Assessments and Conservation of Biological Diversity from Coral Reefs to the Deep Sea Uncovering Buried Treasures and the Value of the Benthos

About this book

Assessments and Conservation of Biological Diversity from Coral Reefs to the Deep Sea examines various marine benthic habitats around the world that are all linked by their physical location of lying at the bottom of our oceans. Although encompassing three-quarters of the earth's surface area, many benthic habitats are relatively unexplored due to their extreme depths. They can display extreme topographical relief, from stretches of shallow reefs to the top of seamounts to the deepest hadal trenches. Biologically built reefs depend on the patient and steady accretion via invertebrate lifestyles. These deep-sea ecosystems and their species face unprecedented threats of destruction and extinction due to factors including climate change; this book provides the most current knowledge of this undersea world and solutions for its conservation. Written by a leading global expert in benthic and conservation studies, this book approaches deep-sea marine biodiversity with perspectives on genetics, microbiology, and evolution, weaving a narrative of vital expert linkages with the goal of protecting something that most people cannot witness or experience. It provides a full assessment of biological diversity within benthic habitats, from coral reefs to plankton and fish species, and offers case studies from around the world to demonstrate conservation threats and potential solutions. Assessments and Conservation of Biological Diversity from Coral Reefs to the Deep Sea is the ideal resource for marine conservationists and biologists aiming to expand their knowledge and efforts to the rarely seen, yet equally important, realms of the ocean and respective benthic species.

Contents

1. Beginning with the seabed
2. Benthic biological diversity
3. Diversity hotspots: A survey of case study focal points
4. Threats to benthic diversity with possible solutions
5. Conservation of benthic habitats and organisms
6. Past and current education
7. Outreach efforts

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Biography

Professor Jose Victor Lopez’s research at Nova Southeastern University’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography (NSU HCNSO) pivots on the action of genes/genomes, microbes and evolution. For nearly 25 years, his lab has applied genomics tools to address various specific questions in marine invertebrate-microbial symbiosis, microbial ecology, forensics, metagenomics, gene expression of oil-exposed organisms, and systematics/phylogenetics. Dr Lopez is part of the DEEPEND Consortium to better understand food webs and microbial distributions in the deep Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His laboratory was one of the founding members of the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance or GIGA. Professor Lopez and GIGA are also part of the wider Earth Biogenome Project. He was recently recognized as NSU’s President’s Distinguished Professor, and Halmos College Of Natural Sciences and Oceanography Professor of the Year (2018-2019).