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Behaviour of teleost fishes, 2nd edition
BOOK REVIEWS
363
of culture, especially channel catfish, carp, rainbow trout, and Atlantic and Pacific salmon, seems to overwhelm that on marine fishes. Fewer pages are devoted to Arctic char because a feed for other salmon species can be used, and to Brazilian fin&h whose culture has only recently commenced. Thus, readers will note tremendous differences in advancement and importance of nutritional study for culture of fishes. I regretted the lack of a chapter on red seabream which has been actively cultured in Japan, Korea, China, and Southeast Asian countries. I cannot understand why it is omitted, for its importance is shown by high production (52 thousand tons in 1990, in Japan alone) and not a few scientific papers on this species. Most books already published on fish nutrition are devoted to much more basic study focussed on each nutrient per se, whereas this book describes the requirements of each fish species individually from a practical viewpoint, and is easily understandable for fish farmers too. I would highly recommend the book not only to students and researchers but also to aquaculturists who are interested in fish feed. TOSHIO AKIYAMA
National Research Institute ofAquaculture, Tamaki, Me 5 I9-04, Japan
AQUA 20056 FISH BEHAVIOUR
Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, 2nd Edition. Tony J. Pitcher (Editor). Fish and Fisheries Series 7, Chapman and Hall, London, xx+ 715 pp., 1993, price E29.95 (soft back), ISBN 0412-42940-3. This volume succeeds the first edition, published by Croom Helm in 1986, and joins T.J. Pitcher’s valuable edited series on Fish and Fisheries. The second edition closely follows the chapter headings and arrangement of the first edition, with the addition of four authors (raising the number from 2 1 to 25) brought in to augment the authorship of chapters 1,4 and 12. There are four parts - the genetic basis of fish behaviour (Chapters l-3 ), sensory modalities (Chapters 4-7 ) , behavioural ecology (Chapters 8- 17 ) and, rather strangely named, applied fish behaviour (Chapters 18- 19). The question is: how much new material and new thought is contained within the second edition and how much has happened in this field of research in the last seven years? The editor suggests that the heavy corpus of behavioural re-
364
BOOK REVIEWS
search in the 1970s and early 1980s has matured in subsequent years and this is reflected in his authors’ greater ability to synthesise concepts and hypotheses. Further, a great deal of new fundamental work has been undertaken on fish in the fields of development and molecular biology. There is no doubt that there is an increasing awareness of the need for fish to optimise reproductive success. There are “conflicts” of metabolic requirements vs. growth and activity vs. inertia. Optimal foraging and reproductive strategies are closely linked. Fast growth reduces the spectrum of predators but some species opt (reproductively) for many small offspring rather than few large ones. We are beginning to understand the mechanisms of mortality and survival, many of which are based on behaviour during the early phases of growth and recruitment. The first chapter on the genetic basis of fish behaviour (R.G. Danzmann, M.M. Ferguson and D.L.G. Noakes) is especially useful in bringing the general ichthyologist up-to-date in this fast-moving field. Chapters 2 and 3 on the motivational basis of fish behaviour (P. Colgan) and development of behaviour (F.A. Huntingford) have much less new to say. The latter rightly reiterates her view that the classifying of behaviour into instinct and learning is old-fashioned and can stultify research. The part of the book on sensory modalities (vision - D.M. Guthrie and W.R.A. Muntz; sound - A.D. Hawkins; olfaction - T. J. Hara; lateral line - H. Bleckmann) breaks little new ground, apart from the last author. The chapter on vision is disappointing in explaining the visual environment of fishes and the relevant functional anatomy of the eye, although the other chapters are better at setting the sensory “scene” for the rest of the book. The longest part of the book, on behavioural ecology, covers foraging (P.J.B. Hart), predation risk and feeding (M. Milinski), mating behaviour (G.F. Turner), parental care (R.C. Sargent and M.R. Gross), shoaling (T.J. Pitcher and J.K. Parrish), individual differences ( A.E.Magurran), behaviour by day, night and twilight (G.S. Helfman), intertidal life (R.N. Gibson), sticklebacks (G.F. Fitzgerald and R.J. Wootton) and cave dwelling (J. Parzefall) . The volume finishes with a chapter on behaviour and fishing gear (C.S. Wardle) and the management of freshwater fisheries (K. O’Hara). The authors vary greatly in how conscientious they have been in revising their chapters. Some have made little, if any, attempt to up-date them. Some, it has to be admitted, are describing behavioural research that is moving forward slowly. Two chapters can be picked out for special praise (partly on the basis of new thinking). These are the chapters of Hart and of Pitcher and Parrish (clearly the editor was setting a good example). Although the second edition is considerably longer than the first, it is most disappointing to record that there is no chapter on vertical and horizontal migration. The great beauty of such a chapter would be the opportunity to bring together so many aspects of sensory physiology and behaviour, giving a
