Estuarine Ecosystem, The: Ecology, Threats And Management

For the inhabitants of many of the world's major towns and cities, estuaries provide their first and nearest glimpse of a natural habitat. Despite the attempts of man to pollute or reclaim it, the estuarine ecosystem continues to provide a fascinating insight into a natural world where energy is transformed from sunlight into plant material, and then through the steps of a food chain is converted into a rich food supply for birds and fish. The book provides a concise readable introduction to estuarine ecology. First published in 1981, it soon established itself as the principle textbook of choice in the UK & NW Europe. This new edition builds upon the strengths of the earlier editions but has been thoroughly revised throughout. The new co-author brings a human impact dimension to the revised book. It is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students (particularly taught masters) who have had a general ecology course, but no further training in estuarine science. It will be useful to both professional researchers and practical managers in marine ecology and environmental science who seek a compact but comprehensive introduction to estuarine ecology. Review: Fortunately, the content remains, not unchanged, but the essentials preserved and supplemented ... all the things the students liked in the previous editions - the simple Figures and Tables, the clear and concise expositions - are still there, but augmented with the new syntheses. Bulletin of the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association ... a concise and relatively comprehensive introduction to estuarine ecology for the non-specialist. Aquaculture International Table of Contents: 1. The Estuarine Environment; 2. Life in Estuaries; 3. Primary Producers: plant production and its availability; 4. Primary Consumers: herbivores and detritivores; 5. The Secondary Consumers: carnivores; 6. Estuarine Uses and Users; 7. Methods for Studying Human-Induced Changes in Estuaries; 8. The Management of Estuaries