Fish lives in environments with a wide variety of chemical characteristics (fresh, brackish and seawater, acidic, alkaline, soft and hard waters). From an osmoregulatory point of view, fish have developed several mechanisms to live in these different environments. Fish osmoregulation has always attracted considerable attention and in the last years several studies have increased our knowledge of this physiological process. In this book several specialists have analyzed and reviewed the new data published regarding fish osmoregulation. The chapters present an integrative synthesis of the different aspects of this field focusing on osmoregulation in specific environments or situations, function of osmoregulatory organs, general mechanisms and endocrine control. In addition, interactions of osmoregulatory mechanisms with the immune system, diet and metabolism were also reviewed. New emerging techniques to study osmoregulation has also been analysed.

    Preface
    List of Contributors
    1. Immune and Osmoregulatory System Interaction
    Alberto Cuesta, José Meseguer and M. Ángeles Esteban
    2. The Involvement of the Thyroid Gland in
    Teleost Osmoregulation
    Peter H.M. Klaren, Edwin J.W. Geven and Gert Flik
    3. Diet and Osmoregulation
    Francesca W. Ferreira and Bernardo Baldisserotto
    4. The Renin-Angiotensin Systems of Fish and
    their Roles in Osmoregulation
    J. Anne Brown and Neil Hazon
    5. Effect of Water pH and Hardness on Survival
    and Growth of Freshwater Teleosts
    Jorge Erick Garcia Parra and Bernardo Baldisserotto
    6. Arginine Vasotocin and Isotocin: Towards
    their Role in Fish Osmoregulation
    Ewa Kulczykowska
    7. Cellular and Molecular Approaches to the
    Investigation of Piscine Osmoregulation:
    Current and Future Perspectives
    Chris N. Glover
    8. Osmoregulation and Fish Transportation
    Paulo César Falanghe Carneiro,
    Elisabeth Criscuolo Urbinati and Fabiano Bendhack
    9. Special Challenges to Teleost Fish Osmoregulation
    in Environmentally Extreme or Unstable Habitats
    Carolina A. Freire and Viviane Prodocimo
    10. Energy Metabolism and Osmotic Acclimation in
    Teleost Fish
    José L. Soengas, Susana Sangiao-Alvarellos,
    Raúl Laiz-Carrión and Juan M. Mancera
    11. The Renal Contribution to Salt and Water Balance
    M. Danielle McDonald
    12. Intestinal Transport Processes in Marine
    Fish Osmoregulation
    Martin Grosell
    13. The Use of Immunochemistry in the Study of
    Branchial Ion Transport Mechanisms
    Jonathan Mark Wilson
    14. Rapid Regulation of Ion Transport in
    Mitochondrion-rich Cells
    William S. Marshall
    15. Control of Calcium Balance in Fish
    Pedro M. Guerreiro and Juan Fuentes
    16. Role of Prolactin, Growth Hormone, Insulin-like
    Growth Factor I and Cortisol in Teleost Osmoregulation
    Juan Miguel Mancera and Stephen D. McCormick
    Index

    Biography

    Baldisserotto, Bernardo ; Romero, J.M. Mancera; Kapoor, B.G.