books
marine hard bottom communities patterns dynamics diversity and change
p marine hard bottoms feature some of the most spectacular and diverse biological communities on this planet . these not only contain a rich treasure of genetic taxonomic and functional information but also deliver irreplaceable ecosystem services . at the same time they are highly vulnerable and increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures . this volume has collected contributions by 50 scientists from numerous biogeographic regions dealing with characteristics of hard bottom communities . distributional patterns in space and time are described followed by analyses of the intrinsic and extrinsic dynamics producing these patterns . a strong emphasis is placed on the ongoing changes occurring in the structure and diversity of these communities in response to spiralling environmental impacts and on state of the art countermeasures aiming to preserve these ecological treasures . finally various values of diversity are assessed hopefully as an incentive for enhanced conservation efforts .
hardcover springer 2009 isbn13 9783540927037 isbn10 3540927034
abridged n isbn 13 9783540927037 number in series 1 number of pages 445 publisher springer verlag release date 62135769600000 series title ecological studies