Invertebrate Zoology

This one-semester undergraduate text offers a new approach to the biology and evolution of invertebrate animals. First, it emphasizes the function, physiology, and reproductive biology, rather than the more traditional comparative anatomy approach. Second, the accounts of the biology of the phyla are contemporary and dynamic and include recent advances in the cladistic analysis of invertebrate taxonomy. Phylogenetic relationship among the invertebrate phyla are then drawn together in a concluding chapter which sets out the changes in approach to phylogenetic questions resulting from recent studies in cladistics and molecular biology. Although a multi-authored work, Invertebrate Zoology has been fully integrated under editorial guidance to achieve a unified presentation which combines readability with almost 200 illustrations, making it a useful teaching tool for both the teacher and the students. Plus the text brings the subject of invertebrate biology to life in the context of modern advances in the biological sciences.