BOOK REVIEWS
365
chance to bring an extra degree of coherence into the book. Most of the authors have been idiosyncratic in writing their chapters - giving extra (and sometimes undue) emphasis to their own work or interests. This is a natural and egoistical fault of most scientists. Tony Pitcher has made a great effort to bring together different parts of the book by cross referencing and introductions at the beginning and to each part of the book, but there is, nevertheless, an underlying bittiness about it. There is a lack of emphasis on the fact that behaviour is complex and dependent on both simultaneously acting and successive trains of stimuli. There is also a very strong impression of how little behaviour research is field-based. That must be a criticism for correction in the future. The standard of production is high and the book relatively free of errors, for which the ubiquitous Chuck Hollingworth surely deserves credit. The author index is strange, referring only to the reference lists, but the other indexes are useful and comprehensive. At its price the book is excellent value and, although much of the work is somewhat remote from the nitty-gritty world of aquaculture, it must be a useful work of reference for ichthyologists of almost any persuasion. J.H.S. BLAXTER SAM?, P.O. Box 3 Oban Argyll PA 24 4AD, UK
AQUA 20057 EEL CULTURE
Eel culture, 2nd Edition. Atsushi Usui. Fishing New Books, 199 1, 148 pp.,
price E29.50, ISBN O-85238-1 82-4. This volume is an update of the first edition which was published in 1974. The book provides a very broad and general overview of eel farming in Japan and is a blend of science and practical farming advice. There are 19 chapters ranging from an overview of the taxonomy of eels, to marketing, site selection, feeding, feeding, diseases and parasites, water quality control, still and running water culture methods, and cooking eels, amongst others. While the individual chapters make for some interesting reading, they unfortunately lack substance. It is unfortunate that the author has therefore not provided a more detailed bibliography which the reader could refer to. The literature list that is provided is also lacking in many aspects. For example, I was surprised that the treatise on eels by Wilhelm Tesch is not mentioned in the bibliography.
363
of culture, especially channel catfish, carp, rainbow trout, and Atlantic and Pacific salmon, seems to overwhelm that on marine fishes. Fewer pages are devoted to Arctic char because a feed for other salmon species can be used, and to Brazilian fin&h whose culture has only recently commenced. Thus, readers will note tremendous differences in advancement and importance of nutritional study for culture of fishes. I regretted the lack of a chapter on red seabream which has been actively cultured in Japan, Korea, China, and Southeast Asian countries. I cannot understand why it is omitted, for its importance is shown by high production (52 thousand tons in 1990, in Japan alone) and not a few scientific papers on this species. Most books already published on fish nutrition are devoted to much more basic study focussed on each nutrient per se, whereas this book describes the requirements of each fish species individually from a practical viewpoint, and is easily understandable for fish farmers too. I would highly recommend the book not only to students and researchers but also to aquaculturists who are interested in fish feed. TOSHIO AKIYAMA
National Research Institute ofAquaculture, Tamaki, Me 5 I9-04, Japan
AQUA 20056 FISH BEHAVIOUR
Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, 2nd Edition. Tony J. Pitcher (Editor). Fish and Fisheries Series 7, Chapman and Hall, London, xx+ 715 pp., 1993, price E29.95 (soft back), ISBN 0412-42940-3. This volume succeeds the first edition, published by Croom Helm in 1986, and joins T.J. Pitcher’s valuable edited series on Fish and Fisheries. The second edition closely follows the chapter headings and arrangement of the first edition, with the addition of four authors (raising the number from 2 1 to 25) brought in to augment the authorship of chapters 1,4 and 12. There are four parts - the genetic basis of fish behaviour (Chapters l-3 ), sensory modalities (Chapters 4-7 ) , behavioural ecology (Chapters 8- 17 ) and, rather strangely named, applied fish behaviour (Chapters 18- 19). The question is: how much new material and new thought is contained within the second edition and how much has happened in this field of research in the last seven years? The editor suggests that the heavy corpus of behavioural re-
364
BOOK REVIEWS
