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Books in Agricultural and biological sciences

The Agricultural and Biological Sciences collection advances science-based knowledge for the improvement of animal and plant life and for secure food systems that produce nutritious, novel, sustainable foods with minimal environmental impact. Food Science titles include not only those products from agriculture but all other aspects from food production to nutrition, health and safety, chemistry to security, policy, law and regulation. Biological Sciences address animal behaviour and biodiversity, organismal and evolutionary biology, entomology, marine biology and aquaculture, plant science and forestry.

  • Alternatives to Antibiotics for Sustainable Aquaculture

    • 1st Edition
    • Baskaralingam Vaseeharan + 2 more
    • English
    Alternatives to Antibiotics in Sustainable Aquaculture explores issues associated with antimicrobial use and available alternatives to support aquatic animal health. The book unveils the issues related to antimicrobial use and offers alternative approaches to foster a more sustainable global aquaculture industry. These approaches encompass natural-based antibiotic substitutes, antimicrobial peptides, probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics, as well as immunostimulants and feed additives. Additionally, chemical alternatives, vaccines, bacteriophages, quorum quenching, and antibiofilm approaches are explored. The future of aquatic animal health is covered through the lens of novel technologies, including genomic and metabolomic approaches, nanotechnology, and nanobubble methods.This book provides insightful knowledge for individuals from both academic and private sectors, as well as policymakers and regulators. The knowledge gathered in this book is intended to positively guide aquaculture supply chains toward a sustainable transformation of the industry.
  • Mineral Nutrients to Mitigate Abiotic Stress in Crops

    • 1st Edition
    • Azamal Husen
    • English
    Mineral Nutrients to Mitigate Abiotic Stress in Crops offers a clear and timely examination of the physiological and biochemical dynamics that govern how plants endure increasingly unpredictable growing conditions. The volume begins by outlining the fundamental principles that shape a crop’s capacity to acquire, distribute, and utilize nutrients, and then considers how these processes influence its survival and productivity when confronting drought, salinity, heat, or nutrient-induced stress. Across the chapters, contributors show how nutrient availability guides defense mechanisms—from maintaining cellular stability and enzymatic function to modulating antioxidant potential, osmotic adjustment, and stress-related signaling—and how intensifying environmental pressures reorder metabolic priorities, redirect root behaviour, and reallocate resources at the whole-plant level.Building on this foundation and proceeding in an intentionally structured sequence, this book integrates applied approaches encompassing soil and fertilizer systems, nutrient biofortification, and the breeding of nutrient-efficient cultivars. By integrating established science with emerging insights, it delivers a coherent, forward-looking framework for interpreting plant resilience and for implementing adaptive strategies that underpin effective responses in diverse cultivation contexts, thereby strategically equipping researchers and practitioners to navigate the increasingly complex challenges facing modern agriculture.
  • The Honey Bee and Climate Change

    • 1st Edition
    • Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman
    • English
    A honey bee colony is a community of interacting organisms continually adjusting their behaviors, both individually and collectively, in response to even the subtlest changes in the environment. It’s only logical then, that the more significant changes and stressors due to climate change will push the colony to its limits, disrupting the delicate balance of the hive and threatening the survival of the colony. Honey Bees and Climate Change is the first and only book to examine the responses of honey bees to climate change and the threat it poses to their ability to thrive and survive. Drawing on systems science and the central theme that all outcomes are products of an interconnected system, the book will address how climate change is affecting honey bee nutrition, growth, and overwinter survival, which in turn threaten commercial beekeeping and crop production. Impacts on other pollinators will be touched on as well. Finally, potential mitigating strategies, key areas of action, and the future outlook will be covered.Written by a leading scientist with over 40 years of experience studying honey bee physiology, nutrition, colony survival, and the impact of climate change on the colony, Honey Bees and Climate Change is crucial reading for students and researchers studying honey bees, especially those with an interest in the impacts of climate change on pollinators. The inclusion of key terms and definitions as well as case studies make this work an excellent supplementary text for courses on honey bee biology, apiculture, pollinator conservation, or climate change ecology.
  • Politics, Practice, and Policy

