Fish Physiology: Homeostasis and Toxicology of Non-Essential Metals

Tony Farrell is a graduate of Bath University, where he was fortunate to study with Peter Lutz. His fortunes grew further when he moved in 1974 to Canada and the Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia to complete his Ph.D. degree under the superb tutelage of Dave Randall. In 2004, Tony returned to UBC when he accepted an endowed research chair in Sustainable Aquaculture. In between these positions at UBC, Tony was employed at the University of Southern California (PDF), the University of New Brunswick (sessional lecturer), Mount Allison University (first real job) and Simon Fraser University (moving through the ranks to a full professor). In addition to highly controlled laboratory experiments on fish cardiorespiratory physiology, Tony is committed to working on animals in their own environment. Therefore, his research on fish physiology has taken him on an Alpha Helix expedition to the Amazon, the University of Gothenburg and the Kristineberg Marine Research Station in Sweden, the Portobello Marine Biological Station in New Zealand, the University of Christchurch and Massey University in New Zealand, the Bamfield Marine Science Station and the Huntsman Marine Station in Canada, the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the University of Adelaide Charles and Darwin University in Australia, and to the Danish Arctic Marine Station on Disco Island in Greenland. These travels have allowed him to work and with many superb collaborators word-wide, as well as study the physiology of over 70 different species of fish. Tony has received a number of awards for his scientific contributions: an honorary degree from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden; Awards of Excellence from the American Fisheries Society for Fish Physiology, Conservation and Management; the Fry Medal from the Canadian Society of Zoologists; and the Beverton Medal from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

"This "book" (actually 2 companion volumes) provides a comprehensive and accessible review of trace metal essentiality, effects of deficiency or excess, homeostatic processes, and toxicology in fishes. The chapters and volumes are constructed with a parallel structure that helps comparisons across the different metals. In addition to the core focus, each chapter includes a brief summary of geochemical speciation, environmental concentrations in natural and polluted areas, environmental quality criteria from different countries, uses, and arguments for and against essentiality. The chapters are all authoritative.These 2 volumes are likely to stand for some time as the defining compendium on the homeostasis and toxicology of metals in fish. The publisher lists them as the First Edition. Perhaps when the Second Edition is written, it will be feasible to expand the scope to include comparative information on aquatic organisms other than fish."--Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Volume 8, Number 4, pp. 768-772