Adaptations to Terrestrial Environments

The present volume contains selected papers of the International Symposium on Adaptations to Terrestrial Environment, held in Halki diki, Greece from Sept 26th to Oct 2nd, 1982. The meeting was designed to consider the means as weIl as the mechanisms whereby organisms adapt to their environment. The papers presented dealt with a large variety of species from insects up to and including mamrnals. What became apparent during the course of the meeting was the incredible variety of means that organisms use to survive in their particular environmental niche. The ploys utilized are almost as numerous as the number of species investi gated. This will become clearly apparent in the accompanying manu scripts which are published in this book. The Editors allowed the authors of the accepted papers great leeway in terms of the thorough ness of their contributions. Some of the presentations contain exclusively new findings, whereas others extensively review the existing literature. The Volumeis divided into two parts: Invertebrates and Verte brates. The first provides information on adaptations of inverte brat es on environmental stresses (such as low er high temperatures and water deficits) from the physiological and/or biochemical points of view as weIl as behavioral responses resulting from their life strategies and interactions with other organisrns. In the second part papers selected deal with vertebrates. Adaptations to special environmental factors such as light and temperature are discussed as weIl as behavioral, physiological and biochemical solutions to problems imposed.