topics occupies the second volume. As anignoramus when it comes to our mostimportant star, the Sun, I was fascinated bythe status of solar physics. Nine separateessays cover virtually everything recentlylearned about the physics of the Sun, its interior, and how its outer layers and atmos-phere interact with its environment.

It might seem as if the planets are not sowell treated, as there are only eight essaysconcerned with planetary research. How-ever, these essays are comprehensive and well designed; they give the reader an inter-esting tour of the current state of planetaryscience. There are also three excellent pieceson comets.

In addition to four flavours of index —for acronyms, citations, names and subjects— the back of the second volume includestwo appendices that deserve to be widelyread, as they bring together information thatis otherwise hard to find so neatly in oneplace. The first is Russo’s ‘basic chronology of the space age’: six pages of space-age highlights,beginning with K.E.Tsiolkovsky’sbook on space exploration, published in1903, and ending with the launch of theSoyuz vehicle that took the first crew to the International Space Station in 2000. The second appendix is a tour de force. It is a complete catalogue of space-science launchesfrom 1957 to 2000, with important details of each, listed in a table that occupies animpressive 30 pages of text.

Although the notion of this publishingproject would have seemed improbable tome, I have now seen it, lifted it (with somedifficulty), and recommend it as an import-ant milestone along the amazing road ofspace science. ■

Paul Hodge is in the Department of Astronomy,University of Washington, Seattle,Washington 98195, USA.

Ecology out of the blueCoral Reef Fishes: Diversity andDynamics in a Complex Ecosystemedited by Peter SaleAcademic Press: 2002. 724 pp. $99.95, £69.95

Redouan Bshary

Peter Sale’s first textbook, The Ecology ofFishes on Coral Reefs, became an instant classic for all those who are fascinated by the diversity and complexity of coral-reeffish, their adaptations and their ecology. Itleft little room for rival textbooks. Now,11 years on, the steady accumulation ofdata and ideas has finally warranted a new edition. The title might have changed butfortunately the quality has not.

Coral Reef Fishes is full of fascinating

details, new evidence and new ideas. Forexample, we are told that fish on coral reefs50 million years ago looked very much likethey do today (David Bellwood and PeterWainwright), and that the fish diversityfound on coral reefs might largely be due to the constant high temperature, whichallows adaptations to exploit low-qualityfood (Mireille Harmelin-Vivien). Mostamazing is the accumulating evidence onthe impressive capabilities of reef fish larvaewith respect to swimming performance and orientation (Jeffrey Leis and MarkMcCormick).

Chapters that describe data at the cuttingedge of ecology are well balanced with more‘classical’ textbook chapters. There areexcellent overviews of reef-fish ecomorph-ology (Wainwright and Bellwood) and sensory capabilities (Arthur Myrberg andLee Fuiman), along with critical discussionsof methods such as ageing fish using otholits(Howard Choat and Ross Robertson, SimonThorrold and Jonathan Hare) and popula-tion genetics (Serge Planes).

There is certainly plenty of informationon coral-reef fish, but this does have onedownside: only a few authors (such as Geoffrey Jones, Julian Caley and PhilipMunday) try to fit their data into the generalframework of ecology and evolution. Morecomparisons of reef fish with other taxacould have helped to highlight why studyingthese fish is not only fascinating but alsoinformative and important.

The final section of the book deals withreef-fish conservation issues and the rolethat ecology might play. There is a frighten-ing honesty about gaps in our ecologicalknowledge that should be filled for the effective guidance of management decisions(Peter Sale and Garry Russ). But there is alsoinformation on the problem of conserving

sex-changing species (Phillip Levin andChurchill Grimes) and on the live fish trade,which may promote selective hunting ofrare species (Yvonne Sadovy and AmandaVincent).

So what is the future of coral-reef fishecology? Two major issues emerge from thisbook. First, a detailed phylogeny down to thespecies level, including the ages of lineages,will yield the basis for further sophisticatedstudies of species diversity and the huge variety in adaptations and specializationsfound in coral-reef fish. Second, increasingour knowledge of the pelagic (open-water)stages of reef fish is of overwhelming importance for several key issues in ecologyand conservation. In particular, knowingmore about the degree of local retention of larvae has implications for populationdynamics, the potential for sustainable localfishing licences and the design of marineprotected areas.

Studies of the pelagic stages might alsoattract the attention of behavioural ecolo-gists. As it stands, coral-reef fish are suitable subjects for behavioural questionsonly where fitness proxies (such as energygain and growth rate) are accepted, such as optimal foraging and cooperation. Thestudy of fish larvae opens the possibility of life-history studies and may even allowassessments of individual fitness. But such projects on fish larvae are likely to belabour-intensive and costly. So, to expandChristopher Peterson and Robert Warner’sview,what it takes for behavioural ecologiststo join the club is a willingness to think big and to get wet. ■

Redouan Bshary is at the Max Planck Institute forBehavioural Physiology, Seewiesen, 82319Starnberg, Germany, and in the Department ofZoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street,Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.

book reviews

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