Marine, Freshwater, and Wetlands Biodiversity
Marine, coastal and wetland habitats are threatened, not only through exploitation, but also by the prospect of climate change – as ocean currents change course, sea levels rise, and rainfall patterns change. Even the once-common cod is now under threat from the combined effects of over-fishing and a dramatic change-induced decrease in the plankton that cod larvae feed on. Meanwhile, coral reefs remain especially vulnerable to rapid sea-level changes exacerbated by the effects of tourism and disease. This book gathers together a wide range of papers reporting on key research into the biodiversity conservation of these critical and increasingly threatened habitats. Collectively these papers provide a snap-shot of the types of problems they are experiencing, and offer a wealth of topical examples which render this volume especially valuable to teachers of courses in marine, freshwater and wetlands ecology, biological conservation and ecological restoration.
Mangroves and Halophytes : Restoration and Utilisation
Focusing on Venezuela and Mexico, this edited volume from the International Society of Halophyte Utilisation (ISHU) explores the environmental issues facing South and Central America's coastal ecosystems, and discusses the uses of mangrove species and other halophytes in addressing issues of both coastal pollution and upland soil salinisation. The book draws on expertise from Europe and South America to present a series of case studies that detail Venezuela’s saline ecosystems and examine the economic potential of mangrove restoration and halophyte production. It includes cutting-edge research into the establishment of new mangrove stands which could serve as prototypes for the sustainable use of halophytes, including Chenopodium quinoa and Tamarix aphylla. Moreover, the detailed examples from Venezuela and other Caribbean countries provide useful models for comparison with halophyte utilisation in other parts of the world – especially the Mediterranean region, where much of the earlier research of the ISHU had been conducted.
Changing Land Use Patterns in the Coastal Zone : Managing Environmental Quality in Rapidly Developing Regions
Coastal ecosystems make up some of the most important, yet most endangered, regions in the world. The protection of the unique processes that take place in these ecosystems requires that partnerships be formed among ecologists, resource managers, and planners. Experienced in the challenges of coastal system analysis, the contributors to this book provide multidisciplinary guidance on the assessment and management of environmental impacts caused by development. Each chapter examines an issue important to these fragile ecosystems, first presenting a non-technical summary of the issue and a review of the current state of the knowledge, then following with data and a more detailed consideration of the topic.
Biological Invasions in South Africa
This book presents a comprehensive account of all aspects of biological invasions in South Africa, where research has been conducted over more than three decades, and where bold initiatives have been implemented in attempts to control invasions and to reduce their ecological, economic and social effects.
Aquaculture in the Ecosystem
This book provides a scientific forecast of the development in aquaculture with a focus on the environmental, technological, social and economic constraints that need to be resolved to ensure sustainable development of the industry and allow the industry to be able to feed healthy seafood products to the future generations. The chapters included discuss the most critical bottlenecks of the development encompassing subjects of understanding the environmental impacts, the current state-of-art in monitoring programs and in coastal zone management, the important interactions between wild and cultured organisms including release of non-native species into the wild, the current trends within the development of aquafeeds along with human health aspects as well as the political, socio-economic and economic trends within the industry including a chapter on approaches taken by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to aquaculture. Finally the last chapter provides different future scenarios of the industry based on the identified bottlenecks.
A Sea Change: The Exclusive Economic Zone and Governance Institutions for Living Marine Resources
A Sea Change in a Changing Sea The oceans, seas and coastal areas encompass over 70% of the earth’s surface. They are a critical driver of the earth’s hydrologic cycle and climate system, important for c- merce, transport, and tourism, a source of economically important living marine resources, minerals such as hydrocarbons, as well as new pharmaceutical compounds. The marine environment provides essential habitats for thousands of marine living 1 2 resources, which in turn contribute significantly to global food security, employment, 3 and trade. Overall, the sea’s contribution to human welfare, in terms of market and non-market resources and environmental services, has been estimated at US$21 trillion/year (Costanza, 2000). However, despite the importance of the ocean realm to humans, there is a growing sense that human impacts are destabilizing this system. Some experts believe that current fishing levels are approaching or exceeding the total 4 productivity of the ocean ecosystem (National Research Council, 1999).
3D Recording and Interpretation for Maritime Archaeology
Includes recording and analysis of maritime archaeology through emerging technologies, including both practical and theoretical contributions. Topics include photogrammetric recording, laser scanning, marine geophysical 3D survey techniques, virtual reality, 3D modelling and reconstruction, data integration and Geographic Information Systems. This convergence of digital technologies such as underwater photography and photogrammetry, 3D sonar, 3D virtual reality, and 3D printing has highlighted a pressing need for these new methodologies to be considered together, both in terms of defining the state-of-the-art and for consideration of future directions.
Marine Resource Conservation and Poverty Reduction Strategies in Tanzania
Despite the social, nutritional, economical and environmental importance of Tanzanian coastal areas, yet they are vulnerable to both over-exploitation and degradation of their habitats. Using the data from two coastal villages and econometric methods as well as Stochastic Production Frontier techniques, the book demonstrates the extent which various socio-economic dimensions of rural coastal households influence livelihood pathways, production efficiency and attitudes towards conservation initiatives. Thus, attention to differential patterns of rural coastal households presents more viable possibilities for coastal villages to have conservation-development policies/programs that lead to poverty reduction.
Marine Eutrophication in Perspective : On the Relevance of Ecology for Environmental Policy
Is ecological knowledge relevant for environmental policy and if so, to what extent and in what way? These are some of the basic questions addressed in this book. Triggered by a series of oxygen depletion events in German, Danish and Swedish coastal waters at the beginning of the 1980s, international policies to reduce inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to the North Sea were agreed upon by the North Sea states. The book provides a critical analysis of the role, scientists and scientific information, as well as civil servants, have played in the formulation and implementation of these decisions.
