About Book

All living things are placed into groups depending on common characteristics. The animal kingdom is informally divided into two groups, the vertebrates and invertebrates. More than 98% of animal species in the world are invertebrates. Invertebrates don’t have an internal skeleton made of bone. Many invertebrates have a fluid-filled, hydrostatic skeleton, like the jelly fish or worm. Others have a hard outer shell, like insects and crustaceans. There are many types of invertebrates. The most common invertebrates include the protozoa, annelids, echinoderms, mollusks and arthropods. On land, invertebrates range from fractions of a millimeter to approximately 150 centimeters in length, though most are less than five centimeters. Their size allows them to occupy large habitats such as deserts and rainforests as well as many microhabitats, which may not be visible to the eye. This book summarizes the diverse worldwide research and investigation into recent developments in invertebrate zoology. This is an effort to understand the advances in the invertebrate’s studies. It deals with marine invertebrates, macroinvertebrates, invertebrate neuronal networks, freshwater invertebrates and invertebrate systems. It also explores benthic macroinvertebrate, environmental health and invertebrates in aquaculture. While understanding the long-term perspectives of the topics, the book makes an effort in highlighting their impact as a modern tool for the growth of the discipline. It is appropriate for students seeking detailed information in this area as well as for experts.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Introductory Chapter: Importance of Plant and Invertebrates in Aquaculture..................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................1

2. Sections of the book.............................................................................2

Conflict of interest................................................................................3

Chapter 2 Functional Analysis of Stream Macroinvertebrates ..........................6

Abstract...................................................................................................6

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................6

2. Functional groups (FFG) and food categories................................8

3. Similar FFG adaptations in different taxa......................................13

4. Benefits of FFG analysis....................................................................15

5. Conclusions..........................................................................................20

Acknowledgements.............................................................................21

Chapter 3 Macroinvertebrates and Fishes as Bioindicators of Stream Water Pollution......................................................................................................24

Abstract.................................................................................................24

1. Introduction..........................................................................................25

2. Indicators of aquatic ecosystem health...........................................26

3. Assessing the ecological integrity of streams................................29

4. Chile: a case study..............................................................................31

5. Effects of agricultural land use on aquatic ecosystems..............32

6. Conclusion............................................................................................35

Acknowledgements.............................................................................35

Chapter 4 Oxidative Stress in Invertebrate Systems...........................................42

Abstract.................................................................................................42

1. Oxidative stress: an introduction.....................................................43

2. Biological factors of oxidative stress in invertebrates.................43

3. Nonbiological factors of oxidative stress in invertebrates..........47

4. ROS production in marine invertebrates.......................................48

5. Antioxidants.........................................................................................50

6. Regulation of defenses against oxidative stress...........................51

7. ROS-dependent biological processes in insects............................52

8. Hormonal regulation of oxidative stress........................................53

9. Summary...............................................................................................54

Chapter 5 ICA Applied to VSD Imaging of Invertebrate Neuronal

Networks.....................................................................................................63

1. Introduction ........................................................................................63

2. Methods ...............................................................................................64

3. Results ..................................................................................................66

4. Conclusions .........................................................................................73

5. Future directions ................................................................................74

6. Acknowledgments .............................................................................74

Chapter 6 Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Water Quality in Running

Waters: 10 Years of Research in Rivers with Different Degrees of

Anthropogenic Impacts...........................................................................77

1. Introduction ........................................................................................77

2. Water quality and anthropogenic impacts ...................................80

3. Biological indicators............................................................................81

4. Case study ...........................................................................................82

Chapter 7 Contribution of X-Ray Spectroscopy to Marine Ecotoxicology:

Trace Metal Bioaccumulation and Detoxification in Marine

Invertebrates.............................................................................................110

1. Introduction ......................................................................................110

2. Trace metal bioaccumulation in marine invertebrates .............112

3. Localization of metals in marine invertebrates .........................115

4. Ecotoxicological significance of metal bioaccumulation ..........125

5. Conclusion .........................................................................................128

6. Acknowledgments ...........................................................................129

Chapter 8 Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities as Indicators of the

Environmental Health of the Cunas River in the High Andes,

Peru.............................................................................................................145

Abstract...............................................................................................145

1. Introduction........................................................................................146

2. Materials and methods....................................................................147

3. Results.................................................................................................149

4. Discussion...........................................................................................156

5. Conclusion..........................................................................................159

Acknowledgements...........................................................................159

Conflict of interest............................................................................159

Authors’ contributions......................................................................159

Chapter 9 Biodiversity and Conservation of Temporary Ponds — Assessment

of the Conservation Status of “Veiga de Ponteliñares” NW Spain

(Natura 2000 Network), Using Freshwater Invertebrates..............164

1. Introduction........................................................................................164

2. Definition and characteristics of temporary ponds....................165

3. Biodiversity of temporary ponds...................................................167

4. Threats.................................................................................................169

5. Case study..........................................................................................170

Acknowledgements...........................................................................188

Citation......................................................................................................197

Index...........................................................................................................199

About Author

Theodore Bennett is an Associate Lecturer at Open Research University, Melbourne. He obtained his Ph.D. in Zoology from University of Science, Wellington. His research interests include anatomy, physiology and life histories of the invertebrates with many details of natural history as well as the usual technical materials on biochemistry, evolutionary schema, and taxonomic keys. Bennett has written numerous research papers, articles, and journals on chordate genomics and deuterostome animals. He has also been an invited speaker at various international conferences across America, Europe and Asia.