Despite their importance in sustaining livelihoods for many people living along some of the world's most populous coastlines, tropical mangrove forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. Occupying a crucial place between land and sea, these tidal ecosystems provide a valuable ecological and economic resource as important nursery grounds and breeding sites for many organisms, and as a renewable source of wood and traditional foods and medicines. Perhaps most importantly, they are accumulation sites for sediment, contaminants, carbon and nutrients, and offer significant protection against coastal erosion. This book presents a functional overview of mangrove forest ecosystems; how they live and grow at the edge of tropical seas, how they play a critical role along most of the world's tropical coasts, and how their future might look in a world affected by climate change. Such a process-oriented approach is necessary in order to further understand the role of these dynamic forests in ecosystem function, and as a first step towards developing adequate strategies for their conservation and sustainable use and management. The book will provide a valuable resource for researchers in mangrove ecology as well as reference for resource managers.

The limnological study of Toolik Lake began in the Summer of 1975. This research was an outgrowth of the arctic IBP project which had focused mainly on small Arctic pond ecosystems on the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain. It was thought desirable to study larger, deeper lakes which contained fish to further generalizations developed during the IBP study. Initial research on Toolik Lake and the surrounding lakes and ponds focused on process studies such as annual primary productivity of the lake or the vertical migration patterns of the resident zooplankton. In 1983 the philosophy of the research changed with the funding of a more integrated programmer. The fundamental question posed was whether Arctic lake and stream ecosystems are regulated from the bottom up by nutrient availability or from the top down by the density and activity of top predators. In 1987 the Toolik Lake area was designated an LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) site, one of 18 such sites throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Antarctic. The research theme for the Arctic LTER also focuses on the regulation of Arctic ecosystems, whether regulation comes from the top down or bottom up. The Arctic LTER also incorporates a terrestrial component as well as a lake and stream component.

This 8-volume set provides a systematic description on 8,350 active marine natural products from 3,025 various kinds of marine organisms. The diversity of structures, biological resources and pharmacological activities are discussed in detail. Molecular structural classification system with 264 structural types are developed as well. The 3rd volume mainly illustrates the molecular formula and structures of alkaloids. .

Do real stem cells and stem cell lineages exist in lower organisms? Can stem cells from one organism parasitize the soma and/or the germ line of conspecifics? Can differentiated cells in marine organisms be re-programmed to regenerate tissues, organs and appendages through novel de-differentiation, transdifferentiation, or re-differentiation processes, leading to virtually all three germ layers, including the germline? The positive answers to above questions open a new avenue in stem cell research: the biology of stem cells in marine organisms. It is therefore unfortunate that while the literature on stem cell from terrestrial organisms is rich and expanding at an exponential rate, investigations on marine organisms stem cells are very limited and scarce.

By presenting theoretical chapters, overview essays and specific research results, this book summarises the knowledge and the hypotheses on stem cells in marine organisms through major phyla and specific model organisms. The study on stem cells from marine invertebrates may shed lights on mechanisms promoting immunity, developmental biology, regeneration and budding processes in marine invertebrates, body maintenance, aging and senescence. It aims in encouraging a larger scientific community to follow and study the novel phenomena of stem cells behaviours as depicted from the few currently studied marine invertebrates.

This work is about the first manatee ever conceived and born in captivity. The pregnancy was long (about 13 months), the mother was huge (over 900 pounds), and baby Lorelei was regarded by Zeiller and his coworkers at the Miami Seaquarium as a truly blessed event. Even one addition to the dwindling number of this endangered species was reason to rejoice. Zeiller's knowledge of the history and plight of this docile sea mammal is based on his work at the Seaquarium, where he helped develop the only extant breeding herd of manatees (including Lorelei's parents, Romeo and Juliet), the only gene pool of the animal in captivity at that time. With more than 100 photographs that help to document his personal experiences, Zeiller describes ""mercy"" missions with the Mermaid Rescue Squad to liberate animals caught in drainage ditches or to care for animals injured by boat propellers. He relates his efforts and adventures with Captain Jacques Cousteau to return ""Sewer Sam"" to the freedom of Crystal River. In uncomplicated language he presents scientific information on the habitat, distribution, physiology, and feeding and breeding habits of the manatee and its relatives. Manatees are nearing extinction not because of public insensitivity, he believes, but because of a lack of knowledge. His intention throughout the book is to increase public awareness of the crises. ""Destroying or saving 60,000,000 years of evolution is in our hands"", he writes. And, from the Epilogue: ""We have named Lorelei's son (Juliet's grandson) Hugh.

