Hierarchical Perspectives on Marine Complexities : Searching for Systems in the Gulf of Maine / Spencer Apollonio.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Apollonio, Spencer, author.

Series:

Complexity in Ecological Systems

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fishery management.

Local Subjects:

Fishery management.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2002]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Gulf of Maine supports a vital fishery for North America and is one of the most intensely studied marine ecosystems in the world. An understanding of its ecology has practical applications to management of other marine systems and fisheries. This book is the first application of Hierarchy Theory to the ecological workings of the Gulf of Maine and of marine ecosystems in general. Hierarchy Theory offers a perspective that simplifies the apparent complications and contradictions of ecosystems, which encompass a number of scales of time (from minutes to decades or longer) and of space (from centimeters to kilometers). Spencer Apollonio explores in detail the idea of natural constraints inherent in hierarchical ecosystems and the impact upon such systems when constraints are reduced or removed. He argues that conventional fisheries management, which practices the removal of these constraints, may be doomed to failure. Apollonio focuses in particular on the "groundfish crisis" in the Gulf, the precipitous decline due to overfishing in populations of cod, haddock, pollock, hakes, and various types of flounders, which have together constituted the mainstay of the Maine fishing industry for centuries. Hierarchical Perspectives on Marine Complexities presents a compelling case for a new approach that holds the promise of resource sustainability in the face of enormously complicated natural and cultural forces.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Credits

Chapter 1. The Subject of the Search

Chapter 2. Some Generalities About Hierarchy Theory and Some Examples

Chapter 3. Physical Characteristics of the Gulf of Maine

Chapter 4. Fauna of the Gulf of Maine

Chapter 5. Organism Characteristics

Chapter 6. Approaching Hierarchy Theory and the Gulf of Maine

Chapter 7. Hierarchies and Constraints

Chapter 8. Hierarchical Applications

Notes

Glossary

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9780231516303

0231516304

9780231124898

0231124899

OCLC:

922904054