The Role Of Dimethylsulphide And Other Sulphur Substances On The Climate And Ecology Of Coral Reefs

Dimethylsulphide (DMS), emitted by marine phytoplankton, is the second most important source of atmospheric sulphur, after anthropogenic SO2. In the atmosphere, DMS is transformed into condensable acidic sulphur products and, through gas-to-particle conversion, it becomes the most important natural source of atmospheric sulphate aerosols. Possible climatic effects have been suggested, linked to the negative radiative forcing due to scattering of solar radiation and especially to modification of cloud albedo over oceans by sulphate aerosol particles. These effects occur in addition to those deriving from the superimposed anthropogenic component of the atmospheric sulphate. Understanding the cycle of DMS in the marine troposphere and its interaction with the aerosol budget and cloud properties has become a key research target in these last years. Our knowledge of the many processes involved is still fragmentary, however. This book, which updates the state of our comprehension of the marine DMS cycle with special regard to its climatic impact, will be of interest to marine biologists, atmospheric chemists, aerosol physicists and climatologists, and to scientists concerned with changes in the Earth's climate.

The rapid demise of coral reefs worldwide has spurred efforts to develop innovative conservation and restoration methods. Many of these rely on omics approaches to produce genetic, genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic or metabolomic data to inform conservation and restoration interventions. This book provides the state of play of this field. It discusses topics ranging from how genomic and environmental DNA (eDNA) data can be used to inform marine protected area design and cryopreservation strategies, the use of knowledge on adaptive genetic and epigenetic variation to maximise environmental stress tolerance of coral stock, harnessing transcriptome data to develop early warning markers, the use of microbial symbiont omics data in guiding restoration strategies, to applications of metabolomics and genetic engineering. How best to translate omics data to resource managers is also discussed.

Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.

This study describes a proposal for a new tool on how to incorporate an ecosystem services approach into the maritime spatial planning process. The proposed tool provides a prototype for a stepwise methodology to analyze linkages between maritime activities and ecosystem services, and to assess the status of marine ecosystem services as a part of the MSP process. The report addresses the Nordic cooperation needs, economic valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs between concurrent uses of marine areas and ecosystem services. The study shows that making use of the proposed methodology enables and facilitates the incorporation of an ecosystem services approach in the planning process. However, in order to fully assess its possibilities, and the needs for further improvements, future work should focus on applying the methodology on a comprehensive marine spatial planning case.

This book explores the ethnobiology of corals by examining the various ways in which humans, past and present, have exploited and taken care of coral and coralline habitats. This book will bring the educated general audience closer to corals by exploring the various circumstances of human-coral coexistence by providing scientifically sound and jargon-free perspectives and experiences from across the globe. Corals are a vital part of the marine environment since they promote and sustain marine and global biodiversity while providing numerous other environmental and cultural services. Countless valuable coral conservation efforts are published in academic and general audience venues on a daily basis. However relevant, few of these reports show a direct, deeper understanding of the intimate relationship between people and corals throughout the world’s societies. Ethnobiology of Corals and Coral Reefs establishes an intimate bond between the audience and the wonder of corals and their importance to humankind.