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Please note that the publisher has cancelled plans for a second edition.
Deep-Sea Biology provides a comprehensive account of the natural history of the organisms associated with the deep-sea floor, and examines their relationship with this remote and inhospitable environment. In the initial chapters, the authors describe the physico-chemical nature of the deep-sea floor and the methods used to collect and study its fauna. They then go on to discuss the ecological framework by exploring spatial patterns of diversity, biomass, vertical zonation and large-scale distributions. Subsequent chapters review current knowledge of feeding, respiration, reproduction and growth processes in these communities. The unique fauna of hydrothermal vents and seeps are considered separately. Finally, there is a discussion of man's exploitation of deep-sea resources and his use of this environment for waste disposal on the fauna of this, the earth's largest ecosystem.
Introduction
Part I. The Development of Deep-Sea Biology, The Physical Environment and Methods of Study
1. Historical aspects
2. The physical environment of the deep-sea
3. Methods of study of the organisms of the deep-sea floor
Part II. Organisms of the Deep-Sea Benthic Boundary
4. The megafauna
5. Smaller animals
Part III. Patterns in Space
6. Small-scale spatial patterns
7. Abundance and size structure of the deep-sea benthos
8. The diversity gradient
9. Depth-related patterns in community composition
10. Zoogeography, speciation and the origins of deep-sea fauna
Part IV. Processes Patterns in Time
11. Food resources, energetics and feeding strategies
12. Metabolic processes: microbial ecology at the deep-sea bed
13. Reproduction, recruitment and growth of deep-sea organisms
14. Animal sediment relations in the deep-sea
Part V. Parallel Systems and Anthropogenic Effects
15. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps
16. Anthropogenic impacts: man's effects on the deep-sea
"[...] a landmark study, well-documented and lavishly illustrated [...] strongly recommended as essential reading for all courses in marine biology."
- Nature
"Their text is very up to date with comprehensive references to original papers providing an excellent introduction to this field."
- Times Higher Education Supplement
"Researchers will cherish this book for its broad coverage and superb reference lists. Teachers will find its state-of-the-art reviews invaluable for preparing lectures and students for preparing essays [...] Highly recommended."
- Biologist