    How to Get Things Done in Food and Nutrition, 10 Case Studies
    • 1st Edition
    • Eileen Kennedy
    • English
    Food and Nutrition Policy: 10 Case Studies for Developing Effective Policies and Programs explains how policy compromises are reached and then changed over time as new information becomes available. Derived from the authors’ experiences while serving as a political appointee in the federal government, participating in international committees and boards, and from materials from a graduate course which she teaches on global food and nutrition policy at Tufts University, the 10 case studies presented in this book provide real world learning examples on how contentious issues are resolved in the political process.While each of the ten chapters focuses on a specific topic, the book showcases an overriding theme of food and health justice, equity, and empowerment. Readers will deduce key factors to examine pivotal policy decisions while the author dissects polarizing topics such as examining the successes and failures of dietary guidelines, front label packaging approaches, implications of expanding personalized nutrition, the obesity epidemic and the role of GMO’s in agricultural production, and more.
  • Biofunctional Cosmetics for Health

    Exploring Nature’s Ingredients for Safety, Efficacy, and Sustainability
    • 1st Edition
    • Alexandros Tsoupras + 1 more
    • English
    Bio-functional Cosmetics for Health: Exploring Nature’s Ingredients for Safety, Efficacy, and Sustainability bridges the gap between cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals, providing the latest research for developing health-promoting cosmeceuticals and nutricosmetics from various food sources and food waste. From medicinal plants, teas, cacao, coffee, fruits, vegetables, plant oils, nuts, and cereals to marine microorganisms, fungi, insects, crustaceans, and more, this book takes a close look into the safety, efficacy and sourcing of bioactives from these food sources and how they can be sustainably used as ingredients to create bio-functional cosmetics, cosmeceuticals and nutricosmetics.Reade... will gain insight on the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-aging, and anti-cancer properties of bioactive ingredients in cosmetics and will also be informed on the latest regulatory and safety issues and R&D trends for the application of bioactives in functional cosmetics and cosmeceutical products.
  • Smart Aquaponic Farming

    An Intelligent Production System for Aquaponics
    • 1st Edition
    • Daoliang Li
    • English
    Smart Aquaponic Farming: An Intelligent Production System for Aquaponics describes the aquaponics AI factory, an ecologically efficient and sustainable multitrophic production model. While traditional aquaculture systems produce farming waste with environmental and food safety implications, the aquaponics model offers a circular organic production method that recycles and reuses aquatic waste to expand the ecological planting scene. Given recent developments in intelligent sensing, information processing, and agricultural equipment technologies, this book provides a much-needed technical guide for industry scientists and technicians. Written by leading experts in aquaculture biosystems engineering, this book reviews technology assembly, system realization, and industrial development of intelligent aquaponics AI factory models. Early chapters introduce the concept of AI factory infrastructure before exploring recirculating aquaculture systems, hydroponic planting systems, and various control systems to maintain air quality, water quality, and fish nutrition. Concluding chapters discuss AI factory system integration, sustainability evaluation, and global case studies of proof-of-concept systems. Smart Aquaponic Farming provides in-depth conceptual analyses, technical overviews, and case presentations to demonstrate the characteristics, advantages, and significance of industrial scale-up for aquaponics. It bridges the gap in disseminated knowledge on analysis, design, and implementation of aquaponics AI factories, making it an indispensable resource for aquaponics producers, technicians, industry scientists, and academics alike.
  • Harnessing Plant-Stimulating Molecules

