REVIEWS

D. J. G. GRIFFIN& H. A. TRANTER,1986. The Brachyura of the Siboga Expedition, Part 8: Majidae. Siboga-Expeditie Monographic 39, C4 (= Livr. 148), pp. 1-335, text-figs. 1- 112, pls. 1-22. Leiden, E. J. Brill. Price 184 Dutch guilders (= ca. $ 90.-) excl. tax and postage.

The present work not only covers all spider collected during the Siboga expedition (1899), but also gives a review of all the species from the Indo-West Pacific area (except for the genera Macrocheiraand Pyromaia,which the authors consider very well revised by the late Sakai). This keeps up the tradition of the Siboga monographs, which usually revise or list all the species of the group dealt with or only the Indo-West Pacific forms. Of the 237 species (96 from the Siboga expedition) discusscd extensive descriptions or remarks are provided, most of these illustrated. In the discussions of 18 doubtful or insufficiently known genera the authors mention another 25 species reported for the area covered. Keys to the species and higher taxa are provided and make this work still more useful. The whole work is well executed and superbly illustrated. A disadvantage in my opinion is the large format of the book, but this is true of all the Siboga monographs. An advantage of the present volume is, however, that the text is given in two columns, which makes the whole more pleasant to the eye. The narnes of the authors are sufficient guarantee for the excellent quality of the work. Of course in a work like this little inaccuracies cannot be avoided, but they do not detract in the least from the great merit of this publication. So, for instance, a new species, Docleasimeti, is described, but it was already described earlier under the name Docleacanaliformis by Lovett in his "A guide to the shrimps, prawns, lobsters, and crabs of Malaysia and Singapore" (1981). However, Lovett only figured the species and did not give an explicit description, although the characters can be deduced from the key. Griffin & 'Tranter were most probably unaware of this publication, as they do not summarize it in their list of references. This book is without any doubt one of the most important works available on Indo-Pacific spider . H. P. WAGNER

A. P. GUPTA(ed.), 1986. Hemocytic and humoral immunity in : xii, 1-535, text- figs. and pls., systematic index and subject index. (John Wiley & Sons, New York, etc.) ISBN 0-471-82812-2. Bound. Price £ 57.50.

For an arthropodologist with no matter what speciality, Prof. Gupta does not need an intro- duction. This recognition thus characterizes this well-known entomologist with the rare capacity to overview the group of the Arthropoda as a whole and with the breadth of interest to cover various subdisciplines of biology. The present volume was compiled by him in three years, with the cooperation of many individuals, institutions, and publishers and with the contributions of 31 specialists in hematology and immunology. It presents a remarkable blend of a broad over- sight of the actual state-of-the-art of the field of immunology on the one hand, and many primary data, published here as new, on the other. The book comprises three sections: (1) Hemocytic immunity, (2) Humoral immunity, and (3) Techniques and biomedical applications. The first part discusses, inter alia, the immunologic functions of phagocytosis, encapsulation, and nodule formation in major arthropod groups as well as the functional analogy of arthropod immunocytes with the B- and T-lymfocytes and macrophages of vertebrates. In this section, Gupta himself addresses ques- 222 tions upon (ultra-)structure, function, classification, and nomenclature of arthropod immunocytes. Highly relevant subjects, as there appears to be by no means anything of a general consensus as yet about the morphological description and classification of these cells in the Arthropoda. The part on Humoral immunity presents recent information on synthesis and types of arthropod agglutinins and their specificities and functions, and this includes the polyphenoloxidase system. The last section deals with techniques for detection of membrane receptors by arthropod agglutinins and with biomedical applications, i.e., primarily medical tests based on Limuluslysate. Particularly in this last field further innovations are to be expected, once detailed data on more representatives of various higher arthropod groups will become available. Though most of the papers comprised in this volume relate directly or indirectly to crusta- ceans, two contributions specifically deal with this group. These are both by G. A. Amirante, viz.: "Cellular immune responses in " and "Agglutinins and lectins of Crustacea: their composition, synthesis, and functions". Obviously, this primarily is a book for immunologists and hematologists but it certainly presents compulsory literature for many arthropodologists working in other fields as well. This goes especially for physiologists, of course, but also those working in the biological control of pests or arthropod-borne diseases should become familiar with the defense reactions their opponents are capable of producing. Moreover, the subtle bloodtests that may be developed based on arthropod material look promising and are certainly worth serious investigations. As Gupta remarks, when compared to vertebrate hematology the arthropod branch of the field is still in the stone age. I'd say it was, just until this volume made up a starting block allow- ing arthropod hematology and immunology the potential of a giant leap forward in the decades to come. J. C. VONVAUPEL KLEIN

S. SKRESLET(ed.), 1986. The role of freshwater outflow in coastal marine ecosystems: 1-453 (NATO ASI Series G (Ecological Sciences), 7; Springer Verlag, Berlin, New York, etc.). ISBN 0-387-16089-2 (U.S.A.) or ISBN 3-540-16089-2 (F. R. Germany). Price DM 198.00 (approx. U.S. $ 95.00) hardcover bound.

This seventh volume in the NATO ASI Series G presents the proceedings of a workshop held in Bodo, Norway, in May 1985. A selected group of specialists (34 participants, all originating from countries with North-Atlantic coastlines) then investigated the results of various combined effects of freshwater outflows on ecosystems in the adjoining marine environment. Their con- tributions arc comprised in 30 papers, two of which represent group reports, one a summary of recommendations for further, joint international research. Abiotic effects examined include, i.a., the outflow of rivers and their brackish plumes in coastal sea waters, direct run-off of rainwater, mixing in general and exchange processes in estuaries, the fate of dissolved minerals and organogene compounds, and the status of ambient oxygen concentrations. Studies based on empirical data figure just as well as papers reporting on computerized simulation modeling. Next, both direct and indirect impacts on individual populations as well as on complete communities have been studied and arc being reported upon: the whole range of neritic, benthic, planktonic, and near-shelf pelagic organisms c.q. com- munities has been taken into consideration. Also, the secondary effects of temperature, seasonal cycle, boundary layers, and, e.g., the rate of deposition as depending on or influencing the primary phenomena, have been taken into account. Next to the intrinsic importance of the questions addressed, the scope of freshwater outflow influence in the marine realm immediately affects man-induced regulation of surface water systems, viz., through inflicting on the large scale processes, both in time and space, which con- nect distant biocenoses. Though not all effects of altering freshwater movements are as yet fully understood within the context of complex marine transport systems or food webs, the rate at which such artificial modifications are being executed at present, dictates the need for a variety