Tertiary Level Biology – serie

This text reviews those areas where neurophysiology is relevant to the behaviourist, and it is assumed that the reader already has an introductory knowledge of both animal behaviour and neurophysiology. Throughout, the authors concentrate upon simpler systems which are largely under genetic control. The importance of statistical methods in this area of study is emphasized in the concluding chapter dealing with appropriate methods of statistical analysis. This is a volume in the "Tertiary Level Biology" series.

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN BECAUSE WE FEEL THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR AN up-to-date compact book on cell organelles that transmits the excitement and challenge of modern subcellular biology. We hope that the book will be interesting and useful to students of the biological sciences and medicine, and to those in the teaching professions who do not have ready access to research papers. Since space is at a premium, we have denied ourselves the luxury of a philosophical discussion of the problems of defining organelles. Rather we have chosen to include all those intracellular structures which have limiting membranes and definable compartments. The separate chapters consider nuclei, plastids, mitochondria, microbodies, endoplasmic and sarcoplasmic reticulum, Golgi bodies, lysosomes and various secretory vesicles, including chromaffin granules and synaptic vesicles. Nucleoli, ribosomes, and centrioles are included in the chapter on nuclei. New and exciting information about all these structures has emerged in recent years-for example, the nucleosome, interrupted genes, signal sequences on proteins destined for the bioenergetic organelles, mapping and sequencing of organelle genes, and consolidation of chemiosmosis as a unifying principle in energy transduction. We have outlined as many of these developments as possible and pointed out some areas of controversy. The literature on subcellular biology is so extensive that it would have been easier to have written a separate book on each organelle.

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS OF MICROBIOLOGY IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THAT, during their life cycles, microorganisms exhibit developmental changes in common with other organisms. In the last decade interest in this aspect of microbiology has developed greatly, and research findings have provided an understanding of the genetic, molecular and biochemical bases of development. An important stimulus in this research has been the realis­ ation that microbial development, in its various forms, provides interest­ ing model systems that have relevance to a much wider understanding of the developmental processes in higher eukaryotes. Many undergraduate and other courses in microbiology reflect these developments. Up to now, the only source material for these courses has been symposia publications, or books of a more specialised nature and at an advanced level. The aim in writing this book, which is based on a series of undergraduate lectures given at the University of Nottingham, was to bring together the relevant aspects of the biology of microorganisms, in particular the bacteria and fungi. The algae and protozoa have been excluded, partly because of the limits of space and partly because they are very different from the bacteria and fungi in most aspects of their biology.

The nature and scope of the text The environment in which we live has to a large extent been determined by the activities of innumerable organisms interacting with each other and with their immediate surroundings. From the point of view of the microbiologist, it is obvious that microbial activity has a great part to play in the continuing maintenance of conditions suitable for other forms of life on this planet. There has therefore always been an awareness of the need for a good understanding of how microorganisms react in the environ­ ment, and this has been heightened from time to time as detrimental microbial activities become evident under certain conditions. The need for a good understanding has recently assumed a new importance as the era of microbial manipulation dawns-microbiology has always been a practical discipline, and the possibilities of beneficial modification on a global scale may be within our grasp. The growing interest in environmental microbiology can be gauged from the increase in relevant undergraduate teaching. However, one of the most serious problems confronting the student is the dearth of appropriate texts. In part this is a reflection of the plethora of potential subject matter. The study of the relationships of microorganisms with each other and with their environments-"microbial ecology" -constitutes a subject area which is far from precisely circumscribed, and each researcher or teacher has his own personal notion of which topics are appropriate.

Organized under broad ecological headings, this book provides a representative selection of present knowledge of mammal ecology with examples selected from a wide range of species and from all parts of the world.

