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This book, one of the first devoted solely to the chemical ecology of marine organisms, reviews recent research on the ecological functions of marine metabolites and proposes future directions for marine chemical ecology—a new, rapidly evolving field in which biological and chemical studies go hand in hand.
Arthropods that eat wood, foliage, and detritus have difficulty in digesting the cellulose in their food. A remarkable biological mechanism allows some species to overcome this problem: in eating fungal tissue they ingest cellulolytic enzymes that allow them to exploit the potential nutritive value of plant fiber. Michael M. Martin, a chemical ecologist, here describes his laboratory investigations that led to the discovery of this phenomenon and explores the insights they have produced.