research to test, and adds personal anecdotes and observations from his own research.

The book is meant as a comprehensive, go-to reference on shrimp biology. Its science is rigorous, but it is written for a varied readership. Zoologists, aquatic biologists, fisheries and aquaculture professionals, and early-career or established researchers will find it useful, as will amateur naturalists, aquarium hobbyists and interested general readers.

Figures and diagrams illustrate the text throughout. Numerous color plates, made up of photographs contributed by expert colleagues, show the world of shrimps in vivid detail.