Bücher der Reihe Monographiae Biologicae

This book is the third in aseries of publications devoted to the biogeographieal and ecological research in the Southern Hemisphere, published in the "e;Monographiae Biologicae"e;. After dealing with Australia (vol. VIII) and Southern Africa (Vol. XIV) it was thought essential to include Antarctiea in this series. Ever since the expedition of the "e;Belgiea"e; made the first suc- cessful wintering within the antarctie circle in 1898 and brought back a very rieh harvest of scientific data, Belgium kept a vivid interest in Antarctiea and took an active part in the modern and international exploration of this vast continent. As part of their programs for the International Geophysieal Year (I. G. Y. ) twelve nations established permanent or semi-permanent bases on the Antarctie Continent or on subantarctie islands. Thus a new era of vast and free international scientific collaboration in the Antarctie was opened and it culminated in the formulation and the signing of the Antarctic Treaty (Washington 1959). It was recognized and accepted that "e;Antarctiea"e; shall be used for peaceful purposes only and "e;Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctiea and coopera- tion toward that end, as applied during the I. G. Y. , shall continue . . "e; In order to organize this collaboration e. g. by full exchange of programs and resuIts a "e;Special Committee on Antarctie Research"e; (S. C. A. R. ) was founded in 1957.

Lake Titicaca, because of its area and volume and its situation at high attitude within the tropics, is a unique hydrological site in the world. It should be noted that it stands at the transition point between two very distinct geographical regions: the desert fringe of the Pacific coast to the west and the great Amazonian forest extending to the Atlantic coast to the east. Many scientists have been attracted to the lake in the past because of its unusual limnological features. In this book the editors have compiled an exhaustive review of current knowledge from the existing literature and from the results of more recent observations. It is certain that this book will become the essential reference work for scientists wanting to make progress in revealing the lake's secrets. It can be stated unequivocally that this work constitutes a complete review of the present state of knowledge on Lake Titicaca and that it provides the latest results of research on this habitat.

Radiochemical methodology constitutes the most important base for the successful functioning of a PET group in the routine production and development of radiopharmaceuticals. Of the several hundred products which have been labelled with positron emitters during the past two decades about 35 are presently considered to be of major interest. The time for a state-of-the-art review is right, since this field has advanced over the past fifteen years to reach a level where guidelines can now be suggested. Chapters of this book deal with each of the main methodological aspects of the chemistry needed to develop an effective radiopharmaceutical, namely radionuclide production, automation and metabolite analysis. A further chapter on QA/QC is written by a broadly-based expert group and is meant to provide a guideline and a base for future monographs and regulations on major PET radiopharmaceuticals of today. This book will help the increasing numbers of scientists who are now entering the field of PET to appreciate the methodological aspects that are normally addressed by chemists in relation to PET radiopharmaceuticals; it provides many useful practical guidelines and will promote early success in their own endeavours, since these will often necessarily begin by establishing chemical methodology of the kind discussed here.

Understanding the biogeography of Australia requires knowledge of both existing and former environments. The existing environment is discussed elsewhere in the volume but a few salient points should be reiterated. Three-quarters of Australia is either arid or semi-arid and even much of the better-watered fringes has long dry seasons. Vast stretches of ocean separate it from other land masses except in the north where New Guinea and Indonesia form 'stepping stones' to and from Asia. It is also a low continent with over 99% of its area below 1000 m; even the highest summits barely exceed 2000 m. Since most of the surface has undergone prolonged weath­ ering, poor soils are the rule. The impact of man on the landscape has been less than in more densely settled continents. Aboriginal man has inhabited the continent for 40,000 years or more but agriculture and stock rearing have operated for less than two centuries and the present rural population is sparse. Large parts of the dry interior are not occupied although they are affected to some extent by introduced feral animals.

The book is divided into three parts whereby the first part is devoted to several groups of aquatic organisms which are under-studied in terms of the dormancy's role in the life cycle.

This volume merges all geographical and paleogeographical data on all groups of the arachnofauna. Furthermore, amongst other topics the volume also includes chapters on the systems of arachnida, fossil orders, dispersal and dispersion, endemics and relicts, regional arachnogeography, cave and high altitude arachnida.

This, the fourth of six volumes that review the hypotrichs, a major group of the spirotrichs, covers the Gonostomatidae, the Kahliellidae, and a number of further taxa of unknown position in the hypotrichs. The book collates data from a vast array of sources.

2 In China, there are more than 2,759 lakes with surface area greater than 1km , and 2 the total lake area is 91,019km . Lake Taihu is the third largest freshwater lake in China, with an area of about 2 2338km and a mean depth of 1.

The book is divided into three parts whereby the first part is devoted to several groups of aquatic organisms which are under-studied in terms of the dormancy's role in the life cycle.

This book synthesises the historical trends of the lake fisheries, the lake ecology, biology and biodiversity, socio-economics, stock assessment, aquaculture, fish quality assurance, environmental quality and management of the fisheries resources.

How many marine species are there in Costa Rica? Recent estimates of the numbers of species on coral reefs range from 1-9 million, so that the true number of marine species in Costa Rica is certainly far higher. Indeed the task of describing marine species is daunting - if there really are about 9 million marine species and Costa Rica has 3.

This volume merges all geographical and paleogeographical data on all groups of the arachnofauna. Furthermore, amongst other topics the volume also includes chapters on the systems of arachnida, fossil orders, dispersal and dispersion, endemics and relicts, regional arachnogeography, cave and high altitude arachnida.

What have we learnt about the Nile since the mid-1970s, the moment when Julian Rzoska decided that the time had come to publish a comprehensive volume about the biology, and the geological and cultural history of that great river?

This book synthesises the historical trends of the lake fisheries, the lake ecology, biology and biodiversity, socio-economics, stock assessment, aquaculture, fish quality assurance, environmental quality and management of the fisheries resources.

How many marine species are there in Costa Rica? Recent estimates of the numbers of species on coral reefs range from 1-9 million, so that the true number of marine species in Costa Rica is certainly far higher. Indeed the task of describing marine species is daunting - if there really are about 9 million marine species and Costa Rica has 3.

2 In China, there are more than 2,759 lakes with surface area greater than 1km , and 2 the total lake area is 91,019km . Lake Taihu is the third largest freshwater lake in China, with an area of about 2 2338km and a mean depth of 1.

The present monograph carefully revises the taxonomy, nomenclature, and ecology of all nominal species of spathidiids and shows that spathidiid diversity has been greatly underestimated.

With 'Biogeography and Ecology in South America' as the general theme, a total of twenty-nine contributions by thirty authors is offered here in two volumes, being volumes 18 and 19 of the Monographiae Biologicae.