The importance of toxins and other phanuacologically active com­ pounds obtained from marine animals cannot be emphasized enough. The use of these chemicals for defense or attack of other life fonus are of interest in themselves; however, they are of great importance in our understanding of their mechanisms of action in view of possible application in the defense of man (no doubt a predator) and in biol­ ogy and medicine. The toxin of the flat fish Pardachirus presented in some of the papers of this book is an example of a defense mechanism based on secretion of a toxin that could possibly be extended to being used to defend man himself from sharks, the marine predators par ex­ cellence. August, 1984 J. ZADUNAISKY Preface The study of toxins, drugs, and pollutants in the marine environment, and their impact on human life existed already in Babylon and Assyria, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Japan, Greece, Rome and South America. Nevertheless, less is known about ethnic marine biology than about ethnobotany. Only recently however, have active biotoxins been used as molecular probes in neuropharmacology, offering intriguing new insights into nervous activity and muscular functions. It is clear from the presentations at this meeting that much remains to be done, and certainly new, more pharmacologically oriented find­ ings lie ahead.

Inhalt

A Toxins and Drugs of Marine Animals.- Shark-Repelling Ichthyotoxins from the Defensive Secretion of the Sole Pardachirus pavoninus.- Surfactant and Channel-Forming Activities of the Moses Sole Toxin.- Shark Repellents: Behavioral Bioassay in Laboratory and Field.- Toxins from Marine Organisms: Studies on Antifouling.- Venoms and Venom Glands of Marine Molluscs.- Discharge Mechanism of the Nematocysts of Pelagia noctiluca.- Role of High Concentrations of Ca, Cu, and Zn in the Maturation and Discharge in Situ of Sea Anemone Nematocysts as Shown by X-Ray Microanalysis of Cryosections.- B Responses of Marine Animals to Pollutants.- Respiratory Adaptations of Marine Fish in Relation to Their Mode of Life Under Different Environmental Conditions.- Transfer Changes in Fish Gills During Stress.- Effects of Acid Stress on Fish Gills.- Superoxide Dismutase and Reduced Glutathione: Possible Defenses Operating in Hyperoxic Swimbladder of Fish.- Effects of Metal Ions on Respiratory Structures.- Heavy Metal Storage in Marine Animals Under Various Environmental Conditions.- Biochemical Differences in Field Populations of the Common Mussel Mytilus edulis L. Exposed to Hydrocarbons: Some Considerations of Biochemical Monitoring.- Copper and the Mussel Mytilus edulis L..