Whales, whaling, and ocean ecosystems / edited by James A. Estes ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Estes, J. A. (James A.), 1945-

Series:

California World History Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Whaling--Environmental aspects.

Whaling.

Marine ecology.

Whales--Ecology.

Whales.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 402 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. ; London : University of California Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This unprecedented volume presents a sweeping picture of what we know about the natural history, biology, and ecology of whales in the broad context of the dynamics of ocean ecosystems. Innovative and comprehensive, the volume encompasses multiple points of view to consider the total ecological impact of industrial whaling on the world's oceans. Combining empirical research, ecological theory and modeling, and historical data, its chapters present perspectives from ecology, population biology, physiology, genetics, evolutionary history, ocean biogeography, economics, culture, and law, among other disciplines. Throughout, contributors investigate how whaling fundamentally disrupted ocean ecosystems, examine the various roles whales play in food webs, and discuss the continuing ecological chain reactions to the depletion of these large animals. In addition to reviewing what is known of the current and historic whale populations, Whales, Whaling, and Ocean Ecosystems considers how this knowledge will bear on scientific approaches to conservation and whaling in the future and provocatively asks whether it is possible to restore ocean ecosystems to their pre-whaling condition.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List Of Contributors

List Of Tables

List Of Figures

Preface

1. Introduction

2. Whales, Interaction Webs, And Zero-Sum Ecology

3. Lessons From Land Present And Past Signs Of Ecological Decay And The Overture To Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction

4. When Ecological Pyramids Were Upside Down

5. Pelagic Ecosystem Response To A Century Of Commercial Fishing And Whaling

6 Evidence For Bottom-Up Control Of Upper-Trophic-Level Marine Populations Is It Scale-Dependent?

7. Evolutionary Patterns In Cetacea Fishing Up Prey Size Through Deep Time

8. A Taxonomy Of World Whaling Operations And Eras

9. The History Of Whales Read From DNA

10. Changes In Marine Mammal Biomass In The Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands Region Before And After The Period Of Commercial Whaling

11. Industrial Whaling In The North Pacific Ocean 1952-1978 Spatial Patterns Of Harvest And Decline

12. Worldwide Distribution And Abundance Of Killer Whales

13. The Natural History And Ecology Of Killer Whales

14. Killer Whales As Predators Of Large Baleen Whales And Sperm Whales

15. Physiological And Ecological Consequences Of Extreme Body Size In Whales

16. Ecosystem Impact Of The Decline Of Large Whales In The North Pacific

17. The Removal Of Large Whales From The Southern Ocean Evidence For Long-Term Ecosystem Effects?

18. Great Whales As Prey Using Demography And Bioenergetics To Infer Interactions In Marine Mammal Communities

19. Whales And Whaling In The North Pacific Ocean And Bering Sea Oceanographic Insights And Ecosystem Impacts

20. Legacy Of Industrial Whaling Could Killer Whales Be Responsible For Declines Of Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, And Minke Whales In The Southern Hemisphere?

21. Predator Diet Breadth And Prey Population Dynamics Mechanism And Modeling

22. Bigger Is Better The Role Of Whales As Detritus In Marine Ecosystems

23 Gray Whales In The Bering And Chukchi Seas

24. Whales, Whaling, And Ecosystems In The North Atlantic Ocean

25. Sperm Whales In Ocean Ecosystems

26. Ecosystem Effects Of Fishing And Whaling In The North Pacific And Atlantic Oceans

27. Potential Influences Of Whaling On The Status And Trends Of Pinniped Populations

28. The Dynamic Between Social Systems And Ocean Ecosystems Are There Lessons From Commercial Whaling?

29. Whaling, Law, And Culture

30. Whales Are Big And It Matters

31. Retrospection And Review

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

1433701324

9781433701320

0520933206

9780520933200

1281752460

9781281752468

9786611752460

OCLC:

173484998