Sandy Beaches as Endangered Ecosystems PDF Download

Author: Sílvia C. Gonçalves
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429624514
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 388

View

Book Description
Sandy beaches are the most abundant coastal environments worldwide, which have an undeniable and unique ecological value. Presently, they are amongst the most endangered ecosystems in the biosphere, mainly due to the influence of several human activities. In this book, renowned scientists from around the world describe key attributes of sandy beaches and highlight the problems which impact them. Specific tools encompassing the physical environment and the biota are pointed out, at different levels of ecological organization. The book also covers suitable management, conservation programmes and respective actions, where ecologic, economic and social dimensions are comprehensively integrated.

Author: A. McLachlan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401729387
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 730

View

Book Description
What sight is more beautiful than a high-energy beach facing lines of rolling white breakers? What battleground is more ferocious than where waves and sand meet? What environment could be more exciting to study than this sandy interface between sea and land? And yet how much do we know about sandy beaches? Open sandy beaches are amongst the most neglected fields of scientific study in the coastal environment. This situation exists despite their great extent along most temperate and tropical coastlines and their value as recreational areas and buffer zones against the sea. The traditional oceanographer does not venture into the surf zone while the terrestrial ecologist stops short at the high water mark. Only a few coastal engineers have grappled with the problem of sand and sediment movement as it influences their construction of harbours and pipelines. The marine biologist on the other hand has regarded estuaries, coral reefs and rocky shores, obviously teeming with life, as more fruitful areas for study than the apparently poor animal life on sandy beaches. Sandy beaches have therefore tended to become a scientific no man's land. Over the last decade this situation has begun to improve. Recent work on high-energy beaches has revealed that they may in fact be rich and productive and fertile areas for study. It has even been suggested that beaches and their adjacent surf zones may constitute viable marine ecosystems.

Author: Sílvia C. Gonçalves
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429624956
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

View

Book Description
Sandy beaches are the most abundant coastal environments worldwide, which have an undeniable and unique ecological value. Presently, they are amongst the most endangered ecosystems in the biosphere, mainly due to the influence of several human activities. In this book, renowned scientists from around the world describe key attributes of sandy beaches and highlight the problems which impact them. Specific tools encompassing the physical environment and the biota are pointed out, at different levels of ecological organization. The book also covers suitable management, conservation programmes and respective actions, where ecologic, economic and social dimensions are comprehensively integrated.

Author: Anton McLachlan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789061937517
Category : Seashore ecology
Languages : en
Pages :

View

Book Description

Author: Anton McLachlan
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 9781493300976
Category : Beaches
Languages : en
Pages : 392

View

Book Description
The Ecology of Sandy Shores provides the students and researchers with a one-volume resource for understanding the conservation and management of the sandy shore ecosystem. Covering all beach types, and addressing issues from the behavioral and physiological adaptations of the biota to exploring the effects of pollution and the impact of man's activities, this book should become the standard reference for those interested in Sandy Shore study, management and preservation. * More than 25% expanded from the previous edition * Three entirely new chapters: Energetics and Nutrient Cycling, Turtles and Terrestrial Vertebrates, and Benthic Macrofauna Populations * New sections on the interstitial environment, seagrasses, human impacts and coastal zone management * Examples drawn from virtually all parts of the world, considering all beach types from the most exposed to the most sheltered

Author: Harold Mooney
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520962176
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1008

View

Book Description
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for California’s remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem type—its distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of California’s ecological patterns and the history of the state’s various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the state’s ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of California’s environment and curious naturalists.

Author: Karen L.M. Martin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482208008
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 223

View

Book Description
Beach-spawning fishes from exotic locations on most continents of the world provide spectacular examples of extreme adaptations during the most vulnerable life cycle stages. The beauty, intriguing biology, and importance of these charismatic fishes at the interface of marine and terrestrial ecosystems have inspired numerous scientific studies. Adap

Author: Anton McLachlan
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128096985
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

View

Book Description
The Ecology of Sandy Shores, Third Edition, provides both a holistic and conceptual introduction for beginners, while also presenting an in-depth and cutting-edge analysis for researchers interested in sandy shores. This new edition focuses on resource use, and has also been updated to include recent findings, enhanced illustrations, and additional coverage on beach fisheries and global/climate change. In addition, this release presents insights on food webs, greater coverage on global biodiversity patterns in sandy beaches, and new insights on population patterns, behavior and threats. Research on beaches is difficult because of the dynamic nature of the environment. There is no other book covering the ecology of sandy beaches, despite the extent and economic importance of these systems. This book is designed to both provide the conceptual basis to introduce students to the basic principles of sandy shore ecology and to serve as a ready reference for doctoral students and researches working on these systems. It can also serve as a handbook for land and coastal managers. Fully updated edition of the preeminent book on sandy shores Covers sandy shores from the perspective that they are a socioecological system Represents the top resource on an enormous habitat that is important in every way—ecologically, environmentally, socially and economically

Author: Brooke Maslo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139867563
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 415

View

Book Description
Coastal ecosystems are centres of high biological productivity, but their conservation is often threatened by numerous and complex environmental factors. Citing examples from the major littoral habitats worldwide, such as sandy beaches, salt marshes and mangrove swamps, this text characterises the biodiversity of coastline environments and highlights important aspects of their maintenance and preservation, aided by the analysis of key representative species. Leaders in the field provide reviews of the foremost threats to coastal networks, including the effects of climate change, invasive species and major pollution incidents such as oil spills. Further discussion underscores the intricacies of measuring and managing coastline species in the field, taking into account the difficulties in quantifying biodiversity loss due to indirect cascading effects and trophic skew. Synthesising the current state of species richness with present and projected environmental pressures, the book ultimately establishes a research agenda for implementing and improving conservation practices moving forward.

Author: Juan J. Munoz-Perez
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3036516069
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174

View

Book Description
Erosion is experienced by most coastlines worldwide, and it is usually attributed not only to sea level rise but also to the retention of sand in dams, the occupation of dry beaches by urbanized areas, the mining of sand as a building material for construction, and so on. Beach nourishment has evolved as the favored erosion-mitigation strategy in many areas of the world. The increasing number of people living on the coast, the safety of those people, and the high values of coastal properties are all factors that have made beach nourishment a cost-effective strategy for managing erosion in many locations. However, a new scenario of sand scarcity and environmental care has arisen in recent decades. There have been many different and interesting cases of various aspects of beach nourishment in recent years. The purpose of this invited Special Issue is to publish the most exciting experience and research with respect to this topic. Thus, novel techniques for designing, executing, and controlling these kinds of works as well as different case studies and their monitoring results and conclusions have been included, in order to present an updated state of the art for marine scientists, researchers, and engineers.