Mammalian sociobiology is a rapidly advancing field which has made enormous strides in the last ten years. The last major monograph on the subject (Ewer, 1968) was published sixteen years ago, and there is a need for this information to be examined in terms of modern sociobiological theory. My approach throughout is evolutionary and is therefore directed strongly towards research which throws light on the ways in which mammals behave in their natural environments. I have tried to cover as wide a range of mammalian species as possible, although, in some cases, the only data available were obtained from captive individuals. The coverage of this book is not a reflection of the volume of literature published on different species, as I have tried to avoid undue emphasis on the social behaviour of primates and laboratory rodents. I have made scrupulous efforts throughout to avoid an anthropomorphic approach to mammalian behaviour. Terms such as 'strategy', 'evaluation' or 'choice' do not therefore imply conscious planning, but are used neutrally in the way in which they would be applied to a chess-playing computer. In the case of mammals, the programmer was natural selection. While I am fully aware that human beings are mammals, any detailed consideration of human social behaviour lies outside the scope of this book. However, the book may provide a complementary text to those interested in that subject.

The germination of seeds is a magical event, in which a pinch of dust-like material may give rise to all the power and the beauty of the growing plant. The mechanisms of seed dormancy, of the breaking of seed dormancy and of germination itself continue to remain shrouded in mystery, despite the best efforts of plant scientists. Perhaps we are getting there, but very slowly. This book considers germination and dormancy from the point of view of plant physiology. Plant physiologists attempt to understand the relation­ ship between plant form and function and to explain, in physical and chemical terms, plant growth and development. The place of germination and dormancy in plant ecophysiology is taken into account with attempts to understand the seed in its 'environment, whether the environment be natural, semi-natural or wholly artificial. In due course plant scientists hope to develop a precise understanding of germination and dormancy in cellular and molecular terms, and therefore there is some biochemistry in this book. Biochemists who wish to learn something about seeds should find this book useful.

Studies of marine ecology have traditionally been approached through lectures and field courses devoted mainly to intertidal and inshore habitats, and it is surprising in these days of increased awareness of man's environmental impact that so little attention has been given to integrated approaches involving the whole coastal zone and including the terrestrial part, which is man's major habitat. The coastal zone has been the subject of extensive investigation, not only because of its biological diversity and accessibility, but also because of its economic and aesthetic importance to man. This book is written with the intention of providing a concise but readable account of coastal ecology for advanced undergraduates and immediate postgraduates. We have adopted a habitat-organismal ap­ proach because we believe that a knowledge of biota and major features of their environment is the best key to an understanding of both larger-scale processes, such as energy flow and nutrient cycling, and smaller-scale but equally fundamental processes, such as behavioural and physiological ecology. Examples have been selected from polar, temperate and tropical regions of the world. The breadth of the subject has dictated selectivity from sources too numerous to acknowledge individually, but we have included an up-to-date reference list for the main subjects of each chapter.

Writing a textbook on microbial genetics in about 200 pages was un­ doubtedly a difficult task, but I have been encouraged by the response from both students and lecturers to the first edition. The requirement for a second edition is also a measure of the need for such a book. My experience as a lecturer has shown that what is needed first is an intelligible framework which can be read in a reasonable period of time. Armed with these principles, a student can then go to reviews and the original literature with a reasonable chance of understanding the jargon and the details. Molecular genetics is now so well advanced that it is easy to lose track of the purpose of a set of experiments in the wealth of sequence data and complex interactions. I have therefore kept the same format for this edition with a well-illustrated text giving original papers, popular reviews, monographs and detailed reviews to enable the student to take the subject further as required.

It is now nine years since the first edition appeared and much has changed in marine science during that time. For example, satellites are now routinely used in remote sensing of the ocean surface and hydrothermal vents at sea floor spreading centres have been extensively researched. The second edition has been considerably expanded and reorganised, and many new figures and tables have been included. Every chapter has been carefully updated and many have been rewritten. A new chapter on man's use of the oceans has been included to cover satellites and position fixing, renewable energy sources in the sea, seabed minerals, oil and gas, pollution and maritime law. In this edition we have also referred to a number of original references and review articles so that readers can find their way into the literature more easily. As in the first edition, PSM has been mainly responsible for the text and lIC for the illustrations, although each has responded to advice from the other and also from many colleagues. In this context readers should note that the illustrations form an integral and major part of the book. The text will almost certainly be too concise for many readers if they do not study the illustrations carefully at the same time. The book has been written as an introductory text for students, although it can serve anyone who is beginning a study of the sea.

