Ecological Geography of the Sea [Paperback]

Alan R. Longhurst (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0124555594 | ISBN-13: 978-0124555594 | Publication Date: March 20, 2001

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the biological and ecological geography of the oceans. It synthesizes locally restricted studies of the ocean to generate a global geography for the vast marine world.
Ecological Geography of the Sea is the first comprehensive attempt to divide the ocean into distinguishable regions that permit detailed comparisons. Based on patterns of algal ecology, the book divides the ocean into four primary compartments, which are then subdivided into secondary compartments. The secondary compartments are identified and characterized by biogeochemical features including nutrient dynamics, continental shelf topography, and algal blooms. Because ocean-wide regional classification has broad impact on the way oceanographers and ecologists study ocean patterns, this book will have wide and long-term appeal.

Key Features
* Divides the ocean into distinguishable regions that permit detailed comparisons
* Synthesizes locally restricted studies of the ocean to generate a global geography for the vast marine world
* Appeals to a wide cross-section of marine biologists interested in the geography of the oceans

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With special focus on algal ecology, this book takes a comprehensive look at specialized regional studies of biological and ecological geography and places them neatly within a global context. ...An impressive overview of the technical literature."
--Joerg-Henner Lotze in NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST (June 2001)
"It is extremely well documented and precisely written, and this is remarkable considering the diversity of sources and sometimes the contradictions Longhurst had to work with. Everyone will find something of interest in this book."
--Yves Dandonneau in NATURE (July 1999)
"We were all waiting for this book. ...The excellence of this book guarantees that the overall structure will remain, and that the well deserved eponym [Longhurst Areas] will stick."
--Daniel Pauly, University of British Columbia, in TREE (March 1999)
"...it is refreshing to find the insight and new ideas Longhurst has obtained from a limited set of basic principles and a broad focus. Longhurst beautifully shows us that the pelagic ecology of many ocean regions can be understood using a few fundamental concepts. With the coherent and simplified understanding presented in this book, everyone from the specialist to the layman will look at the ocean with new interest and appreciation. ...his synthesis will be used in biological oceanography for a very long time. It is an inspiring, 'I wish I could have done it,' book."
--Sharon L. Smith in SCIENCE (January 1999)
"...stimulating reading for anyone with a serious interest in ecology. ...I enjoyed this book very much. It is beautifully written and generally well presented. The book will be a standard text for years to come and I cannot see how serious students of oceanography could do without it."
--Dave Raffaellii in JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY (1999)

From the Pre-Publication Reviews:
"The quality of this work is superb. It is not often that biogeography and the physical forces of the ocean come together in such a scholarly manner."
--Charles S. Yentsch, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine
"This book is a tour de force. Alan Longhurst has written the book that every marine biogeographer would aspire to write, yet only the exceptional few will have the breadth of experience, interpretive skills and overall competence to achieve... What emerges is a functional description of inshore and off-shore waters that will be an invaluable under-pinning to the design of experiments, the interpretation of results and the management of oceanic ecosystems well into the next millenium. It will be a book that all serious students of oceanography will have to possess, because not only will they constantly be referring to it, but also any library copies will be instantly purloined."
--Martin Angel, Southampton Oceanography Centre, U.K.
"A thorough and thoughtful work, and I think a wonderful gift to the next generation of oceanographers."
--John Lazier, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada

Book Description

Written by the Winner of the 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 398 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124555594
• ISBN-13: 978-0124555594
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,526,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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