Summarizes a complex geological, geographical and ecological history Reviews how the San Diego Bay has changed and will likely change in the future Examines the different roles a various drivers of Bay ecosystem function Includes the role of humans - both first people and modern populations - on the Bay Explores San Diego Bay as an example of general bay ecological and environmental issues

WINNER OF THE JOHN AVERY AWARD AT THE ANDRE SIMON AWARDS If we can save the salmon, we can save the world Over the centuries, salmon have been a vital resource, a dietary staple and an irresistible catch. But there is so much more to this extraordinary fish. As international bestseller Mark Kurlansky reveals, salmon persist as a barometer for the health of our planet. Centuries of our greatest assaults on nature can be seen in their harrowing yet awe-inspiring life cycle. Full of all Kurlansky's characteristic curiosity and insight, Salmon is a magisterial history of a wondrous creature. 'An epic, environmental tragedy' Spectator 'These creatures have nurtured our imagination as surely as our bodies. This book does them justice!' Bill McKibben

This unique collaboration of Russian and Norwegian scientists examines the most recent data on the White Sea bathymetry, examines the ecosystem profile, and provides extensive historical marine and riverine data records. The book presents extensive data and numerical modelling simulations of the White Sea to provide a quantitative assessment of vulnerability of the Sea 's marine ecosystems, of future anthropogenic and climate change forcing.

Butterflyfishes (family Chaetodontidae) are a highly conspicuous component of fish fauna on coral reefs throughout the world. In light of their strong dependence on coral, they are often regarded as the epitome of coral reef fishes. This volume examines the ecology and conservation of coral reef butterflyfishes. It provides important insights on their evolution and key events and adaptations that have led to their proliferation within coral reef ecosystems. Key to the longevity of butterflyfishes is the evolution of coral-feeding-a central focus of the ecological chapters in this volume. The book also highlights key threats and challenges related to the conservation of butterflyfishes and ends with an overview of current and future research directions.

Under threat from natural and human disturbance, tropical dry forests are the most endangered ecosystem in the tropics, yet they rarely receive the scientific or conservation attention they deserve. In a comprehensive overview, Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation, and Management examines new approaches for data sampling and analysis using remote sensing technology, discusses new ecological and econometric methods, and critically evaluates the socio-economic pressures that these forest are facing at the continental and national levels. The book includes studies from Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil that provide in-depth knowledge about the function, status, and conservation efforts of these endangered forests. It presents key elements of synthesis from standardized work conducted across all sites. This unique contribution provides new light in terms of these forests compared to each other not only from an ecological perspective but also in terms of the pressures that they are facing, and their respective responses. Written by experts from a diversity of fields, this reference brings together the many facets of function, use, heritage, and future potential of these forests. It presents an important and exciting synthesis of many years of work across countries, disciplines, and cultures. By standardizing approaches for data sampling and analysis, the book gives readers comparison information that cannot be found anywhere else given the high level of disparity that exists in the current literature.

The study analyzes the impact of voluntary synergy disclosures at the M&A announcement on M&A transactions in the European as well as in the US energy sector. Thereby, not only is the capital market perspective considered on both a long- and short-term horizon, but the operational point of view is also taken into account. The author shows, while utilizing the event study methodology, that capital markets attribute increased returns to those M&A transactions which expect synergy gains for both the US and European market. As the post-merger accounting study confirms the realization of these announced synergy gains, it may be inferred that capital markets do not overreact and management boards are not overconfident in realizing merger gains.

A History of Ecology and Environmentalism in Spanish American Literature undertakes a comprehensive ecocritical examination of the region's literature from the foundational texts of the nineteenth century to the most recent fiction. The book begins with a consideration of the way in which Argentine Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's views of nature through the lens of the categories of "civilization" and "barbarity" from Facundo (1845) are systematically challenged and revised in the rest of the century. Subsequently, this book develops the argument that a vital part of the cultural critique and aesthetic innovations of Spanish American modernismo involve an ecological challenge to deepening discourses of untamed development from Europe and the United States. In other chapters, many of the well-established titles of regional and indigenista literature are contrasted to counter-traditions within those genres that express aspects of environmental justice, "deep ecology," the relational role of emotion in nature protectionism and conservationism, even the rights of non-human nature. Finally, the concluding chapters find that the articulation of ecological advocacy in recent fiction is both more explicit than what came before but also impacts the formal elements of literature in unique ways. Textual conventions such as language, imagery, focalization, narrative sequence, metafiction, satire, and parody represent innovations of form that proceed directly from the ethical advocacy of environmentalism. The book concludes with comments about what must follow as a result of the analysis including the revision of canon, the development of literary criticism from novel approaches such as critical animal studies, and the advent of a critical dialogue within the bounds of Spanish American environmentalist literature. A History of Ecology and Environmentalism in Spanish American Literature attempts to develop a sense of the way in which ecological ideas have developed over time in the literature, particularly the way in which many Spanish American texts anticipate several of the ecological discourses that have recently become so central to global culture, current environmentalist thought, and the future of humankind.

