Marine Community Ecology

About this book

Advanced undergraduate and graduate text giving an overview of what is known about the structure and organisation of the assemblages of organisms that live on the sea floor. The book is organized into three parts. The first eight chapters explore general processes that generate pattern in benthic communities. These introductory chapters examine how physical and biological forces interacting with historical and genetic constraints operate to structure marine communities. The middle part examines the ecology of specific marine benthic community types, ranging from rocky shores and soft substrate habitats to seagrass beds and coral reefs. These chapters are intended to be the most up-to-date summaries available of our understanding of these communities. The book closes with three chapters examining conservation and management issues of marine communities. These closing chapters emphasize how pervasively benthic marine communities are impacted by humans and outline how we can use our understanding of these systems to manage marine populations and communities and to design marine reserves.

Contents

Part I: Processes Influencing Pattern in Benthic Communities; Physical Processes that Generate Pattern in Marine Communities; Geological History of the Living Shore Biota; Genetic Structure in the Sea: From Populations to Communities; Natural Disturbance and the Dynamics of Marine Benthic Communities; The Ecology and Evolution of Marine Consumer-Prey Interactions; The Larval Ecology of Marine Communities; Supply Side Ecology: The Nature and Consequences of Variations in Recruitment of Intertidal Organisms; Habitat Modification and Facilitation in Benthic Marine Communities; Part II: Community Types; Soft Sediment Communities; Salt Marsh Communities; Seagrass Community Ecology; Rocky Subtidal Communities; Deep-Sea Communities; The Ecology of Coral Reefs; Mangrove Communities; Part III: Marine Community Conservation Issues; Human Alterations of Marine Communities; Caveat Studium; Conservation and Management of Marine Communities; The Ecology of Marine Protected Areas

Customer Reviews

Biography

Mark D. Bertness, Brown University. Steven D. Gains, University of California. Mark E. Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology.