[PDF] Tropical Seagrass Ecosystems eBook

Author : Frederick T. Short
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 15,79 MB
Release : 2003
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780520240476

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Seagrasses are a vital and widespread but often overlooked coastal marine habitat. This volume provides a global survey of their distribution and conservation status.

Author : F.T. Short
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 506 pages
File Size : 49,44 MB
Release : 2001-11-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 008052561X

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This thorough and informative volume presents a set of detailed, globally applicable techniques for seagrass research.The book provides methods for all aspects of seagrass science from basic plant collection to statistical approaches and investigations of plant-animal interaction. The emphasis is on methods that are applicable in both developing and developed countries. The importance of seagrasses in coastal and near shore environments, and ultimately their contribution to the productivity of the world's oceans, has become increasingly recognised over the last 40 years.Seagrasses provide food for sea turtles, nearly 100 fish species, waterfowl and for the marine mammals the manatee and dugong. Seagrasses also support complex food webs by virtue of their physical structure and primary production and are well known for their role as breeding grounds and nurseries for important crustacean, finfish and shell fish populations. Seagrasses are the basis of an important detrital food chain. The plants filter nutrients and contaminants from the water, stabilise sediments and act as dampeners to wave action. Seagrasses rank with coral reefs and mangroves as some of the world's most productive coastal habitat and strong linkages among these habitats make the loss of seagrasses a contributing factor in the degradation of the world's oceans. Contributors from around the world provide up-to-date methods for comparable collection of ecological information from both temperate and tropical seagrass ecosystems.

Author : Anthony W. D. Larkum
Publisher : Springer
Page : 791 pages
File Size : 15,25 MB
Release : 2018-07-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 331971354X

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This book takes the place of “Biology of Seagrasses: A Treatise on the Biology of Seagrasses with Special Reference to the Australian Region”, co-edited by A.W.D. Larkum, A.J. MaCComb and S.A. Shepherd and published by Elsevier in 1989. The first book has been influential, but it is now 25 years since it was published and seagrass studies have progressed and developed considerably since then. The design of the current book follows in the steps of the first book. There are chapters on taxonomy, floral biology, biogeography and regional studies. The regional studies emphasize the importance of Australia having over half of the world’s 62 species, including some ten species published for Australia since the previous book. There are a number of chapters on ecology and biogeography; fish biology and fisheries and dugong biology are prominent chapters. Physiological aspects again play an important part, including new knowledge on the role of hydrogen sulphide in sediments and on photosynthetic processes. Climate change, pollution and environmental degradation this time gain an even more important part of the book. Decline of seagrasses around Australia are also discussed in detail in several chapters. Since the first book was published two new areas have received special attention: blue carbon and genomic studies. Seagrasses are now known to be a very important player in the formation of blue carbon, i.e. carbon that has a long turnover time in soils and sediments. Alongside salt marshes and mangroves, seagrasses are now recognized as playing a very important role in the formation of blue carbon. And because Australia has such an abundance and variety of seagrasses, their role in blue carbon production and turnover is of great importance. The first whole genomes of seagrasses are now available and Australia has played an important role here. It appears that seagrasses have several different suites of genes as compared with other (land) plants and even in comparison with freshwater hydrophytes. This difference is leading to important molecular biological studies where the new knowledge will be important to the understanding and conservation of seagrass ecosystems in Australia. Thus by reason of its natural abundance of diverse seagrasses and a sophisticated seagrass research community in Australia it is possible to produce a book which will be attractive to marine biologists, coastal scientists and conservationists from many countries around the world.

Author : Marten A. Hemminga
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 15,39 MB
Release : 2000-10-19
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0521661846

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Seagrasses occur in coastal zones throughout the world, in the part of the marine habitat that is most heavily influenced by humans. Decisions about coastal management therefore often involve seagrasses, but a full appreciation of the role of seagrasses in coastal ecosystems has yet to be reached. This book provides an entry point for those wishing to learn about the ecology of this fascinating group of plants, and gives a broad overview of current knowledge, complemented by extensive literature references to guide the reader to more detailed studies.

Author : Anthony Larkum
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 724 pages
File Size : 20,85 MB
Release : 2007-02-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781402029424

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Seagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are state-of–the-art and designed to be useful to students and researchers alike. The book not only focuses on what has been discovered but what exciting areas are left to discover. The book is divided into sections on taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction, ecology, physiology, fisheries, management, conservation and landscape ecology. It is destined to become the chosen text on seagrasses for any marine biology course.

Author : Ivan Nagelkerken
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 617 pages
File Size : 19,2 MB
Release : 2009-09-23
Category : Science
ISBN : 9048124069

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Mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs are circumtropical ecosystems that are highly productive, and provide many important biological functions and economic services. These ecosystems cover large surface areas in the shallow tropical coastal seascape but have suffered from serious human degradation, especially in the last few decades. Part of their diversity, productivity, and functioning seems to be based on their juxtaposition. Especially in the last decade significant advances have been made on new insights into their ecological connectivity. This authoritative book provides a first-time comprehensive review of the major ecological interactions across tropical marine ecosystems that result from the mutual exchange of nutrients, organic matter, fish, and crustaceans. A group of leading authors from around the world reviews the patterns and underlying mechanisms of important biogeochemical and biological linkages among tropical coastal ecosystems in 15 chapters. Included are chapters that review cutting-edge tools to study and quantify these linkages, the importance of such linkages for fisheries, and how tropical ecosystems should be conserved and managed for sustainable use by future generations. The book uses examples from all over the world and provides an up-to-date review of the latest published literature. This book is a ‘must read’ for professionals working on the conservation, management, and ecology of mangrove, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems.

Author : Stephen A. Bortone
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 13,41 MB
Release : 1999-12-15
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1420074474

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Seagrasses are becoming widely used as in situ indicators of the relative health and condition of subtropical and tropical estuarine ecosystems. To permit meaningful management of our estuaries, there is clearly a need to develop and refine ways of effectively monitoring and assessing seagrasses. Seagrasses: Monitoring, Ecology, Physiology, and