No realm on Earth elicits thoughts
of paradise more than the tropics.
The tropical marine realm is special
in myriad ways and for many reasons
from seas of higher latitude, in
housing iconic habitats such as
coral reefs, snow white beaches,
crystal clear waters, mangrove
forests, extensive and rich seagrass
meadows and expansive river deltas,
such as the exemplar, the Amazon.
But the tropics also has an even
more complex side: tropical waters
give rise to cyclones, hurricanes
and typhoons, and unique
oceanographic phenomena including
the El Niño- Southern Oscillation
which affects global climate
patterns.
Tropical Marine Ecology
documents the structure and function
of tropical marine populations,
communities, and ecosystems in
relation to environmental factors
including climate patterns and
climate change, and patterns of
oceanographic phenomena such as
tides and currents and major
oceanographic features, as well as
chemical and geological drivers. The
book focuses on estuarine, coastal,
continental shelf and open ocean
ecosystems. The first part of the
book deals with the climate,
physics, geology, and chemistry of
the tropical marine environment. The
second section focuses on the
origins, diversity, biogeography,
and the structure and distribution
of tropical biota. The third part
explores the rates and patterns of
primary and secondary production,
and their drivers, and the
characteristics of pelagic and
benthic food webs. The fourth part
examines how humans are altering
tropical ecosystems via
unsustainable fisheries, the decline
and loss of habitat and
fragmentation, Further, pollution is
altering an earth already in the
throes of climate change.
Tropical Marine Ecology is
an authoritative and comprehensive
introduction to tropical marine
ecology for advanced undergraduate
and postgraduate students. It is
also a rich resource and reference
work for researchers and
professional managers in marine
science.