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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Hydrobiology > Marine biology
A multitude of direct and indirect human influences have
significantly altered the environmental conditions, composition,
and diversity of marine communities. However, understanding and
predicting the combined impacts of single and multiple stressors is
particularly challenging because observed ecological feedbacks are
underpinned by a number of physiological and behavioural responses
that reflect stressor type, severity, and timing. Furthermore,
integration between the traditional domains of physiology and
ecology tends to be fragmented and focused towards the effects of a
specific stressor or set of circumstances. This novel volume
summarises the latest research in the physiological and ecological
responses of marine species to a comprehensive range of marine
stressors, including chemical and noise pollution, ocean
acidification, hypoxia, UV radiation, thermal and salinity stress
before providing a perspective on future outcomes for some of the
most pressing environmental issues facing society today. Stressors
in the Marine Environment synthesises the combined expertise of a
range of international researchers, providing a truly
interdisciplinary and accessible summary of the field. It is
essential reading for graduate students as well as professional
researchers in environmental physiology, ecology, marine biology,
conservation biology, and marine resource management. It will also
be of particular relevance and use to the regulatory agencies and
authorities tasked with managing the marine environment, including
social scientists and environmental economists.
The deep ocean is by far the planet's largest biome and holds a
wealth of potential natural assets. Human exploitation of the deep
ocean is rapidly increasing whilst becoming more visible to many
through the popular media, particularly film and television. The
scientific literature of deep-sea exploitation and its effects has
also rapidly expanded as a direct function of this increased
national and global interest in exploitation of deep-sea resources,
both biological (e.g. fisheries, genetic resources) and
non-biological (e.g. minerals, oil, gas, methane hydrate). At the
same time there is a growing interest in deep-sea contamination
(including plastics), with many such studies featured in high
profile scientific journals and covered by global media outlets.
However, there is currently no comprehensive integration of this
information in any form and these topics are only superficially
covered in classic textbooks on deep-sea biology. This concise and
accessible work provides an understanding of the relationships
between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, both at the
seafloor and in the water column, and how these might be affected
as a result of human interaction, exploitation and, ultimately,
environmental change. It follows a logical progression from
geological and physical processes, ecology, biology, and
biogeography, to exploitation, management, and conservation.
Natural Capital and Exploitation of the Deep Ocean is aimed at
marine biologists and ecologists, oceanographers, fisheries
scientists and managers, fish biologists, environmental scientists,
and conservation biologists. It will also be of relevance and use
to a multi-disciplinary audience of fish and wildlife agencies,
NGOs, and government departments involved in deep-sea conservation
and management.
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