The Ocean Sunfishes
Evolution, Biology and Conservation
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Book Description
The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation is the first book to gather into one comprehensive volume our fundamental knowledge of the world-record holding, charismatic ocean behemoths in the family Molidae. From evolution and phylogeny to biotoxins, biomechanics, parasites, husbandry and popular culture, it outlines recent and future research from leading sunfish experts worldwide This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions. This book provides the essential go-to resource for both lay and academic audiences alike and anyone interested in exploring one of the ocean’s most elusive and captivating group of fishes.
Table of Contents
Julie Packard's Foreword
Evolution and Fossil Record of the Ocean Sunfishes
Giorgio Carnevale, Luca Pellegrino and James C. Tyler
Phylogeny, Taxonomy and Size Records of Ocean Sunfishes
Etsuro Sawai, Marianne Nyegaard and Yusuke Yamanoue
Genetic Insights Regarding the Taxonomy, Phylogeography and Evolution of Ocean Sunfishes (Molidae Tetraodontiformes)
Eric Caldera, Jonathan L. Whitney, Marianne Nyegaard, Enrique Ostalé-Valriberas, Lukas Kubicek and Tierney M. Thys
Overview of the Anatomy of Ocean Sunfishes (Molidae Tetraodontiformes)
Katherine E. Bemis, James C. Tyler, Eric J. Hilton and William E. Bemis
Locomotory Systems and Biomechanics of Ocean Sunfish
Yuuki Y. Watanabe and John Davenport
Reproductive Biology of the Ocean Sunfishes
Kristy Forsgren, Richard S. McBride, Toshiyuki Nakatsubo, Tierney M. Thys, Carol D. Carson, Emilee K. Tholke, Lukas Kubicek and Inga Potter
Ocean Sunfish Larvae: Detections, Identification and Predation
Tierney M. Thys, Marianne Nyegaard, Jonathan L. Whitney, John P. Ryan, Inga Potter, Toshiyuki Nakatsubo, Marko Freese, Lea M. Hellenbrecht, Rachel Kelly, Katsumi Tsukamoto, Gento Shinohara, Tor Mowatt-Larssen and Lukas Kubicek
Movements and Foraging Behavior of Ocean Sunfish
Lara L. Sousa, Itsumi Nakamura and David W. Sims
The Diet and Trophic Role of Ocean Sunfishes
Natasha D. Phillips, Edward C. Pope, Chris Harrod and Jonathan D.R. Houghton
Parasites of the Ocean Sunfishes
Ana E. Ahuir-Baraja
Biotoxins, Trace Elements, and Microplastics in the Ocean Sunfishes (Molidae)
Miguel Baptista, Cátia Figueiredo,Clara Lopes, Pedro Reis Costa, Jessica Dutton, Douglas H. Adams, Rui Rosa and Joana Raimundo
Fisheries Interactions, Distribution Modeling and Conservation Issues of the Ocean Sunfishes
Marianne Nyegaard, Salvador Garcia Barcelona, Natasha D. Phillips and Etsuro Sawai
Sunfish on Display: Husbandry of the Ocean Sunfish Mola mola
Michael J. Howard, Toshiyuki Nakatsubo, João Pedro Correia, Hugo Batista, Núria Baylina, Carlos Taura, Kristina Skands Ydesen and Martin Riis
Ocean Sunfishes and Society
Tierney M. Thys, Marianne Nyegaard and Lukas Kubicek
Unresolved Questions About the Ocean Sunfishes, Molidae—A Family Comprising Some of the World’s Largest Teleosts
Graeme C. Hays, Jonathan D.R. Houghton, Tierney M. Thys, Douglas H. Adams, Ana E. Ahuir-Baraja, Jackie Alvarez, Miguel Baptista, Hugo Batista, Núria Baylina, Katherine E. Bemis, William E. Bemis, Eric Caldera, Giorgio Carnevale, Carol D. Carson, João Pedro Correia, Pedro Reis Costa, Olivia Daly, John Davenport, Jessica Dutton, Lawrence E. Eagling, Cátia Figueiredo, Kristy Forsgren, Marko Freese, Salvador García-Barcelona, Chris Harrod, Alex Hearn, Lea Hellenbrecht, Eric J. Hilton, Michael J. Howard, Rachel Kelly, Lukas Kubicek, Clara Lopes, Tor Mowatt-Larssen, Richard McBride, Itsumi Nakamura, Toshiyuki Nakatsubo, Emily Nixon, Marianne Nyegaard, Enrique Ostalé-Valriberas, Luca Pellegrino, Natasha D. Phillips, Edward C. Pope, Inga Potter, Joana Raimundo, Martin Riis, Rui Rosa, John P. Ryan, Etsuro Sawai, Gento Shinohara, David W. Sims, Lara L. Sousa, Carlos Taura, Emilee Tholke, Katsumi Tsukamoto, James C. Tyler, Yuuki Y. Watanabe, Kevin C. Weng, Jonathan Whitney, Yusuke Yamanoue and Kristina S. Ydesen
Editor(s)
Biography
Dr. Tierney M. Thys is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California USA. She has been captivated by the molids since the 1990s and was a member of the first team to successfully satellite tag Mola mola in the wild. She has research sites in South America and California and runs www.oceansunfish.org and the Adopt a Sunfish Project. Dr. Thys received her B.A. from Brown University and Ph.D. from Duke University.
Dr. Graeme C. Hays is the Alfred Deakin Professor of Marine Science at Deakin University, Australia. He has a long-standing interest in the movements and ecology of marine megafauna, pioneering the use of satellite tracking in the early 1990s, a technique that is now very widely used across studies with marine mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Since encountering ocean sunfish during fieldwork on the west coast of Ireland, he has been fascinated by these extraordinary fish.
Dr. Jonathan D.R. Houghton is a Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology (i.e. Associate Professor) based at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. His lab group focuses on the movement and foraging ecology of pelagic species from leatherback sea turtles, basking sharks and ocean sunfish through to deep oceanic jellyfish. These efforts center on marine conservation across Europe, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the Galápagos Islands.