1st Edition

The Ocean Sunfishes Evolution, Biology and Conservation

    310 Pages 16 Color & 100 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    310 Pages 16 Color & 100 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    310 Pages 16 Color & 100 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    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This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions.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.

    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

    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.