Description
Book SynopsisSeagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are state-of–the-art and designed to be useful to students and researchers alike. The book not only focuses on what has been discovered but what exciting areas are left to discover. The book is divided into sections on taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction, ecology, physiology, fisheries, management, conservation and landscape ecology. It is destined to become the chosen text on seagrasses for any marine biology course.
Trade Review"This is an excellent and timely volume, which shows that research on seagrasses has a good balance between studies of the basic biology of these fascinating organisms and studies of threats to seagrasses and their conservation."
"The editors and authors are to be congratulated..."
Phycologia (2006) volume 45 (5)
"...exhaustively researched and superbly produced..."
"...this book will stand for a number of years as the definite statement on the status of research on seagrasses and seagrass ecosystems at the turn of the 21st century."
Marine Ecology 27 (2006)
Table of ContentsTaxonomy and Biogeography of Seagrasses.- Seagrass Evolution, Ecology and Conservation: A Genetic Perspective.- Seagrass Morphology, Anatomy, and Ultrastructure.- Sexual Reproduction of Seagrasses: Pollination in the Marine Context.- Ecology of Seagrass Seeds and Seagrass Dispersal Processes.- Seagrass Beds and Coastal Biogeochemistry.- 7.- Fluid Dynamics in Seagrass Ecology—from Molecules to Ecosystems.- 9.- Oxygen Movement in Seagrasses.- Dynamics of Seagrass Stability and Change.- Aquatic Optics: Basic Concepts for Understanding How Light Affects Seagrasses and Makes them Measurable from Space.- Light and Photosynthesis in Seagrass Meadows.- Photosynthesis and Metabolism in Seagrasses at the Cellular Level.- Remote Sensing of Seagrass Ecosystems: Use of Spaceborne and Airborne Sensors.- Zostera: Biology, Ecology, and Management.- Biology of Posidonia.- The Biology of Thalassia: Paradigms and Recent Advances in Research.- Epiphytes of Seagrasses.- The Central Role of Grazing in Seagrass Ecology.- Seagrasses, Fish, and Fisheries.- Predation in Seagrass Beds.- Decline and Recovery of Seagrass Ecosystems— The Dynamics of Change.- Human Impacts on Seagrasses: Eutrophication, Sedimentation, and Contamination.- Seagrass Conservation Biology: An Interdisciplinary Science for Protection of the Seagrass Biome.- Seagrass Ecology: New Contributions from a Landscape Perspective.