A new way of measuring the health of a political system: by examining the health of its landscapes and ecosystems East Germany, its economy, and its society were in decline long before the country's political collapse in the late 1980s. The clues were there in the natural landscape, Arvid Nelson argues in this groundbreaking book, but policy analysts were blind to them. Had they noted the record of the leadership's values and goals manifest in the landscape, they wouldn't have hailed East Germany as a Marxist-Leninist success story. Nelson sets East German history within the context of the landscape history of two centuries to underscore how forest and ecosystem change offered a reliable barometer to the health and stability of the political system that governed them. Cold War Ecology records how East German leaders' indifference to human rights and their disregard for the landscape affected the rural economy, forests, and population. This lesson from history suggests new ways of thinking about the health of ecosystems and landscapes, Nelson shows, and he proposes assessing the stability of modern political systems based on the environment's system qualities rather than on political leaders' goals and beliefs.

A crucial reference/textbook that provides a wide spectrum of information in one easily understandable source The essence of agroecology lies in harnessing and harmonizing the forces of nature for productive purpose. Introduction to Agroecology: Principles and Practices comprehensively explains how this is done, providing a detailed, inclusive look at the underlying theories, concepts, and practices. This allows the reader to explore the full range of possibilities of the nature/agricultural interface and to view agroecology in its entirety, all while providing a clear understanding of the inherent complexity. Productive threats to cropping such as soil depletion, drought, plant-eating insects, heat and cold, weeds, and small and large animals are discussed in depth-with preventative strategies for each-all together in one easy-to-use book. This unique introductory reference source is not only aimed at the novice, but also the more advanced student. In a departure from the norm for introductory material, extensive endnotes elaborate upon the basic information, presenting a full look at the arguments and controversies within the field. The endnotes include over 500 citations, offering a broad window that encompasses ecology, sociology, conservation and environmental studies, and several other fields. The text also contains numerous charts, figures, and tables to clarify data and ideas. Introduction to Agroecology reviews and discusses: agroecological goals, such as profit, quality of life, and minimum disturbance of the natural ecosystem spatial principles, with resource concepts such as capture, production, balance, and biodiversity planting densities, ratios, and spatial patterns facilitation of nutrient and water capture-transfer ecosystem governance certainty-sustainability threats, such as drought, wind, flood, temperature, and fire the use of fences, repellant plants, fauna, and other means to stave off large animal threats basic insect countermeasures agrotechnologies subdivision, scaling, design packages, agrobiodiversity adjustments, and mimicry monocultures seasonal intercropping facilitative and productive agroforestry the use of reservoirs, corridors, wind structures, riparian buffers, firebreaks, and other means as auxiliary systems land modification social and community agroecology core approaches to alternative agriculture, including genetic, microbial, varietal, rotational, and others agroecosystem design many, many more topics Introduction to Agroecology is a unique and accessible reference for those who seek a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and practices that provide a solid foundation for the study of agroecology, including researchers, extension advisors, instructors, and students.

There is a growing recognition that the diversity of life comprises both biological and cultural diversity. But this division is not universal and, in many cases, has been deepened by the common disciplinary divide between the natural and social sciences and our apparent need to manage and control nature. This book goes beyond divisive definitions and investigates the bridges linking biological and cultural diversity. The international team of authors explore the common drivers of loss, and argue that policy responses should target both forms of diversity in a novel integrative approach to conservation, thus reducing the gap between science, policy and practice. While conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges, this book forcefully shows that any hope for saving biological diversity is predicated on a concomitant effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity.