search in the 1970s and early 1980s has matured in subsequent years and this is reflected in his authors’ greater ability to synthesise concepts and hypotheses. Further, a great deal of new fundamental work has been undertaken on fish in the fields of development and molecular biology. There is no doubt that there is an increasing awareness of the need for fish to optimise reproductive success. There are “conflicts” of metabolic requirements vs. growth and activity vs. inertia. Optimal foraging and reproductive strategies are closely linked. Fast growth reduces the spectrum of predators but some species opt (reproductively) for many small offspring rather than few large ones. We are beginning to understand the mechanisms of mortality and survival, many of which are based on behaviour during the early phases of growth and recruitment. The first chapter on the genetic basis of fish behaviour (R.G. Danzmann, M.M. Ferguson and D.L.G. Noakes) is especially useful in bringing the general ichthyologist up-to-date in this fast-moving field. Chapters 2 and 3 on the motivational basis of fish behaviour (P. Colgan) and development of behaviour (F.A. Huntingford) have much less new to say. The latter rightly reiterates her view that the classifying of behaviour into instinct and learning is old-fashioned and can stultify research. The part of the book on sensory modalities (vision - D.M. Guthrie and W.R.A. Muntz; sound - A.D. Hawkins; olfaction - T. J. Hara; lateral line - H. Bleckmann) breaks little new ground, apart from the last author. The chapter on vision is disappointing in explaining the visual environment of fishes and the relevant functional anatomy of the eye, although the other chapters are better at setting the sensory “scene” for the rest of the book. The longest part of the book, on behavioural ecology, covers foraging (P.J.B. Hart), predation risk and feeding (M. Milinski), mating behaviour (G.F. Turner), parental care (R.C. Sargent and M.R. Gross), shoaling (T.J. Pitcher and J.K. Parrish), individual differences ( A.E.Magurran), behaviour by day, night and twilight (G.S. Helfman), intertidal life (R.N. Gibson), sticklebacks (G.F. Fitzgerald and R.J. Wootton) and cave dwelling (J. Parzefall) . The volume finishes with a chapter on behaviour and fishing gear (C.S. Wardle) and the management of freshwater fisheries (K. O’Hara). The authors vary greatly in how conscientious they have been in revising their chapters. Some have made little, if any, attempt to up-date them. Some, it has to be admitted, are describing behavioural research that is moving forward slowly. Two chapters can be picked out for special praise (partly on the basis of new thinking). These are the chapters of Hart and of Pitcher and Parrish (clearly the editor was setting a good example). Although the second edition is considerably longer than the first, it is most disappointing to record that there is no chapter on vertical and horizontal migration. The great beauty of such a chapter would be the opportunity to bring together so many aspects of sensory physiology and behaviour, giving a
BOOK REVIEWS
365
chance to bring an extra degree of coherence into the book. Most of the authors have been idiosyncratic in writing their chapters - giving extra (and sometimes undue) emphasis to their own work or interests. This is a natural and egoistical fault of most scientists. Tony Pitcher has made a great effort to bring together different parts of the book by cross referencing and introductions at the beginning and to each part of the book, but there is, nevertheless, an underlying bittiness about it. There is a lack of emphasis on the fact that behaviour is complex and dependent on both simultaneously acting and successive trains of stimuli. There is also a very strong impression of how little behaviour research is field-based. That must be a criticism for correction in the future. The standard of production is high and the book relatively free of errors, for which the ubiquitous Chuck Hollingworth surely deserves credit. The author index is strange, referring only to the reference lists, but the other indexes are useful and comprehensive. At its price the book is excellent value and, although much of the work is somewhat remote from the nitty-gritty world of aquaculture, it must be a useful work of reference for ichthyologists of almost any persuasion. J.H.S. BLAXTER SAM?, P.O. Box 3 Oban Argyll PA 24 4AD, UK
AQUA 20057 EEL CULTURE
Eel culture, 2nd Edition. Atsushi Usui. Fishing New Books, 199 1, 148 pp.,
price E29.50, ISBN O-85238-1 82-4. This volume is an update of the first edition which was published in 1974. The book provides a very broad and general overview of eel farming in Japan and is a blend of science and practical farming advice. There are 19 chapters ranging from an overview of the taxonomy of eels, to marketing, site selection, feeding, feeding, diseases and parasites, water quality control, still and running water culture methods, and cooking eels, amongst others. While the individual chapters make for some interesting reading, they unfortunately lack substance. It is unfortunate that the author has therefore not provided a more detailed bibliography which the reader could refer to. The literature list that is provided is also lacking in many aspects. For example, I was surprised that the treatise on eels by Wilhelm Tesch is not mentioned in the bibliography.