Oceanography and Marine Biology preserves the basic elements of the physical, chemical, and geological aspects of the marine sciences, and merges those fundamentals into a broader framework of marine biology and ecology. This approach works, but existing textbooks on oceanography or marine biology address the companion field only cursorily: very few pages in oceanography texts are devoted to marine biology, and vice versa. This new book overcomes that imbalance, bringing these disparate marine science text formats closer together, giving them more equal weight, and introducing more effectively the physical sciences by showing students with everyday examples how such concepts form the foundation upon which to build a better understanding of the marine environment in a changing world.
- Early Foundations of the Ocean Sciences
- Origins and Connections: Science, the Universe, Earth, and Life
- The Ocean Floor: Its Formation and Evolution
- Water: Its Chemical and Physical Properties
- Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Currents
- Waves and Tides
- Introduction to Life in the Sea
- The Primary Producers
- The Zooplankton
- Marine Invertebrates
- The Fishes
- Marine Environments
- Marine Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals
- Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Human Impacts
David W. Townsend is Professor of Oceanography in the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine. He has a longtime affiliation with the University, having completed a B.A. in Zoology there; after pursuing his M.S. (in Marine Science) at Long Island University, he then returned to the University of Maine, earning a Ph.D. in Oceanography. Dr. Townsend has been recognized for his teaching with the College Outstanding Teaching Award (2001) and the Distinguished Maine Professor Award (2006). He has published more than 90 papers, book chapters, and reviews. His research interests include: biological oceanography of estuaries and shelf seas; phytoplankton blooms; nutrient dynamics; fisheries oceanography; ecology and population dynamics of larval fishes and zooplankton; plankton ecology and trophodynamics; and coupling of physical and biological processes.