The Arid Mangrove Forest from Baja California Peninsula is a series of books that aim to understand the biodiversity, fisheries and economic value of this critical habitat. The book's contents are devoted to making the reader aware of the great value of the mangrove trees in relation to their conservation and management. Mangrove forests along the Baja California Peninsula represent the northernmost population along Pacific Coast, and thus they are likely to be sourced populations for colonisation at higher latitudes as the climate becomes more favorable. Today, these populations are relatively small and fragmented, and prior research has indicated that they are poor in genetic diversity; however, in the actual global warming scenario, it is very likely that forest cover and genetic diversity will increase. Another relevant component of the book will be the biodiversity inventory, which is still in progress for many biological groups and will be taken into account in the present volume. The present volume will review and analyse some physical, biological and ecological factors that determine the success of these communities and their use in conservation or fishery management. Marine Protected Areas include several of the mangrove forests studied here, and the presented information is critical for appropriate management. The book is organised in ten chapters to evaluate based on study cases, the value of the forest in arid zones of the Baja California Peninsula and the surrounding areas worldwide. This book will be essential to understand the mangroves along Northwestern Mexico and will be a critical consulting book for the next generation of managers and nature lovers who want to understand our environment better.

Invertebrates are common in marine and freshwater ecosystems and key elements in processes such as trophic dynamics and nutrient recycling. At the present time we have a limited knowledge of their diversity and how they have evolved over time. A key element of study in this book, are the current efforts to produce revised classificatory systems which include modern approaches and an update of the current taxonomical system. Another topic discussed in great detail is the relation of invertebrates and their contribution to biodiversity in terms of unique species per habitat. "Invertebrates: Classification, Evolution and Biodiversity" represents an effort to show the relevance of this unique group of living species and the current efforts to better understand them. This book presents a well balanced set of chapters in which a detailed review of the classification of poorly known groups (such as freshwater arthropods, oligochaetes, and marine ascidians) are studied. Another set of chapters are devoted to understanding the associated biodiversity of invertebrates in marine ecosystems and how they respond to environmental variables. Biogeographical comparisons and evolutionary fractal analysis close the contributions and provide a high standard of knowledge towards the goal of this book. This book also discusses the role of invertebrates in coastal systems and provides key investigation for undergraduate and graduate students and researchers and professional researchers who are interested in ecology and evolution.

This is a book dedicated to show a series of case studies about how benthic habitats are organized and how they function as a tool for any environmental impact studies. The present book documents how the natural condition of these communities is and aims to expand our present knowledge about their organization. The human population growth is driving a very strong pressure over coastal areas, and now more than ever we urgently need elements to evaluate environmental impacts. One of the most striking situations is the loss of biodiversity and the increase of invasive species who modify the trophic networks as well as the community structure. Many endangered species and species related to fisheries depend on the benthic habitat for their basic life cycle stages (reproduction, recruitment, nursery and feeding grounds) who might be impacted by natural and human induced causes. Ranging from species richness studies to population and community structure chapters, this book will bring the reader many options on how to measure environmental impacts. In particular, an analysis of how these environmental studies are made in Mexico provided a good example of how the present report base model is overdue and expresses the need for another approach. Keep in mind the present model does not take into account any statistical approach and is not mandatory in terms of the synergic and accumulative impacts; the lack of this consistency makes evaluation impossible to tell if the impacts are really happening.

Over the last four decades, threats from anthropogenic activities such as Bycatch, modification or destruction of critical habitats, and use or consumption of products from turtles along with inherent life history features of sea turtles have declined severely in population sizes. Recently, through modern research techniques, we have learned some important aspects of taxonomy, ecology and biology of these animals; those findings revealed the role of sea turtles in their ecosystems, migratory patterns, habitat use and the main population hotspots and conservation units. This book aims to address the current situation on sea turtle research, to provide an overview of the newest tools and techniques for research, but at the same time provide key elements on management of sea turtles and how they can be used for conservation purposes. Through the detailed description of each technique and case studies that this book contains, students, researchers and academics can properly raise their research questions and experimental designs, which consequently enable them to obtain results comparable to those reported in studies from journals of high impact.

The arid mangrove forest from the Baja California Peninsula represents a series of chapters devoted to the understanding of the biodiversity and fisheries value of this critical habitat. The book contents are devoted to making the reader aware of the great value of the mangrove in relation to their conservation and management. Mangrove forests in Mexico represent the northernmost populations along Pacific coast, and thus they are likely to be sourced populations for colonisation at higher latitudes as the climate becomes more favourable. Today, these populations are relatively small and fragmented and prior research has indicated that they are poor in genetic diversity, but in the actual global warming scenario, it is very likely that forest cover will increase and genetic diversity will increase. Another relevant component of the book will be the biodiversity inventory still in progress for many biological groups and will be taken into account in the present volume. The present volume will review and analyse some physical, biological, and ecological factors that determine the success of these communities and their use in conservation or fisheries management. Marine Protected Areas include several of the mangroves studied here and the presented information is critical for the appropriate management. The book is organised in 10 chapters to evaluate studies based on the value of the forest in arid zones of the Baja California Peninsula and the surrounding areas worldwide. This book will be essential to understand the mangroves along North-western Mexico and will also be a critical consulting book for the next generation of managers and nature lovers who want to better understand our environment.

After decades of research, monitoring, and analysis, we still have so much to learn about sea turtles. As reptiles, they are environmentally sensitive animals and thus can sense acute changes in their habitat. This rudimentary tactic of ectothermic animals has possibly conceded to the survival of sea turtle populations over millions of years. They have endured cooling and warming of the earth. The habitats they depend on have endured fierce hurricanes and erosion. Now the question remains if sea turtle populations and their habitats will survive the challenges and pressures that humans place on the world. The anthology of research presented in this textbook is diverse and yet so interconnected. We cannot work to conserve wildlife populations without a fundamental understanding of habitat or the range of changes that individuals within a population can tolerate. Sea turtles are no exception. Changes in migration patterns due to climate change, diversity of food sources between species, acute habitat selection for nesting, mutations in genetics, and differences in anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry between species and even individuals make the study of sea turtles dynamic and challenging.