In the preface to the first edition ofthis book, we expressed a conviction that there was a need for a short book that highlighted important advances in the new discipline of plant molecular biology. The rapid development of this topic has been brought about by the recognition of the unique properties of plants in the study of growth and development together with the application of recombinant DNA techniques to tackle these problems. Plant cells contain DNA in nuclei, plastids and mitochondria, and so offer the unique challenge of studying the interaction of three separate genetic systems in a single organism. The molecular approach has provided, in recent years, a wealth of important information about how plants function, and how they interact with bacteria, fungi and viruses. Furthermore, plant development involves the regulation of gene expression in response to intern al and external signals, and plant molecular biology has provided a fundamental insight into how this development is regulated. This is not only of considerable scientific interest, but also has important implications for the production of plants and plant products in agriculture, horticulture and the food industries.

Cytoskeleton research spans a broad range of scientific disciplines. This book provides an introduction to the subject for those requiring a basic knowlege of cytoskeletal structure, especially with respect to its functional aspects, from the swimming of spermatozoa to the crawling of cultured cells; from the transport of vesicles and organelles along nerve axons to the orderly segregation of chromosomes at mitosis and meiosis. This volume is written for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in cell bioloogy, molecular biology and biochemistry.

Since this book was published in 1978 many advances have been made in our knowledge of the fresh waters of the world, especially in understanding many of the intricate processes involved in their functioning as systems and in countering the problems created by human activities. New problems, many of an international nature, have loomed during this period - of which the acidification of fresh waters in many parts of the world is a notable example. Much has been published concerning the aquatic flora, fauna and ecology of previously poorly known geographic areas, notably Australasia.

This is intended as an introduction for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in marine ecology, freshwater ecology, fish biology, fisheries ecology and aquaculture. It adopts a habitat-based approach, ranging from head waters to ocean depths, and from tropics to polar regions, thereby loosely reflecting the organization of general ecology textbooks and demonstrating how the principles of contemporary ecology can be applied to fishes.

Aims to provide a clear and manageable introduction to the important aspects of solute transport in plants in a way that is accessible to advanced undergraduates and immediate postgraduates. The authors consider the elements of transport at various levels of organization within the plant: intracellular and intercellular, as well as at the level of the whole plant. The book describes what is known of the mechanisms by which solutes cross membrane barriers into and within plant cells, together with the physical principles involved. Specific chapters cover the question of whether movement occurs in the apoplast or symplast, long-distance transport in phloem and xylem, and ion uptake by roots. The book is written for plant physiologists and biochemists, plant biologists and those studying plant breeding and agriculture.

This text covers the physiological and ecological aspects of seed dormancy and germination in a manner suitable for advanced undergraduates. The author considers the relationship between plant form and function and explains, in physical and chemical terms, plant growth and development. The place of germination and dormancy in plant ecophysiology is taken into account, with attempts to understand the seed in its environment, whether the environment be natural, semi-natural or wholly artificial. The experimental basis of the subject is emphasized throughout and the book concludes with suggestions for potential investigators of seed ecophysiology.

The authors have adopted a habitat-organismal approach because they believe that a knowledge of biota and major features of their environment is the best key to an understanding of both larger-scale processes, such as energy flow and nutrient cycling, and smaller-scale but equally fundamental processes, such as behavioural and physiological ecology. Examples have been selected from polar, temperate and tropical regions of the world, and there is an reference list for the main subjects of each chapter. This book should be of interest to advanced undergraduates and immediate postgraduates.

A revision of this introduction to the study of the sea, the second edition has been expanded and reorganized, with many new figures and tables. Every chapter has been updated and many have been rewritten. A new chapter on man's use of the oceans has been included to cover satellites and position fixing, renewable energy sources in the sea, seabed minerals, oil and gas, pollution and maritime law. In this edition, the authors refer to original references and review articles, so that readers can find their way into the literature more easily. The text draws on examples from a wide range of seas.

The second edition of this popular textbook has been substantially revised and updated to take into account the rapid advances in research over the last few years. The authors have retained the basic format, whilst some chapters have been updated and others completely rewritten - this includes new sections on protein targeting, chloroplast DNA, the mitochondrial genome, developmental regulation of gene expression and the latest information on Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and plant viruses. The substantial revision of chapter nine reflects the many new developments in the area of plant genetic engineering. The inclusion of many new diagrams complements the text. This book should be of interest to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in plant physiology and biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and biotechnology.