Environmental Science: Principles and Practices provides the scientific principles, concepts, applications, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and manmade, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions (such as renewable energy sources) for resolving and even preventing them. Frank R. Spellman and Melissa Stoudt introduce the science of the environmental mediums of air, water, soil, and biota to undergraduate students. Interdisciplinary by nature, environmental science embraces a wide array of topics. Environmental Science: Principles and Practices brings these topics together under several major themes, including 1.How energy conversions underlie all ecological processes 2.How the earth s environment functions as an integrated system 3.How human activities alter natural systems 4.How the role of culture, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions 5.How human survival depends on practical ideas of stewardship and sustainability Environmental Science: Principles and Practices is an ideal resource for students of science in the classroom and at home, in the library and the lab."

Ecosystems are complex and enigmatic entities that are ultimately our life support systems. Understanding these systems to the point of being able to predict their behaviour in the face of perturbations requires that researchers adopt a number of strategies that vary in both approach and scale. This book, in a sense, is representative of some of the developments that have unfolded when math and physics met ecology. Here, some of the world's leading ecologists examine ecosystems from theoretical, experimental, and empirical viewpoints, from energetics to ecosystems. The book begins with simplifying and synthesizing nature's complex relationships. It then moves on to explore the mapping between food web structure and function and ends with the role of theory in integrating different research areas.

For almost a century and a half, biologists have gone to the seashore to study life. The oceans contain rich biodiversity, and organisms at the intersection of sea and shore provide a plentiful sampling for research into a variety of questions at the laboratory bench: How does life develop and how does it function? How are organisms that look different related, and what role does the environment play? From the Stazione Zoologica in Naples to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, the Amoy Station in China, or the Misaki Station in Japan, students and researchers at seaside research stations have long visited the ocean to investigate life at all stages of development and to convene discussions of biological discoveries. Exploring the history and current reasons for study by the sea, this book examines key people, institutions, research projects, organisms selected for study, and competing theories and interpretations of discoveries, and it considers different ways of understanding research, such as through research repertoires. A celebration of coastal marine research, Why Study Biology by the Sea? reveals why scientists have moved from the beach to the lab bench and back.

Quantitative Ecotoxicology, Second Edition explores models and methods of quantitative ecotoxicology at progressively higher biological scales using worked examples and common software packages. It complements the author's previous books, Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology, Third Edition and Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment. Encouraging a more rigorous inferential approach to research, the book examines the quantitative features of the science of ecotoxicology. The first chapters lay the foundation by introducing fundamental concepts and definitions. The author traces the historical perspective, rationale, and characteristics of scientific ecotoxicology as well as the general measurement process. He also considers methodologies for defining and controlling variance, which could otherwise exclude valid conclusions from ecotoxicological endeavors. The book then discusses ecotoxicological concepts at increasing levels of ecological organization and outlines quantitative methods used to measure toxicant accumulation and effects. Reflecting the importance of establishing type I and type II error rates, it highlights design issues, particularly sample size and power estimation. The final chapter summarizes the book with a brief discussion of ecotoxicology from a nonregulatory perspective. Extensively updated, this second edition has been expanded to include terrestrial as well as aquatic ecotoxicology. Requiring only a basic knowledge of statistics, this highly readable book is suitable for graduate students and researchers as well as practicing environmental scientists and engineers. It guides readers to better understand the fate and effects of toxicants in the biosphere-and helps them frame this understanding in quantitative terms. What's New in This Edition More than 40 new figures and 20 new worked examples Updated measurement quality methods and software Expanded coverage of synecological models and methods More integration of Bayesian concepts Appendices for power analysis and basic matrix methods Additional mixture toxicity and up-and-down methods Greatly expanded discussion of significance testing Expanded discussion of metapopulations Matrix tools for population demography Light isotope-based models for trophic transfer of toxicants Inclusion of metacommunity and SHE analysis techniques R script examples by Eduard Szoecs (University Koblenz-Landau) available at http://edild.github.io/blog/categories/quantitative-ecotoxicology-with-r/

