Seagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are state-of–the-art and designed to be useful to students and researchers alike. The book not only focuses on what has been discovered but what exciting areas are left to discover. The book is divided into sections on taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction, ecology, physiology, fisheries, management, conservation and landscape ecology. It is destined to become the chosen text on seagrasses for any marine biology course.
This thorough and informative volume presents a set of detailed, globally applicable techniques for seagrass research.The book provides methods for all aspects of seagrass science from basic plant collection to statistical approaches and investigations of plant-animal interaction. The emphasis is on methods that are applicable in both developing and developed countries. The importance of seagrasses in coastal and near shore environments, and ultimately their contribution to the productivity of the world's oceans, has become increasingly recognised over the last 40 years.Seagrasses provide food for sea turtles, nearly 100 fish species, waterfowl and for the marine mammals the manatee and dugong. Seagrasses also support complex food webs by virtue of their physical structure and primary production and are well known for their role as breeding grounds and nurseries for important crustacean, finfish and shell fish populations. Seagrasses are the basis of an important detrital food chain. The plants filter nutrients and contaminants from the water, stabilise sediments and act as dampeners to wave action. Seagrasses rank with coral reefs and mangroves as some of the world's most productive coastal habitat and strong linkages among these habitats make the loss of seagrasses a contributing factor in the degradation of the world's oceans.Contributors from around the world provide up-to-date methods for comparable collection of ecological information from both temperate and tropical seagrass ecosystems.
Seagrasses occur in coastal zones throughout the world, in the part of the marine habitat that is most heavily influenced by humans. Decisions about coastal management therefore often involve seagrasses, but a full appreciation of the role of seagrasses in coastal ecosystems has yet to be reached. This book provides an entry point for those wishing to learn about the ecology of this fascinating group of plants, and gives a broad overview of current knowledge, complemented by extensive literature references to guide the reader to more detailed studies.
Seagrasses are becoming widely used as in situ indicators of the relative health and condition of subtropical and tropical estuarine ecosystems. To permit meaningful management of our estuaries, there is clearly a need to develop and refine ways of effectively monitoring and assessing seagrasses. Seagrasses: Monitoring, Ecology, Physiology, and
Seagrasses are a vital and widespread but often overlooked coastal marine habitat. This volume provides a global survey of their distribution and conservation status.
A Guide to Southern Temperate Seagrasses describes the exceptionally diverse seagrasses in the temperate parts of the southern hemisphere. This book introduces readers to the evolution, biology and ecology of the southern temperate seagrasses and presents a visual key to allow species identification using easily recognisable features. Detailed information is presented summarising the distinctive features of each species or 'complex', with brief notes about their taxonomy, reproduction and ecology. With information provided in a highly concise format, this book allows readers to rapidly identify a particular seagrass, as well as other species that it may easily be confused with, confirm that the species occurs in a certain area, and access general information on the biology and ecology of the species. It is a valuable resource for students, researchers, environmental consultants and both government and non-government agencies.
This book takes the place of “Biology of Seagrasses: A Treatise on the Biology of Seagrasses with Special Reference to the Australian Region”, co-edited by A.W.D. Larkum, A.J. MaCComb and S.A. Shepherd and published by Elsevier in 1989. The first book has been influential, but it is now 25 years since it was published and seagrass studies have progressed and developed considerably since then. The design of the current book follows in the steps of the first book. There are chapters on taxonomy, floral biology, biogeography and regional studies. The regional studies emphasize the importance of Australia having over half of the world’s 62 species, including some ten species published for Australia since the previous book. There are a number of chapters on ecology and biogeography; fish biology and fisheries and dugong biology are prominent chapters. Physiological aspects again play an important part, including new knowledge on the role of hydrogen sulphide in sediments and on photosynthetic processes. Climate change, pollution and environmental degradation this time gain an even more important part of the book. Decline of seagrasses around Australia are also discussed in detail in several chapters. Since the first book was published two new areas have received special attention: blue carbon and genomic studies. Seagrasses are now known to be a very important player in the formation of blue carbon, i.e. carbon that has a long turnover time in soils and sediments. Alongside salt marshes and mangroves, seagrasses are now recognized as playing a very important role in the formation of blue carbon. And because Australia has such an abundance and variety of seagrasses, their role in blue carbon production and turnover is of great importance. The first whole genomes of seagrasses are now available and Australia has played an important role here. It appears that seagrasses have several different suites of genes as compared with other (land) plants and even in comparison with freshwater hydrophytes. This difference is leading to important molecular biological studies where the new knowledge will be important to the understanding and conservation of seagrass ecosystems in Australia. Thus by reason of its natural abundance of diverse seagrasses and a sophisticated seagrass research community in Australia it is possible to produce a book which will be attractive to marine biologists, coastal scientists and conservationists from many countries around the world.
The goal of the report project is to define the habitat requirements of seagrasses in the European coasts, the present threats to the sustainability of the ecosystem they form, and their resilience to disturbance in order to strengthen our forecast capacity and formulate cost-effective monitoring plans and management strategies.
This groundbreaking book describes the emerging field of theoretical immunology, in particular the use of mathematical models to describe the spread of infectious diseases within patients. It reveals fascinating insights into the dynamics of viral and other infections, and the interactions between infectious agents and immune responses. Structured around the examples of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B, Nowak and May show how mathematical models can help researchers to understand the detailed dynamics of infection and the effects of antiviral therapy. Models are developed to describe the dynamics of drug resistance, immune responses, viral evolution and mutation, and to optimise the design of therapy and vaccines.
