Oceanography And Benthic Ecology Of Patagonian Fjords 500 Years From The Discovery Of The Strait Magellan

This book integrates a variety of issues such as regional settings of productivity and nutrient cycling; plankton of coastal and shelf systems; plankton, climate change and human-induced changes; harmful algae and their impacts; and gelatinous zooplankton. This book explores the intriguing marine plankton communities of the SWA region of South America encompassing low to high latitude environments, framed by a complex hydrographic background and global climate change. This vast and iconic region has been largely under-recognized and under-studied. However, in recent years a strong interest has emerged along with the acknowledgment of its high biological productivity. The book concludes by discussing conservation in the region, highlighting regional biodiversity hotspots where the challenges of climate change, habitat loss, and other threats to biodiversity may be particularly acute. Plankton Ecology of the Southwestern Atlantic is a timely synthesis of the field, setting a new baseline for future research. It will be important reading for both researchers and graduate students, and will also be of interest and use to a professional audience of oceanographers, conservation biologists, stake holders and educated science enthusiasts

With contributions from an impressive group of Argentinean and German oceanographers, this book examines classical ecological issues relating to marine ecosystems in the context of climate change. It paints a picture of marine ecology at the crossroads of global warming. The book examines the fundamentals of marine ecology: ecosystem stability, water quality, and biodiversity in the context of the changes taking place globally. It then reviews the major marine ecosystems in the same context, from the primary producers to the big marine mammals. The chapters cover primary consumers level, benthic communities, seaweeds assemblages and wetlands ecology, fisheries, and seabirds.

Coastal and marine ecosystems, some severely degraded, other still pristine, control rich resources of inshore environments and coastal seas of Latin America's Pacific and Atlantic margins. Conflicts between the needs of the region's nations and diminishing revenues and environmental quality have induced awareness of coastal ecological problems and motivated financial support for restoration and management. The volume provides a competent review on the structure, processes and function of 22 important Latin American coastal marine ecosystems. Each contribution describes the environmental settings, biotic components and structure of the system, considers trophic processes and energy flow, evaluates the modifying influence of natural and human perturbations, and suggests management needs. Although the focus of the book is on basic ecological research, the results have application for coastal managers.

Rocas Alijos lies 180 nautical miles west of Baja California. It comprises several exposed rocks that surmount a large oceanic volcano rising from the ocean floor well off the continental shelf. It is located at the transition zone between two major biologic provinces, at a latitude where the Pacific Current turns westward to form the north Pacific trans-oceanic current. In spite of its obvious importance for biogeographical studies, the remoteness of Rocas Alijos and its small size thwarted any major scientific work until very recently, and the topography, biota, and oceanographic conditions of the site remained largely unknown. During 1990, and again in 1993, Cordell Expeditions, a nonprofit research organization based in Walnut Creek, California, undertook expeditions to describe the site. A scientific team of 30 was onsite 31 October-7 November 1990, and a scientific team of 12 was onsite 10-15 February 1993. Since most of the Rocas Alijos site is subtidal, much of the examination and specimen collection was done by scuba, although several remote sampling techniques were also used. The exposed rocks were sampled by climbers, and megafauna were observed from shipboard.

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 textNew chapter on human impacts - a highly topical subjectExpanded colour plate section