For the inhabitants of many of the world's major cities and towns, estuaries provide their nearest glimpse of a natural habitat; a habitat which, despite the attempts of man to pollute it or reclaim it, has remained a fascinating insight into a natural world where energy is transformed from sunlight into plant material, and then through the steps of a food chain is converted into a rich food supply for birds and fish. The biologist has become interested in estuaries as areas in which to study the responses of animals and plants to severe environmental gradients. Gradients of salinity for example, and the problems of living in turbid water or a muddy substrate, prevent most animal species from the adjacent sea or rivers from entering estuaries. In spite of these problems, life in estuaries can be very abundant because estuarine mud is a rich food supply which can support a large number of animals with a large total weight and a high annual production. Indeed estuaries have been claimed to be among the most productive natural habitats in the world. When the first edition of this book appeared, biologists were beginning to realise that the estuarine ecosystem was an ideal habitat in which to observe the processes controlling biological productivity.

In the decade since the first edition of this book was published advances have been made in our knowledge of the fresh waters of the world, espe­ cially in understanding many of the processes involved in their functioning as systems and in countering the problems created by human activities. New problems too, many of an international nature, have loomed during this period-of which global warming and the acidification of fresh waters in many parts of the world are notable examples. In addition, much has now been published concerning the aquatic flora, fauna and ecology of previously poorly known geographic areas, notably Australasia. The second edition of this book is a revision which updates the text in the light of recent advances in our knowledge of freshwater biology. Inevitably, in an elementary volume such as this, the treatment of many of the basic principles and processes remains the same. However, several new sections are included covering a range of topics such as acid deposition and the acidification process, bacterial decomposition and aquaculture. The book includes many new references and suggestions for up-to-date reading in particular topics. The objective of the second edition remains the same as that of the first. It is intended as a basic introduction to the major aspects of freshwater biology at a level suitable for undergraduates. It should also prove useful, as apparently did the first edition, to professional workers in related fields, e.g. water engineers and chemists, aquaculturists and planners.

Fishes live in a world that is unfamiliar to us. Although we may make or even more advanced brief visits to this other world using a snorkel, scuba diving equipment, we can never become a part of it. Yet, an understanding of fish ecology requires an awareness of the relationships between fishes and their environment. The purpose of this book is to introduce the ecology of fishes by describing the inter-relationships between fishes and the aquatic habitats they occupy. The book can be read in complementary ways. A sequential reading, chapter by chapter, covers the main themes of ecology, including habitat use, species interactions, migration, feeding, population dynamics and reproduction in relation to the major habitats occupied by fishes. An alternative reading selects a particular sort of habitat, such as rivers, and, by using the index and skipping from chapter to chapter, builds up a picture of the ecology of fishes living in that habitat. The text is written for advanced students. Its emphasis is on descriptive rather than quantitative ecology. It is assumed that the reader will be familiar with the basic biology of fishes, acquired from a text such as The Biology of Fishes (Bone and Marshall, 1982) also published in the Tertiary Level Biology series. I would like to thank Dr J. D. Fish and two anonymous reviewers who, within a tight time-schedule, tried to improve the text. Any mistakes and shortcomings are my contribution.

In the last few years there has been an excltmg upsurge in seabird research. There are several reasons for this. Man's increased ex­ ploitation of natural resources has led to a greater awareness of the potential conflicts with seabirds, and of the use of seabirds to indicate the damage we might be doing to our environment. Many seabird populations have increased dramatically in numbers and so seem more likely to conflict with man, for example through competition for food or transmission of diseases. Oil exploration and production has resulted in major studies of seabird distributions and ecology in relation to oil pollution. The possibility that seabirds may provide information on fish stock biology is now being critically investigated. Some seabird species have suffered serious declines in numbers and require conservation action to be taken to reduce the chances that they will become extinct. This requires an understanding of the factors determining their population size and dynamics.

