Walking Sideways: The Remarkable World of Crabs

Judith S. Weis

Published by Cornell University Press 2012

Walking Sideways

The Remarkable World of Crabs

Judith S. Weis

https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801466045

Overview
Contents

About this book

An engaging and informative tour of the remarkable world of crabs, highlighting their unique biology, natural history, and cultural significance.

Author / Editor information

Judith S. Weis is Professor of Biology at Rutgers-Newark. She is the author of Do Fish Sleep? and coauthor of Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History.

Reviews

In Walking Sideways, Judith S. Weis has thoroughly captured the diversity of lifestyle, form, and function of these ubiquitous animals. Found from the Arctic to the tropics, from the depths of hydrothermal vents to the branches of mangrove trees and the leaves of mountaintop bromeliads, crabs turn up in unexpected places. Those of us accustomed to encountering them in the rocky intertidal or the sandy beach marvel at the adaptations that make their varied lives possible. In chapters covering all the major topics of habitats, form and function, life cycle, behavior, ecology, fisheries, problems, and (very important) human interactions with crabs, including eating them, the author provides first-hand observations and stories from recent research. Her knowledge is nearly encyclopedic; despite my many years of research, observation, and reading about crabs, I learned a number of entirely new facts and met some species I had not heard about before. With plentiful illustrations and photographs of crabs in their habitats, this book will be a delight for the interested layperson, as well as the professional biologist in many fields.

Weis relates the often-fascinating story of crabs from their origins in the Jurassic period to the modern dinner table. Along the way, examples of the nearly 7,000 known species are Weis's protagonists in discussions of habitats, anatomy and physiology, reproduction, behavior, ecology, and relationships with humans in mythology, literature, art, film, and the beach.... A surprising page-turner for anyone interested in natural history.

G.C. Jensen:

As the subtitle of the book indicates, the world of crabs is indeed a remarkable one. Weis (biology, Rutgers-Newark) brings some of this to light in a readable account of these fascinating crustaceans. Chapters cover a wide range of topics, from anatomy, ecology, and behavior to fisheries and other interactions with humans.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Vignettes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Chapter One. Introducing Crabs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter Two. Habitats Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
Chapter Three. Form and Function Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
Chapter Four. Reproduction and Life Cycle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
Chapter Five. Behavior Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
Chapter Six. Ecology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
Chapter Seven. Crab Problems and Problem Crabs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Chapter Eight. Crab Fisheries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
Chapter Nine. Eating Crabs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
Chapter Ten. Crabs and Humans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 256
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 3
- Coloured Illustrations: 28
- Images: 19
- Tables: 2
- Other: 28 color photographs, 41 halftones, 5 line drawings, 2 tables
Keywords: crab species; aquatic wildlife; crustaceans; crab exoskeletons; crab biology; crab habitats; yeti crab; natural history; ocean biodiversity; crab evolution; crab behavior; ocean conservation

eBook

Published: November 15, 2012
ISBN: 9780801466045