© 2000 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
Book Reviews
1 Smithsonian Marine Station, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida 34949 E-mail: pernet{at}sms.si.edu
Reproductive Strategies and Developmental Patterns in Annelids. ADRIAN W. C. DORRESTEIJN AND WILFRIED WESTHEIDE, eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1999. v–xi + 314; hardback $169.00 (ISBN 0-7923-6018-4)
This book represents the proceedings of a meeting held near Osnabruck in 1997, and is intended as an overview of progress made in the field of annelid reproduction and development since a similar (but entirely polychaete-focused) volume was last published (Fischer and Pfannenstiel, 1984)
. Its 18 chapters are for the most part good reviews of aspects of the reproduction of particluar annelid taxa, though a few chapters cover more general issues in annelid reproduction and development. The book is not comprehensive, either taxonomically or topically, but instead simply reflects some currently active areas of research.
Only three chapters focus on clitellate annelids, one on the use of sperm morphology in phylogenetic analyses (Ferraguti and Erseus) and two on embryology (Dohle, Weisblat). Eleven contributions cover aspects of the reproduction of polychaetes. Those that review the reproductive biology of particular polychaete families (syllids, spionids and allies, cirratulids, and pogonophorans) contain a wealth of comparative data, some of it new. Several include extensive tables of life-history data that will be useful for years to come. A sequence of four chapters on nereidid polychaetes is particularly interesting, and summarizes decades of research on sex pheromones (Hardege), the physiology of oogenesis (Hoeger, Rebscher, and Geier), and divergence in reproductive traits in a trio of closely related species (Sato). Olive's chapter on the interaction between commercial polychaete aquaculture and basic science contains a good review of factors controlling reproductive timing in nereidids, as well as the best opening sentence in the book. Rounding out the polychaete offerings are chapters on mating systems in dorvilleids and dinophilids (Sella and Ramella), sperm morphology (Rouse), and settlement of polychaete larvae (Qian).
Other chapters cover the structure and development of nephridia and gonoducts in annelids (Bartolomaeus), some general questions in the evolution of spiralian development (Henry and Martindale), and a very interesting review of some unanswered questions in the reproductive biology of annelids (Fischer). Though the book is about "annelids," its final chapter (Westheide, McHugh, Purschke, and Rouse) makes clear that we do not yet have a good definition of that word. Two major questions are raised in this collation of three different phylogenetic analyses: what taxa belong in the Annelida (e.g., are echiurans annelids), and how are they related to each other (e.g., are clitellates a member of or a sister-taxon to the polychaetes)? Though few definitive answers are to be found here, the fact that several groups are addressing these questions with diverse data and methods is comforting, and it seems certain that we will know much more soon.
While this book is very expensive, it is of fine quality. I was particularly happy with its mostly excellent illustrations. I suspect that it will appeal primarily to annelid specialists, but it will also be of interest as an occasional reference to those with more general interests in animal development and life histories.
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Fischer, A., and H.-D. Pfannenstiel.(eds.) 1984. Polychaete reproduction: progress in comparative reproductive biology. Fortschritte der Zoologie Bd. 29, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart.
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