Physiological Ecology of Pacific Salmon

Among the most important resources for the countries bordering on the North Pacific Ocean, the seven species of Pacific salmon exhibit a wide range of life history patterns, both among and within the species, which involve diverse ways of exploiting freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. As their enrivonments are increasingly threatened, it is crucial that fisheries biologists understand these adaptations in order to know the limits of the environmental factors within which populations of Pacific salmon can be perpetuated. It is equally important that physiologists take into consideration the diversity of salmon stocks adapted to specific habitats, so that appropriate environmental stimuli are provided when a particular stock is studied in the laboratory. This book contains essays, written by several experts in the field, addressing the most important aspects of the physiological ecology of Pacific salmon.