The Cnidaria, Past, Present and Future, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2016 The world of Medusa and her sisters

This volume presents a broad panorama of the current status of research of invertebrate animals considered belonging to the phylum Cnidaria, such as hydra, jellyfish, sea anemone, and coral. In this book the Cnidarians are traced from the Earth?s primordial oceans, to their response to the warming and acidifying oceans. Due to the role of corals in the carbon and calcium cycles, various aspects of cnidarian calcification are discussed. The relation of the Cnidaria with Mankind is approached, in accordance with the Editors? philosophy of bridging the artificial schism between science, arts and Humanities.  Cnidarians' encounters with humans result in a broad spectrum of medical emergencies that are reviewed. The final section of the volume is devoted to the role of Hydra and Medusa in mythology and art. 

Part 1 Genesis, Evolution, and Systematics.-1. Emergence and evolution of early life in the geological environment- 2. Integrated evolution of cnidarians and oceanic geochemistry before and during the Cambrian explosion- 3. Origin and early diversification of phylum Cnidaria: key macrofossils from the Ediacaran system of North and South America.- 4 The new systematics of Scleractinia: integrating molecular and morphological evidence- 5 Ceriantharia in current systematics: life cycles, morphology and genetics- 6 Origin and evolution of the nervous system considered from the diffuse nervous system of cnidarians. -Part 2 Zoogeography.- 7 Zoogeography of Hydrozoa: past, present and a look to the future. -8 Diversity and distribution of Octocorallia.-9 Diversity and distribution of Actiniaria. -10 Cnidarian alien species in expansion. -Part 3 Calcification.-11 Calcification in the Cnidaria through time: an overview of their skeletal patterns from individual to evolutionary viewpoints. -12 A non-traditional stable isotope perspective on coral calcification. -13 Influences of coral intra-skeletal organic matrix on calcium carbonate precipitation. -14 From molecules to morphologies, a multiscale modeling approach to unravel the complex system of coral calcification. -Part 4 Reproduction and Population Ecology.-15 Reproduction of sea anemones and other hexacorals. -16 Sexual reproduction in stony corals and insight into the evolution of oogenesis in Cnidaria. -17 Sexual reproduction of Mediterranean scleractinian corals. -18 Brooding corals: planulation patterns, larval behavior, and recruitment dynamics in the face of environmental change. -19 Larval dispersal and population connectivity in anthozoans. -20 Population dynamics of temperate corals in a changing climate. -Part 5 Symbiosis. -21 Microbial interactions on coral surfaces and within the coral holobiont. -22 Association of coral-microbes, and the ecological roles of microbial symbionts in corals. -23 From one to many: the population genetics of cnidarian-Symbiodinium symbioses. -24 General ecological aspects of the Anthozoa -Symbiodinium interactions in the Mediterranean Sea. -25 Cnidarians and their polychaete symbionts. -26 Cassiopea and its zooxanthellae. -27 Sea anemones and anemonefish: a match made in heaven. -Part 6 Immune system. -28 Cnidarian immunity: from genomes to phenomes. -Part 7 Photobiology and Circadian Clock.-29 Corals and light: from energy source to deadly threat. -30 The photobiology of Symbiodinium spp.: linking physiological diversity to the implications of stress and resilience. -31 Current understanding of the circadian clock within Cnidaria. -Part 8 Global Climate Change. -32 Survey of cnidarian gene expression profiles in response to environmental stressors; summarizing 20 years of research, where are we heading for?. -33 Thermal-stress response of coral communities to climate change. Robert van Woesik*, C. Cacciapaglia, C. J. Randall, Florida Institute of Technology, USA.- 34 Ecological and evolutionary considerations regarding corals in a rapidly changing environment. -35 The impact of climate change and the environment on coral growth. -36 Cold-water corals in an era of rapid global change: are these the deep ocean’s most vulnerable ecosystems?.-Part 9 Medical Aspects and Applications.- 37 Unusual cnidarian envenomations. -38 Envenomation by cnidarians and renal injuries. -39 Cubozoan envenomations: clinical features, pathophysiology and management. -40 The role of Cnidaria in drug discovery. -41 How venom from the magnificent sea anemone, Heteractis magnifica, kills breast and lung cancer cells. -42 Leveraging nematocysts toward human care. -43 Coral scaffolds in bone tissue engineering and bone regeneration. -Part 10 Management and Conservation.- 44 Population genetic structure of Corallium rubrum in the Mediterranean Sea: diversity, phylogeography, and bathymetric patterns. -45 Molecular forensics into the sea: how molecular markers can help to struggle against poaching and illegal trade in precious corals? .- 6 Advances in management of precious corals to address unsustainable and destructive harvest techniques. -47 Conservation and restoration of coral reefs under climate change: strategies and practice. -Part 11 In Myth and Art.- 48 The myth of the Lernaean Hydra.-49 The myth of Medusa: Benvenuto Cellini and the Loggia de Lanzi in Florence.-50 Medusa and Perseus, and the relationship between myth and science. -51 Beheading the Gorgon: myth, symbolism and appropriation. 

Dr. Stefano Goffredo is consolidating his career. His scientific initiative promises to lead marine biology towards integrative interdisciplinary syntheses. By extensive collaborations with leaders in different fields, such as physics, chemistry, computational science and photobiology SG developed multidisciplinary methodologies attacking the questions identified by his field studies with novel laboratory tools. In his research, SG has developed original aspects in the interpretation of growth and population data,population dynamics, reproductive biology and conservation monitoring. Recently, he has expanded his interests to the biomineralization in relation to environmental parameters. 

Prof. Emeritus Zvy Dubinsky of the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences studies the response of the photosynthetic apparatus of microalgae to the intensity and spectral composition of underwater irradiance and nutrient concentration. Dubinsky and his team focus on three systems – Phytoplankton in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and Lake Kinneret; Zooxanthellae living as endosymbionts in reef building corals; and algal mass cultures for the production of biodiesel and fine chemicals.

unique, topical, multi-level, interdisciplinary coverage of Cnidaria

the reader through the earliest evolution of the taxon and the ramification of

Explores the Cnidaria genesis, evolution and systematics, its zoogeography, calcification, reproduction, symbiosis, photobiology, and global climate change, and gives insight in its immune system, medical aspects

Looks at the molecular and genomic make-up; ecology and physiology; use in jewelry; invasion of human imagination in art and myth

Bridges artificial schism between science, arts and Humanities