This book contains 26 contributions dealing with the biology of aquatic oligochaetes and covers a wide range of topics including taxonomy, morphology, ultrastructure, embryology, reproduction, feeding biology, ecotoxicity, community studies, and species distribution. Descriptions of new taxa in tropical areas, including Amazonian forest soils, as well as overviews on the biodiversity of aquatic oligochaetes in Australia and European groundwaters, are presented. New morphological characteristics in both marine and freshwater species are described and interpreted. Laboratory studies contribute to the knowledge of oligochaete feeding biology and reproduction. The use of aquatic oligochaetes in ecological risk assessment is analysed in detail, and standardised experimental designs for studies on bioaccumulation and pollutant transfer by food are included. Finally, a number of papers present the effects of oliogochaetes on the performance of an activated sludge plant, and multivariate approaches to the spatial and/or temporal distribution and composition of oligochaete communities in many different areas of the world, from the scale of a river to the scale of the microhabitat. The broad scope of this volume is a reflection of recent rends, not only in oligochaete research, but also in general applied biological studies.

This book is an up-to-date discussion of the culture of striped bass and other "Morone" spp. The subject matter is broken down into functional components of the spawning, husbandry, and economics of the industry, and is written by some of the leading scientists in each of the respective areas of discussion. The chapters on reproduction, nutrition, environmental requirements, transportation, economics and fish processing are not found anywhere else in the striped bass literature. The chapter on water quality takes a very non-traditional approach to considering the impact water quality has on the production success of "Morone" and offers some very thought-provoking ideas on water management.

Primarily written as a reference work, this book is intended to complement existing technique manuals.

Volume 39 is a standard volume with reviews on three different topics: the effect of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on the Alaskan ecosystem, the reproduction and development of peracarida (abundant marine crustaceans), and remote sensing of the global light-fishing fleet.

This 8-volume set provides a systematic description on 8,350 active marine natural products from 3,025 various kinds of marine organisms. The diversity of structures, biological resources and pharmacological activities are discussed in detail. Molecular structural classification system with 264 structural types are developed in the book as well. The 2nd volume continuously illustrates the molecular formula and structures of terpenoids.

The available literature on freshwater fungi is limited. Over the subsequent years a considerable volume of scientific papers have appeared scattered throughout numerous journals. There is therefore no recent synthesis of the subject and this is the objective of the proposed book. Freshwater habitats are rich in fungi with some 3,000 described species, most of papers focussing on their identification, substrata they grow on and world distribution. However, these fungi play an important role in the freshwater ecosystem, and are primarily involved in the breakdown of leaf litter contributing food for detritus feeders. Our book will bring together a wide range of acclaimed mycologists to review recent developments on the biology and ecology of freshwater fungi, particularly their molecular phylogeny, biodiversity, causative diseases of freshwater amphibians, fishes and invertebrate animals, decomposition of leaf litter, stream pollution and their potential role in bioremediation.

Advances in Marine Biology has always offered marine biologists in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a variety of topics. As well as many volumes that provide a selection of important topics, the series also includes thematic volumes that examine a particular field in detail. Two recent thematic volumes, one on ocean biogeography and another on the biology of calanoid copepods, provide comprehensive reviews of these topics and include previously unpublished data.
This volume contains two detailed reviews. The first discusses the population genetics of bathyal and abyssal organisms. The second covers growth performance and mortality in aquatic macrobenthic invertebrates.

This book contains the proceedings of the 18th International Seaweed Symposium, which provides an invaluable reference to a wide range of fields in applied phycology. The papers featured in this volume cover topics as diverse as systematics, ecology, commercial applications, carbohydrate chemistry and applications, harvesting biology, cultivation and more. It offers a benchmark of progress in all fields of applied seaweed science and management.

