Imperiled Reef

The beauty and drama of a world beneath the surface of the waves This book brings alive the richly diverse world of an underwater paradise: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Stretching 625 miles through the Caribbean Sea along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, this reef is the second largest coral structure on the planet. Imperiled Reef searches out the breathtaking intricacies of this endangered ecological treasure. Research shows that the future of the reef is at risk, Sheehy explains. Looking closely at threats ranging from global warming to overfishing to irresponsible development, Sheehy draws attention to the inspiring efforts of nongovernmental agencies, scientists, and local communities who are working together to address these challenges. She includes practical actions individuals can take to protect this reef—as well as marine ecosystems everywhere. Celebrating a vast, submerged landscape that has too often been undervalued, Imperiled Reef is both a strong case for protecting an international marvel and a powerful message of hope for the world’s oceans.

This book brings alive the richly diverse world of an underwater paradise, the second largest coral structure on the planet: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

'A ravishing, alarming account of these underwater palaces of wonder, and the existential threat they face from humanity and our warming climate ... Nature's throne rooms are thrown open by Roberts's prose' - The Spectator 'A vibrant memoir ... a fine introduction to the ecology of reefs and the existential threats they now face' - The Guardian Reef Life is a marine science memoir - the story of how Britain's pre-eminent marine conservation scientist, fell in love with coral reefs. Callum Roberts begins as a young university student who had never been abroad, spending a summer helping to map the unknown reefs of Saudi Arabia. From the moment he first cleared his goggles, he's never looked back, moving on to survey Sharm al-Sheikh, and from there diving and researching all over the world, including the Australia's imperilled Great Barrier Reef and the more resilient reefs of the Caribbean, in a thirty-year career. His stories are astonishing, lyrical and laced with a wonderful wry humour - and they allow us privileged access to, and understanding of, the science of our oceans and reefs. Reading this book will also commit readers to support of Callum's goal to get marine reserve status for ten percent of the world's ocean.

Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) are spread all over the world. Composed by suspension feeding organisms (e.g. corals, gorgonians, sponges, bryozoans, bivalves, etc.), MAFs constitute a vast number of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, cold water corals, sponge grounds, bivalve beds, etc. The surface covered by these systems is prominent (at the scale of the oceans of the planet), though poorly known. In a previous book (Marine Animal Forests, the ecology of benthic biodiversity hotspots), several aspects of the MAFs were described and discussed, building the basis for a holistic approach with the aim of putting these shallow and deep sea ecosystems under a common umbrella. The main target of the present book is to identify and address important topics which were not covered in the previous three volumes. Bryozoans or Polychaeta, for example, are treated in this volume, as well as hydrothermal vents ecosystems and submarine caves, the chemical ecology in MAFs or the nursery effect on these ecosystems. The vastity of the MAF concept opens new insights in the biology, physiology, biodiversity of the organisms structuring these highly biodiverse ecosystems and on the dangers threatening them (such as microplastics or the role of invasive species as an impact of their trophic ecology or distribution). In a fast changing world, in which the complexity of MAFs is at risk, we propose an in-depth analysis of many aspects that may be inspirational for future research lines in marine biology and ecology.