Given the importance of interdisciplinary work in sustainability, Simulation of Ecological and Environmental Models introduces the theory and practice of modeling and simulation as applied in a variety of disciplines that deal with earth systems, the environment, ecology, and human-nature interactions. Based on the author's many years of teaching graduate and undergraduate students in the United States, Spain, and Latin America, the textbook shows how to implement simulations and analyze the results using an open-source software platform. Learn How to Use a Broad Range of Environmental Models The textbook is organized into three parts to allow greater flexibility using the material in various countries and types of curricula. The first part provides a tutorial-style mathematical review and a gentle introduction to the basics of R software. The second part explains the fundamentals of modeling methodology through one-dimensional models. After a review of matrix algebra, the third part progresses to multidimensional models, focusing on structured populations, communities, and ecosystems. The final chapters show how simple models are hooked together to generate more comprehensive models. Build from Fundamental Concepts to Problem Solving Each chapter starts with conceptual and theoretical material to give a firm foundation in how the methods work. Examples and exercises illustrate the applications and demonstrate how to go from concepts to problem solving. Hands-on computer sessions let students grasp the practical implications and learn by doing. Throughout, the computer examples and exercises use seem, an open-source R package developed by the author, which lets students quickly produce simulations and explore the effects of changing conditions in the model. This practical book is a comprehensive, unified presentation of ecological and environmental models. It describes the mathematical fundamentals to analyze models and the methodology to simulate them, with a focus on understanding environmental change-a key element of environmental management and problem solving.

This book introduces readers to a set of powerful and extremely flexible modelling techniques, starting at "square one" and continuing with carefully chosen applications. Some of these applications of methodology include insect oviposition behavior, overwinter survival of birds and fish, avian migration, resource management, conservation biology, agroecology, and human behaviour. This book also explains how to construct, test, and use dynamic state variable models in a wide range of contexts in evolutionary ecology. And its complete and up-to-date coverage allows readers to immediately begin using the described techniques. Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology is designed for self-instruction or for use in upper division undergraduate or graduate courses. It is ideal for students and scientists interested in behaviour, ecology, anthropology, conservation biology, and related fields.

In this latest edition of the Long Term Ecological Research Network series, John Hobbie and George Kling synthesize the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid 1970's. The book presents research concerning the core issues of climate-change science, and addresses the treeless regions of arctic Alaska, as well as the adjoining boreal forests. As a whole, the book examines both terrestrial and freshwater-aquatic ecosystems, and their three typical habitats: tundra, streams and lakes. The book provides a history of the Toolik Lake LTER site, and discusses its present condition and future outlook. It features contributions from top ecologists, biologists, and environmental scientists, creating a multidisciplinary survey of the Alaskan arctic ecosystem. Chapter topics include glacial history, climatology, land-water interactions, mercury found in the Alaskan arctic, and the response of lakes to environmental change. The final chapter brings together these findings in order to make predictions regarding the consequences that arctic Alaska faces due to global warming and climate change, and discusses the future of the LTER site in the region. Alaska's Changing Arctic is the definitive scientific survey of the past, present, and future of the ecology of the Alaskan arctic, and the comprehensive source for the findings from the LTER site in the region.

A look at how wildlife professionals can modernize their approaches to habitat and population management with a fresh take on animal ecology. How can we maximize the probability that a species of wild animal will persist into the future? This audacious book proposes that advancing animal ecology-and conservation itself-demands that we reenvision our basic understanding of how animals interact with their environments and with each other. Synthesizing where we are and where we need to go with our studies of animals and their environs, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology asserts that studies of animal ecology should begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms. The book examines * the limitations of classic approaches to the study of animal ecology * how organisms organize into collections, such as breeding pairs, flocks, and herds * how the broader biotic and abiotic environment shapes animal populations, communities, and ecosystems * factors underlying the distribution and abundance of species through space and time * the links between habitat and population * why communication between researchers and managers is key * specific strategies for managing wild animal populations and habitats in an evolutionary and ecosystem context Throughout, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they argue, will help ecologists translate science into meaningful and lasting actions in the environment. Taking the perspective of the organism of interest in developing concepts and applications, the authors always keep the potentially biased human perspective in focus. A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife-habitat relationships, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to professionals and practitioners in natural resource management in public and private sectors, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.

Graphs, networks and agent-based modeling are the most thriving and attracting sciences used in ecology and environmental sciences. As such, this book is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject in the areas of ecology and environmental sciences.

From this integrated and self-contained book, researchers, university teachers and students will be provided with an in-depth and complete insight on knowledge, methodology and recent advances of graphs, networks and agent-based-modeling in ecology and environmental sciences.

Java codes and a standalone software package will be presented in the book for easy use for those not familiar with mathematical details.

