The biology of soft shores and estuaries / Colin Little.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Little, E. C. S.

Series:

Biology of habitats

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Estuarine biology.

Coastal ecology.

Seashore biology.

Estuarine ecology.

Physical Description:

ix, 252 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2000.

Summary:

This book focuses on marine and estuarine soft sediments as complex and essential habitats for an astonishing variety of animals and plants whose lifestyles are intimately bound up with sediment structure. It discusses sediments as habitats first, then takes in turn the ecosystems found on sandy shores, mudflats and segrass beds, salt marshes and mangrove swamps, and life below the tidemarks. Adaptations of the organisms are fully described, and each chapter ends with a section on techniques. Later chapters discuss estuarine and lagoonal habitats, both of whoch contain primarily soft sediments, but add further complicating characteristics to those found in the sea. A discussion of estuarine food webs emphasizes the ways in which organisms interact. The book ends with a discussion of the ways in which marine and estuarine soft sediments have been abused by man, and some of the opportunities that have been taken to counteract these abuses.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0198504276

0198504268

OCLC:

42953494