Sea anemones are among the most ancient of living metazoans. Long a paradigm of the "elementary nervous system" and constructional simplicity, sea anemones have been favourite experimental subjects in behavioural neurophysiology and in biomechanics. Their unique nematocyst toxins are used to study the sodium and calcium channels in excitable membranes, and their agonistic interactions provide insights into the evolution of allororecognition systems. Incorporation of algal endosymbionts by some of these animals combines in a single unit both primary producer and consumer, and provides a tight recycling of scarce nutrients between host and symbiont. Many species include vegetative proliferation or parthogenesis in their life cycle and are important organisms in the study of the evolutionary potential and adaptive demography of co-ordinated clonal growth and bisexual reproductive strategies. The ability of clonal anemones to recognize members of different clones upon contact provides insight into the evolution of immune systems. This book provides an introduction and synthesis of the biology of sea anemones. The text is cross-referenced and integrated, and together with a bibliography, should be valuable to those interested in the physiology, ecology, biochemistry, behaviour, population biology and evolution of this group of marine invertebrates. This book should be of interest to marine biologists, ecologists and zoologists with a general interest in themes such as symbiosis and life cycles.

The coast can no longer be left to nature to determine its fate. Wealth, property, economic interests, recreation, tourism and wildlife are all threatened. Coasts are an administrative battle ground and one of the most important and widely examined topics in environmental management. This volume examines the issues surrounding the human use and abuse of estuarine and coastal environments. Emphasizing the importance and significance of this natural resource, the uses and conflicts which occur and the results of human activity, this book explains the ways in which conservation and management policies and practices can protect this productive and diverse ecosystem. Examples and real-life case studies illustrate the effect of human intervention, both from an historic and contemporary perspective. Exposing the environmental consequences of estuarine pollution, Peter French highlights the need for management strategies to promote a sustainable development ethic for estuaries.

Diapause is an event of great ecological significance in the lives of a wide range of invertebrates. The underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms pose many intriguing questions and have important evolutionary implications. Some of the most dramatic examples of diapause are provided by crustaceans. Most branchiopods produce resting eggs that can withstand intense desiccation and extremes of temperature and pressure far beyond those to which they are ever subjected in nature. Furthermore they can remain in a dry condition, displaying no measurable metabolism, for many years. Such abilities enable them to inhabit infrequently-filled pools in arid regions. When the pools fill with water these dormant eggs hatch and give rise to animals that grow quickly to maturity and produce a new generation of resting eggs. There is every reason to believe that primitive branchiopods have employed diapause in this way since Palaeozoic times and that their abilities in this direction have played a key role in their continued success as freshwater animals.

The book integrates our understanding of the factors and processes underlying the evolution of multicellularity by providing several complementary perspectives (both theoretical and experimental) and using examples from various lineages in which multicellularity evolved. Recent years marked an increased interest in understanding how and why these transitions occurred, and data from various fields are providing new insights into the forces driving the several independent transitions to multicellular life as well as into the genetic and molecular basis for the evolution of this phenotype. The ultimate goal of this book is to facilitate the identification of general and unifying principles and mechanisms.

This volume offers a comprehensive review of the chemical, biological and hydromorphological quality of the Danube. The first part examines the chemical pollution of surface waters, focusing on organic compounds (with special emphasis given to EU WFD priority substances and Danube River Basin specific pollutants), heavy metals and nutrients. Attention is also given to pollution of groundwater and drinking water resources by hazardous substances and to radioactivity in the Danube. The second part highlights the biology and hydromorphology of the Danube. It focuses on benthic macroinvertebrates, phytobenthos, macrophytes, fish, phytoplankton as well as microbiology, with chapters dedicated to gaps and uncertainties in the ecological status assessment and to invasive alien species. Further chapters dealing with the hydromorphology, sediment management and isotope hydrology complete the overall picture of the status of the Danube.

This popular undergraduate textbook offers students a firm grounding in the fundamentals of biological oceanography. As well as a clear and accessible text, learning is enhanced with numerous illustrations including a colour section, thorough chapter summaries, and questions with answers and comments at the back of the book.