Discover, through informative text and 120 vivid images, the interrelationships between commercial fishing, expanding gray seal populations, and great white sharks along the beaches of Cape Cod and the northeast coast. This Gray Curtain has come about as a result of geologic and environmental changes, as well as animal migrations and population increases that have impacted the area. There are great transformations taking place in the region, and both fishermen and scientists have played a role in these dynamic coastal changes, though they don't always agree on why the changes have occurred. In the minds of many commercial fishermen, the return of the now-protected gray seal has played a major part, causing a new charismatic, apex predator to enter the picture: the Great White Shark. This enlightening and colorful book brings together the main factors that have created the phenomenon of The Gray Curtain.

This is awide-ranging and persuasive book written by an undisputed expert. Beginning with a broad history of the Universe, Earth, Life, and Man, it considers the origins and rise of science and technology, before moving on to discuss the present state of the world and its/our possible futures." Humans on Earth" then addresses the main challenges for social and economic development in the 21st century in the context of global change. It presents a detailed but non-technical analysis of questions relating to climate change, our dependence on fossil fuels, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, desertification, and air, water, soil, and ocean pollution, as well as problems related to overpopulation, poverty, social and economic inequalities, and conflict potential. The three main, but largely mutually exclusive, discourses on human development and the environment are described and discussed. The main emphasis is on the risks and uncertainties of the short-term future - the next 50 to 100 years - with regard to environmental degradation and the sustainability of our growth paradigm.

..". a sweeping, thoughtful view of the role of humans in shaping our modern world."
Paul Epstein, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School"

This book introduces a new approach to environmental sociology, by integrating complexity-informed social science, Marxian ecological theory, and resilience-based human ecology. It argues that sociologists have largely ignored developments in ecology which move beyond functionalist approaches to systems analysis, and as a result, environmental sociology has failed to capitalise not only on the analytical promise of resilience ecology, but on complementary developments in complexity theory. By tracing the origins and discussing current developments in each of these areas, it offers several paths to interdisciplinary dialogue. Eoin Flaherty argues that complexity theory and Marxian ecology can enhance our understanding of the social aspect of social-ecological systems, whilst a resilience approach can sharpen the analytical power of environmental sociology.

This book balances critical theory and professional practice to create specific strategies that result in more effective and enlightened news production and consumption. Emerging from the integral theories of Teilhard de Chardin and embracing Neil Postman's media ecology, the reception theories of John Fiske, and the work of many contemporary scholars, The Newsphere constructs a solid theoretical, historical, and practical framework for news as ecology. It illuminates how stories emerge and evolve across digital networks and complex systems and examines the historical and theoretical forces that are precipitating the decay of the traditional American news and information structure. This book is an exciting and progressive foundation text for introductory journalism and mass communication courses, with applications in advanced reporting, new media, news literacy, media ethics, and political science classes. The Newsphere will inspire its readers to move beyond the conventional and to embrace the new news, a dynamic network of unlimited participation.

This book balances critical theory and professional practice to create specific strategies that result in more effective and enlightened news production and consumption. Emerging from the integral theories of Teilhard de Chardin and embracing Neil Postman's media ecology, the reception theories of John Fiske, and the work of many contemporary scholars, The Newsphere constructs a solid theoretical, historical, and practical framework for news as ecology. It illuminates how stories emerge and evolve across digital networks and complex systems and examines the historical and theoretical forces that are precipitating the decay of the traditional American news and information structure. This book is an exciting and progressive foundation text for introductory journalism and mass communication courses, with applications in advanced reporting, new media, news literacy, media ethics, and political science classes. The Newsphere will inspire its readers to move beyond the conventional and to embrace the new news, a dynamic network of unlimited participation.

This book is the proceedings of the conference Faecal Indicators: problem or solution? Has technical progress reduced the need for faecal indicators? held on 6th to 8th June 2011 at Edinburgh Conference Centre, Heriot Watt University, UK. It addresses existing and emerging issues in environmental microbiology which in turn offer exciting new challenges in microbiology, public health and environmental science. The ultimate aim being to assist the monitoring and modelling of environmental systems to protect human health, animal welfare and environmental quality. With contributions from leading scientists and experts in academia and industry, it offers a truly international perspective on both current research and our ability to respond with useful and sustainable solutions to many of the emerging challenges of today's modern communities. The conference featured two combative, provocative and engaging debates examining the moral issues behind the statements "What is a coliform and are coliforms relevant to public health?" and "Do regulations help or hinder the innovation in testing methods?." The reports of these questions are captured in the book. The book appeals across the board from those working in universities and research institutes to local governments, the water and food industries, and health professionals.