The main aim of this series will be to illustrate and to explain the way
organisms 'make a living' in nature. At the heart of this - their functional
biology - is the way organisms acquire and then make use of resources in
metabolism, movement, growth, reproduction, and so on. These processes
will form the fundamental framework of all the books in the series. Each
book will concentrate on a particular taxon (species, family, class or even
phylum) and will bring together information on the form, physiology,
ecology and evolutionary biology of the group. The aim will be not only to
describe how organisms work, but also to consider why they have come to
work in that way. By concentration on taxa which are well known, it is hoped
that the series will not only illustrate the success of selection, but also show
the constraints imposed upon it by the physiological, morphological and
developmental limitations of the groups.