Marine Biodiversity
Patterns and Processes

Investigates patterns and processes of biodiversity in the poorly understood, but vital marine ecosystem.

Rupert F. G. Ormond (Edited by), John D. Gage (Edited by), Martin V. Angel (Edited by), Crispin Tickell (Foreword by)

9780521022651, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 November 2005

472 pages, 90 b/w illus. 29 tables
22.9 x 15.4 x 2.8 cm, 0.691 kg

'Marine Biodiversity will be a major resource for all those interested in biodiversity and its conservation.' Journal of the Marine Biological Association

The biodiversity of many ecosystems is under threat and although seas cover the majority of our planet's surface, far less is known about the biodiversity of marine environments than that of terrestrial systems. It is also not clear whether many of the patterns known to occur on land also occur in the sea. Until we have a firmer idea of the diversity of a wide range of marine habitats and what controls it, we have little hope of conserving biodiversity, or determining the impact of human activities such as mariculture, fishing, dumping of waste and pollution. This book brings together key studies from the deep sea and open ocean, to tropical shores and polar regions to consider how comparable the patterns and processes underlying diversity are in these different ecosystems. Marine Biodiversity will be a major resource for all those interested in biodiversity and its conservation.

Foreword: the value of diversity Crispin Tickell
1. Marine biodiversity in its global context M. H. Williamson
2. Gradients in marine biodiversity J. S. Gray
3. Pelagic biodiversity M. V. Angel
4. Biological diversity in oceanic macrozooplankton: more than counting species A. C. Pierrot-Bults
5. Large scale patterns of species diversity in the deep sea benthos M. A. Rex, R. J. Etter and C. T. Stuart
6. Diversity, latitude and time: patterns in the shallow sea A. Clarke and J. A. Crame
7. High benthic species diversity in deep-sea sediments: the importance of hydrodynamics J. D. Gage
8. Diversity and structure of tropical Indo-Pacific benthic communities: relation to regimes of nutrient input J. D. Taylor
9. Why are coral reef communities so diverse? A. J. Kohn
10. The biodiversity of coral reef fishes R. F. G. Ormond and C. M. Roberts
11. The historical component of marine taxonomic diversity gradients J. A. Crame and A. Clarke
12. Population genetics and demography of marine species J. E. Neigel
13. Discovering unrecognised diversity among marine molluscs J. Grahame, S. L. Hull, P. J. Mill and R. Hemingway
14. Ecosystem function at low biodiversity - the Baltic example R. Elmgren and C. Hill
15. Land-seascape diversity of the US east coast coastal zone with particular reference to estuaries G. C. Ray, B. P. Hayden, M. G. McCormick-Ray and T. M. Smith
16. The development of mariculture and its implications for biodiversity M. C. M. Beveridge, L. G. Ross and J. A. Stewart
17. Protecting marine biodiversity and integrated coastal zone management J. S. H. Pullen
18. Conserving biodiversity in north-east Atlantic marine ecosystems K. Hiscock
Index.

Subject Areas: Applied ecology [RNC], Marine biology [PSPM]