    Innovations in Stress Biology and Crop Resilience
    • 1st Edition
    • M. Iqbal R. Khan + 1 more
    • English
    Harnessing Plant-Stimulating Molecules serves as an authoritative reference on the multifaceted molecular regulators and biotechnological innovations underpinning plant resilience to environmental stressors. This volume delivers an exhaustive treatment of diverse classes of signaling entities—including phytohormones, secondary messengers, secondary messengers, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and heterotrimeric G proteins—elucidating their roles in complex stress adaptation pathways.In addition to molecular and biochemical foundations, this book explores advanced methodologies such as nanoparticle-facilit... metabolic modulation, RNA interference, and gene-editing strategies aimed at optimizing nutrient utilization. It also highlights the emerging significance of biostimulants in modulating plant–microbe interactions and interplant signaling networks. Detailed discussions on systemic signaling mediated by mobile molecules and photoreceptor-mediat... photomorphogenic responses further enrich the scope.By integrating cutting-edge approaches, particularly CRISPR–Cas systems, with computational modeling for simulating metabolic networks, the volume facilitates accelerated crop improvement strategies essential for addressing contemporary challenges in food security and agroecosystem sustainability.Desig... as an indispensable resource for researchers, advanced graduate students, and industry professionals, Harnessing Plant-Stimulating Molecules bridges fundamental plant molecular biology with translational biotechnology, fostering the development of resilient, high-performance crops adapted to the challenges of a changing climate.
  • Aquaculture with Artificial Intelligence

    Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Industry Development
    • 1st Edition
    • Baskaralingam Vaseeharan + 3 more
    • English
    Aquaculture with Artificial Intelligence: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Industry Development will play in aquaculture and aquaculture-adjacent sectors in the coming years. The aquaculture industry faces various challenges, including environmental concerns, disease management, and resource optimization, and integrating AI into aquaculture practices can improve industry efficiency, sustainability, and overall productivity. This book explores how AI technologies such as machine learning for predictive analytics, computer vision for monitoring aquatic environments, and robotics for automated tasks can streamline various aspects of aquaculture requiring monitoring, management, and decision-making. Aquaculture with Artificial Intelligence: Smart Aquaculture is co-authored by a diverse team of experts bridging disciplines in aquaculture, aquatic immunology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Early chapters provide a thorough introduction to the aquaculture industry to provide critical context for all audiences. Central chapters explore machine learning, bioimaging, drone technology, bioengineering, OMICs technologies, big data, and other AI technologies emerging in aquaculture. Global case studies highlight the practical applications of AI to various aspects of aquaculture operations, including automated feeding, water quality monitoring, disease protection, and precision aquaculture. The book concludes with a look to the future of the industry, research gaps, and opportunities for continued research. This is an essential read for aquaculturists, environmental scientists, data scientists, and roboticists interested in the intersection of aquaculture and AI.
  • Advances in Rice Research for Abiotic Stress Tolerance

    • 2nd Edition
    • Mirza Hasanuzzaman + 3 more
    • English
    Rice production is increasingly challenged by abiotic stresses—such as extreme temperatures, drought, salinity, and flooding—which undermine both yield and grain quality. Tackling these constraints is crucial for global food security and depends on improved farming practices, the development of resilient cultivars, and the adoption of emerging technologies.Advance... of Rice Research for Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Second Edition, integrates new research across multiple fronts, including advances in genetic markers, modern breeding approaches, and biotechnological tools. It updates readers on cutting‑edge methodologies to mitigate climate‑related impacts and introduces expanded content on microbiome‑driven resilience, sustainable cultivation and intensification techniques, and genome editing applications that enhance crop performance under environmental stress. By capturing current global trends alongside practical solutions in rice science, the volume serves researchers, educators, and professionals working across agronomy, plant physiology, molecular biology, soil science, and related disciplines.
  • Native and Modified Starches for Food Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • Pothiyappan Karthik + 2 more
    • English
    Native and Modified Starches for Food Applications, a volume in the Applications of Starches in Food and Packaging series, provides an in-depth exploration of the diverse types and sources of starches, their functional properties, and their applications in various culinary contexts. Chapters cover the gelatinization process, texture modification, and sustainable utilization of starches in addition to exploring future directions in starch research and applications. As the food industry continues to seek natural, functional ingredients, this resource meets the demand for a comprehensive and up-to-date exploration of the use of starches in food applications.Users will find this to be a great resource for facilitating informed decision-making in recipe development, processing techniques, and the creation of innovative, sustainable, and gluten-free food products.