Herring, part of the family Clupeidae, are an abundant and commercially important fish, found mainly in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans as well as off the west coast of South America. Atlantic herring are the most abundant, providing over half of all herring capture. An important food source, these oily fish are often salted, smoked, or pickled. Biology and Ecology of Herring presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date study of herring and its biology and ecology.
- Biology of herring: Distribution and origins - zoogeography, systematics, palaeontology and evolution
- Morphology - integumentary system - skin and scales, skeleton, musculature and internal organs
- Physiology - circulatory/respiratory system, reproductive system, digestive system and sensory system
- Sensory systems - vision, acoustico-Iateralis - olfaction
- Growth and development - embryonic, larval, juvenile and adult stages
- Reproductive biology - spermatogenesis, oogenesis, fertilization, gonadal development, vitellogenesis and atresia, ovulation, spawning and spawning behavior
- Ecology and population biology: Spawning ecology
- Spawning behavior
- Feeding ecology
- Population biology
- Diseases and parasites of herring
- Stocks, populations and stock identification
- Herring as a forage species - ecosystem roles
- Herring populations of the world: European herring
- North American Atlantic herring
- North American Pacific herring
- Asian herring
- Arctic herring
- Herring and humans: Environmental issues affecting herring
- Toxicology and oil spills
- Climate change
- Fishing and overfishing
- Herring and regional economies
Douglas E. Hay is with the Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries & Oceans Canada. Audrey Geffen is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Bergen, Norway.