The Cnidaria, Past, Present and Future: The world of Medusa and her sisters

Front Matter....Pages i-xx
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Emergence and Evolution of Early Life in the Geological Environment....Pages 3-13
Integrated Evolution of Cnidarians and Oceanic Geochemistry Before and During the Cambrian Explosion....Pages 15-29
Origin and Early Diversification of Phylum Cnidaria: Key Macrofossils from the Ediacaran System of North and South America....Pages 31-40
The New Systematics of Scleractinia: Integrating Molecular and Morphological Evidence....Pages 41-59
Ceriantharia in Current Systematics: Life Cycles, Morphology and Genetics....Pages 61-72
Origin and Evolution of the Nervous System Considered from the Diffuse Nervous System of Cnidarians....Pages 73-91
Front Matter....Pages 93-93
Zoogeography of Hydrozoa: Past, Present and a Look to the Future....Pages 95-107
Diversity and Distribution of Octocorallia....Pages 109-123
Diversity and Distribution of Actiniaria....Pages 125-138
Cnidarian Alien Species in Expansion....Pages 139-160
Front Matter....Pages 161-161
Calcification in the Cnidaria Through Time: An Overview of Their Skeletal Patterns from Individual to Evolutionary Viewpoints....Pages 163-179
A Non-traditional Stable Isotope Perspective on Coral Calcification....Pages 181-205
Influences of Coral Intra-skeletal Organic Matrix on Calcium Carbonate Precipitation....Pages 207-222
From Molecules to Morphologies, a Multiscale Modeling Approach to Unravel the Complex System of Coral Calcification....Pages 223-236
Front Matter....Pages 237-237
Reproduction of Sea Anemones and Other Hexacorals....Pages 239-248
Sexual Reproduction in Stony Corals and Insight into the Evolution of Oogenesis in Cnidaria....Pages 249-268
Sexual Reproduction of Mediterranean Scleractinian Corals....Pages 269-278
Brooding Corals: Planulation Patterns, Larval Behavior, and Recruitment Dynamics in the Face of Environmental Change....Pages 279-289
Larval Dispersal and Population Connectivity in Anthozoans....Pages 291-315
Population Dynamics of Temperate Corals in a Changing Climate....Pages 317-328
Front Matter....Pages 329-329
Microbial Interactions on Coral Surfaces and Within the Coral Holobiont....Pages 331-346
Association of Coral-Microbes, and the Ecological Roles of Microbial Symbionts in Corals....Pages 347-357
From One to Many: The Population Genetics of Cnidarian-Symbiodinium Symbioses....Pages 359-373
General Ecological Aspects of Anthozoan-Symbiodinium Interactions in the Mediterranean Sea....Pages 375-386
Cnidarians and Their Polychaete Symbionts....Pages 387-413
Sea Anemones and Anemonefish: A Match Made in Heaven....Pages 415-423
Front Matter....Pages 425-438
Cnidarian Immunity: From Genomes to Phenomes....Pages 439-439
Front Matter....Pages 441-466
Corals and Light: From Energy Source to Deadly Threat....Pages 467-467
The Photobiology of Symbiodinium spp.: Linking Physiological Diversity to the Implications of Stress and Resilience....Pages 469-487
Current Understanding of the Circadian Clock Within Cnidaria....Pages 489-509
Front Matter....Pages 511-520
Survey of Cnidarian Gene Expression Profiles in Response to Environmental Stressors: Summarizing 20 Years of Research, What Are We Heading for?....Pages 521-521
Thermal-Stress Response of Coral Communities to Climate Change....Pages 523-543
Ecological and Evolutionary Considerations Regarding Corals in a Rapidly Changing Environment....Pages 545-552
The Impact of Climate Change and the Environment on Coral Growth....Pages 553-576
Cold-Water Corals in an Era of Rapid Global Change: Are These the Deep Ocean’s Most Vulnerable Ecosystems?....Pages 577-591
Front Matter....Pages 593-606
Unusual Cnidarian Envenomations....Pages 607-607
Envenomation by Cnidarians and Renal Injuries....Pages 609-622
Cubozoan Envenomations: Clinical Features, Pathophysiology and Management....Pages 623-635
The Role of Cnidaria in Drug Discovery....Pages 637-652
Front Matter....Pages 653-668
How Venom from the Magnificent Sea Anemone, Heteractis magnifica, Kills Breast and Lung Cancer Cells....Pages 607-607
Leveraging Nematocysts Toward Human Care....Pages 669-681
Coral Scaffolds in Bone Tissue Engineering and Bone Regeneration....Pages 683-690
Front Matter....Pages 691-714
Population Genetic Structure of Corallium rubrum in the Mediterranean Sea: Diversity, Phylogeography, and Bathymetric Patterns....Pages 715-715
Molecular Forensics into the Sea: How Molecular Markers Can Help to Struggle Against Poaching and Illegal Trade in Precious Corals?....Pages 717-728
Advances in Management of Precious Corals to Address Unsustainable and Destructive Harvest Techniques....Pages 729-745
Conservation and Restoration of Coral Reefs Under Climate Change: Strategies and Practice....Pages 747-786
Front Matter....Pages 787-792
The Myth of the Lernaean Hydra....Pages 793-793
The Myth of Medusa: Benvenuto Cellini and the “Loggia de’ Lanzi” in Florence....Pages 795-803
Medusa and Perseus, and the Relationship Between Myth and Science....Pages 805-814
Beheading the Gorgon: Myth, Symbolism and Appropriation....Pages 815-821
Back Matter....Pages 823-834
....Pages 835-855