Marine environment protection and biodiversity conservation : The application and future development of the IMOs particularly sensitive sea area concept
Despite the potential benefits that PSSA designation can deliver, recent practice both within the IMO and by individual member States, has considerably undermined confidence in this emerging concept. The focus of this book is on the events within the IMO that have led to this lack of confidence arising. In doing so, this book presents an examination of coastal State practice with the PSSA concept.
Managing European Coasts : Past, Present and Future
Many coastal areas and human activities are subject to increasing risks from natural and man-induced hazards such as flooding resulting from major changes in hydrology of river systems that has reached a global scale. Changes in the hydrological cycle coupled with changes in land and water management alter fluxes of materials transmitted from river catchments to the coastal zone, which have a major effect on coastal ecosystems. The increasing complexity of underlying processes and forcing functions that drive changes on coastal systems are witnessed at a multiplicity of temporal and spatial scales.
Macro-Engineering : A Challenge for the Future
Macro-engineering involves the large-scale modification and manipulation of natural systems for the benefit of mankind. The primary goals of some Earth-based macroprojects described in this book are power production, land reclamation, food production, climate change, environment, water, transport and coastal protection. Other Earth or space projects considered here have a more futuristic ring, but our present-day technical skill makes their realization possible. Earth-based macroprojects usually combine different aspects and aims. They have a major impact on the ecology of a region and the inhabitants' means of living (like tourism, fishing, shipping). Its effects may be felt worldwide, like the rise in global sea level after the damming and evaporation of large ocean gulfs for power production, or the change in climate following the regional reduction of solar insolation.
Louisiana's response to extreme weather : A coastal state's adaptation challenges and successes
Takes an in-depth look at Louisiana as a state which is ahead of the curve in terms of extreme weather events, both in frequency and magnitude, and in its responses to these challenges including recovery and enhancement of resiliency.
Jurisdiction of the Coastal State over Foreign Merchant Ships in Internal Waters and the Territorial Sea
Dr Yang's book deals with the port and coastal State's jurisdiction over foreign merchant ships as well as with the rights and duties of these ships in the internal waters and in the territorial sea. The international law is rather different in both situations. Despite the fact that it faces a number of issues such as, for example, a contested right of access to ports or conditions for port access requirements, the law of foreign merchant ships in internal waters has never been codified. On the other hand, already the League of Nations considered the law of the territorial sea as appropriate for codification in the 1930s. And the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of 1958 was indeed a codification of most rules of international law on the territorial sea known at that time.
Carbon in the Geobiosphere : Earth's outer shell
Carbon and carbon dioxide always played an important role in the geobiosphere that is part of the Earth’s outer shell and surface environment. The book’s eleven chapters cover the fundamentals of the biogeochemical behavior of carbon near the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, minerals, waters, air-sea exchange, and inorganic and biological processes fractionating the carbon isotopes, and its role in the evolution of inorganic and biogenic sediments, ocean water, the coupling to nutrient nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, and the future of the carbon cycle in the Anthropocene. This book is mainly a reference text for Earth and environmental scientists; it presents an overview of the origins and behavior of the carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the human effects on them. The book can also be used for a one-semester course at an intermediate to advanced level addressing the behavior of the carbon and related cycles.
Bridging divides : Maritime canals as invasion corridors
Maritime canals dissolve natural barriers to the dispersal of marine organisms, thus providing novel opportunities for natural dispersal, as well as for shipping-mediated transport. The introduction of alien species has proved to be one of the most profound and damaging of anthropogenic deeds - with both ecological and economic costs. This book is the first to assess the impacts of the world’s three principal maritime canals – the Kiel, the Panama, the Suez – as invasion corridors for alien biota. These three canals differ in their hydrological regimes, the types of biotas they connect, and in their permeability to invasions.
Basic Coastal Engineering
Basic Coastal Engineering, 3rd Edition offers the basics on monochromatic and spectral surface wave mechanics, coastal water level variations, coastal structures and coastal sedimentary processes. It also provides the necessary background from which the reader can pursue a more advanced study of the various theoretical and applied aspects of coastal hydrodynamics and design.
Atmospheric and Oceanic
This volume contains many original findings on mesoscale processes in atmospheric and oceanic systems through mathematical modeling, numerical simulations and field experiments. These scientific papers examine and provide the latest developments on a range of topics that include tropical cyclones/hurricanes, mesoscale variability and modeling, seasonal monsoons and land surface processes including atmospheric boundary layer. This volume will be useful as a reading material in graduate level courses dealing with mesoscale systems, weather, climate, monsoon variability and boundary layer.
Assessment of the fate and effects of toxic agents on water resources
Like all limited and vulnerable resources, water has become one of the potential targets of terrorists. Coastal lagoons are especially vulnerable as they are densely populated centers of commerce and/or tourism. This volume addresses the basic scientific concepts that must be integrated by decisionmakers to minimize damages and optimize recovery operations in the aftermath of such an attack. Scientists from many disciplines including water resource management, hydrodynamics, aquatic ecology and social science combine their expertise in an effort to assess and model emergency scenarios for coastal lagoon systems. This case study uses existing numerical models such as-EFCD, WASP and AQUATOX are used to demonstrate how to optimize rapid response and decision-making
Asia-Pacific fishing livelihoods
Where fishing livelihoods come from and where they are going are simple questions with no simple answers. Using examples of small-scale fisheries in Asia-Pacific, Fabinyi and Barclay offer eloquent analyses of how fishing livelihoods are shaped, resting on a relational approach idea



