The Progress in Medical Radiation Physics series presents in-depth reviews of many of the significant developments resulting from the application of physics to medicine. This series is intended to span the gap between research papers published in scientific journals, which tend to lack details, and complete textbooks or theses, which are usually far more detailed than necessary to provide a working knowledge of the subject. Each chapter in this series is designed to provide just enough information to enable readers to both fully understand the development described and apply the technique or concept, if they so desire. Thorough references are provided for those who wish to consider the original literature. In this way, it is hoped that the Progress in Medical Radiation Physics series will be a catalyst encouraging medical physicists to apply new techniques and developments in their daily practice. Colin G. Orton ix Contents 1-1. The Tracking Cobalt Project: From Moving-Beam Therapy to Three-Dimensional Programmed Irradiation W. A. Jennings 1. Introduction 2. Establishing Moving-Beam Techniques at the Royal Northern Hospital, 1945-1955 4 2.1. Alternative Moving-Beam Techniques 4 2.2.

SINCE THE EARLY DAYS OF MICROBIOLOGY IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THAT, during their life cycles, microorganisms exhibit developmental changes in common with other organisms. In the last decade interest in this aspect of microbiology has developed greatly, and research findings have provided an understanding of the genetic, molecular and biochemical bases of development. An important stimulus in this research has been the realis­ ation that microbial development, in its various forms, provides interest­ ing model systems that have relevance to a much wider understanding of the developmental processes in higher eukaryotes. Many undergraduate and other courses in microbiology reflect these developments. Up to now, the only source material for these courses has been symposia publications, or books of a more specialised nature and at an advanced level. The aim in writing this book, which is based on a series of undergraduate lectures given at the University of Nottingham, was to bring together the relevant aspects of the biology of microorganisms, in particular the bacteria and fungi. The algae and protozoa have been excluded, partly because of the limits of space and partly because they are very different from the bacteria and fungi in most aspects of their biology.

Writing a textbook on microbial genetics in about 200 pages was un­ doubtedly a difficult task, but I have been encouraged by the response from both students and lecturers to the first edition. The requirement for a second edition is also a measure of the need for such a book. My experience as a lecturer has shown that what is needed first is an intelligible framework which can be read in a reasonable period of time. Armed with these principles, a student can then go to reviews and the original literature with a reasonable chance of understanding the jargon and the details. Molecular genetics is now so well advanced that it is easy to lose track of the purpose of a set of experiments in the wealth of sequence data and complex interactions. I have therefore kept the same format for this edition with a well-illustrated text giving original papers, popular reviews, monographs and detailed reviews to enable the student to take the subject further as required.

What are plant growth regulators? In the title, and throughout the text, we have adopted this expression to describe a population of endogenous molecules and synthetic compounds of similar structure that are be­ lieved to play important roles in the regulation of plant differentiation and development. For many years, plant scientists have endeavoured to understand the nature and action of plant growth regulators and, as a result, an awesome quantity of written material now exists describing these chemicals and their effects. In this book we have aimed to distil this wealth of information into a more digestible form, and in particular we have focused our attention on a critical appraisal of the literature. The past few years have witnessed a change of emphasis in plant growth regulator research, which has been fuelled by powerful new techniques in molecular and cell biology. Today we can do more than just apply a plant growth regulator and quantify its effects; we have reached an exciting crossroads where plant scientists, molecular bio­ logists and chemists can pool their expertise and apply it to the out­ standing problems in this area. The combination of these three disciplines within the book is clear evidence of this. In keeping with a volume of this size, we have assumed that the reader has a sound knowledge of plant physiology and biochemistry. However, wherever possible, we have highlighted useful reviews which provide background information, along with recent publications that have contributed significantly to the literature.

There is currently great interest in the biology of soil, stimulated by an increased concern to conserve natural resources, not only in agriculture but also in natural ecosystems. Recent developments in molecular biology have increased the possibilities of manipulating soil organisms and the processes they carry out, to improve food production and the quality of the environment. But important environmental questions associated with the application ofthis new biotechnology to soils are still to be resolved. Issues such as the desirability of using genetically-engineered microorganisms in soil can be discussed sensibly only in the light of an understanding of naturally-occurring organisms in soil. Although on a global basis food production continues to increase, man's current relationship with the soil in many parts ofthe world is characterised by decreasing soil fertility and increasing population pressure. Soil Science has an important role to play in the future, helping to solve these problems. Although not all areas of this large and expanding subject are covered in this book, I hope that I have been able to present the principles of soil biology in such a way that will interest the reader.