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Language: English
The exploration of biodiversity in marine ecosystems is still in its infancy, mainly due to the technological limitations associated with ocean exploration and the fact that marine biodiversity is dominated by microscopic organisms, with a metabolic repertoire much higher than that found on land. For this reason, it continues to provide surprises, especially in the most remote and extreme habitats of the ocean, which offer constant discoveries.
This book collects the contents of the first cycle of debates organized jointly between the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Fundácion BBVA around the Cap Salines Lighthouse Coastal Research Station (Mallorca, Illes Balears). Through the contributions of international experts, the work gives an account of the current state of knowledge of marine biodiversity, the efforts being made to achieve a complete inventory of the marine species of our planet, as well as technological and scientific developments that are enabling this exploration, from which important benefits for society can be derived.
- Introduction / Carlos M. Duarte
- General aspects concerning marine and terrestrial biodiversity / Damià Jaume and Carlos M. Duarte
- The magnitude of marine biodiversity / Philippe Bouchet
- Deep-sea ecosystems: pristine biodiversity reservoir and technological challenges / Eva Ramírez Llodra and David S.M. Billett
- Life suspended in water: the plankton / Geoff Boxshall
- Marine genomics and the exploration of marine biodiversity / J. Mark Cock