The comprehensive coverage of this book encompasses the properties of seawater which affect life in the ocean, classification of marine environments and organisms, phytoplankton and zooplankton, marine food webs, larger marine animals (marine mammals, seabirds and fish), life on the seafloor, and the way in which humans affect marine ecosystems.
The second edition has been thoroughly updated, including much data available for the first time in a book at this level. There is also a new chapter on human impacts - from harvesting vast amounts of fish, pollution, and deliberately or accidentally transferring marine organisms to new environments.
This book complements the Open University Oceanography Series, also published by Butterworth-Heinemann, and is a set text for the Open University third level course, S330.
A leading undergraduate text
New chapter on human impacts - a highly topical subject
Expanded colour plate section

Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs," are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean.
Key Features
* First book in more than 80 years devoted exclusively to fossil marine reptiles
* Documents the most current research on extinct marine reptiles
* Prepared by the world's most prominent experts in the field
* Well illustrated

This volume provides a selection of the most significant papers presented at the Fourth Conference on Fish Telemetry in Europe, in Trondheim, Norway, in 2001. Papers are focused on migratory patterns and habitat utilisation, social behaviour, physiological ecology, fisheries management, effects of human impact on fish populations, aquaculture and methodology, and new technology.

This book is aimed at scientists and engineers actively involved in aquatic telemetry projects, aquatic biologists (marine and freshwater), fisheries biologists and managers.

Mangroves and seagrasses form extensive and highly productive ecosystems that are both biologically diverse and economically valuable. This book, now in its third edition and fully updated throughout, continues to provide a current and comprehensive introduction to all aspects of the biology and ecology of mangroves and seagrasses. Using a global range of examples and case studies, it describes the unique adaptations of these plants to their exacting environments; the rich and diverse communities of organisms that depend on mangrove forests and seagrass meadows (including tree-climbing shrimps, synchronously flashing fireflies, and 'gardening' seacows); the links between mangrove, seagrass, and other habitats; and the evolution, biodiversity, and biogeography of mangroves and seagrasses. The economic value of mangroves and seagrasses is also discussed, including approaches to rational management of these vital resources and techniques for the restoration of degraded habitats. A final chapter, new to this edition, examines the potential effects of global climate change including sea level rise. As with other titles in the Biology of Habitats Series, particular emphasis is placed on the organisms that dominate these fascinating aquatic ecosystems although pollution, conservation, and experimental aspects are also considered. This accessible textbook assumes no previous knowledge of mangrove or seagrass ecology and is intended for senior undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professional ecologists, conservation practitioners, and resource managers.

Comprising by far the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates, fishes occupy a broad swathe of habitats ranging from the deepest ocean abyss to the highest mountain lakes. Such incredible ecological diversity and the resultant variety in lifestyle, anatomy, physiology and behavior, make unraveling the evolutionary history of fishes a daunting task. The successor of a classic volume by the same title, Interrelationships of Fishes, provides the latest in the "state of the art" of systematics and classification for many of the major groups of fishes. In providing a sound phylogenetic framework from leading authorities in the field, this book is an indispensable reference for a broad range of biologists, especially students of fish behavior, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and ecology--in fact, anyone who wishes to interpret their work on fishes in an evolutionary context.
* Provides thorough and comprehensive treatment of the Phylogency of fishes
* Assembles an International team of expert contributors
* Useful to a wide variety of fish biologists

This book documents the current state of research by Chinese scientists on fish biology and fisheries and brings together manuscripts by authors from research institutions, universities and government agencies. There are papers on aquaculture, life history, genetics, marine and freshwater biology, conservation, physiology, new species descriptions, and truly amazing hypogean fishes. The information on these remarkable cave species shows how much we have yet to learn from that incredible fauna. There are papers dealing with some of the largest fishes and some of the smallest cave species. There are papers dealing with some of the most traditional forms of aquaculture and others with the most modern molecular techniques. The volume includes papers on critically threatened native fishes as well as the most common food species, such as grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). The information on rare and threatened species shows how China is dealing with their endangered fishes. The information on their carp species will be invaluable to those in other countries who will either take advantage of the productive carp species in aquaculture or try to manage them as invasive species outside China. For the first time we bring together a complete overview of the state of fisheries research in China.

The Ecological Bases for Lake and Reservoir Management provides a state-of-the-art review of the range of ecologically-based techniques necessary for the holistic management of lakes and their catchments. Most of the methods, case studies and national policies reviewed are directed towards management of the largest problem - eutrophication - with the emphasis on the multiple-scale approach needed for successful management and restoration. Case studies come from the USA and ten European countries, and range from single lakes through to lake districts and national inventories. Several essays precede the practical chapters with thought-provoking comments on the political, social and economic climate of water management.