Customer Reviews

Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach (5th Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most marine biology texts on the market are designed to support lower division courses for non-majors. Nybakken's text, however, is designed with the upper division biology major as its primary audience. This book is, in my opinion, the best book on the market to support an undergraduate course in marine biology for majors.

Nybakken takes a community ecology approach to his discussions of the marine environment. There are chapters that address communities of the plankton, nekton, deep sea, nearshore subtidal regions, intertidal habitats, estuaries and marshes, the tropics and the poles, and so forth.

The photographs and illustrations are good, the text is well written, and examples are widely known. It may be true that Nybakken tends to pull more heavily on examples from the West Coast of the USA, but there are also ample numbers of examples from other areas of the world that support the text.

Each chapter is supported by a list of references from the professional (primary) scientific literature -- something a serious biology student would appreciate and use.

This is an easy book to teach from and to learn from. The information is excellent, the examples are clear, and the supporting graphics are good.

It is also notable that Nybakken not only discusses the biology of marine organisms, but he addresses the stewardship we have to conserve the planet's vital assemblage of marine resouces and biodiversity.

I had to buy this book for a marine ecology class. I found the text very easy to understand and straightforward. It covers a wide variety of subjects, but because of this it does not go into great detail on many things, which is unfortunate.

The book was used and was in good condition. I actually kept the book after I was done with the class because it had good, useful information in there. I actually referenced this text when writing up lab reports for my ecology class.

I ordered this book when my daughter switched into Marine Biology on October 7th. The crazy prof picked a book that is out of print, so everyone had to find used copies. I searched for the book, Marine Science, (6th edition), etc, and followed the link to used copies and to paperback. When the book arrived it was not 6th edition, and it was not hard back, and is was 30 years old. The seller allowed me to return the book for a refund of all but the shipping cost. Unfortunately, it took 10 days for the book to arrive, and when it arrived we were back to square 1, needing to order another book. I think the seller should have made clear that the book was not the same book as the 6th edition. The seller points out that it was not described as 6th edition, but I think since it was linked to the 6th edition, that is implied that is is a used copy of the same book. It's not really an issue, but the seller also did describe the hardback book as paperback. I have made many Amazon Seller purchases, and this was the first time this has happened.

First let me just say that I love my Marine Biology class that I had to buy this book for. Now let me get down to it. I am sure there are better books out there if you are interested in the subject (if you have to buy it for class you don't have a choice). This book is sometimes interesting but I have found that at times they just try to put so much information in such a boring way that you just cannot learn it. This was particularly noticeable in chapter 2 about plankton. The book goes over about 10 different plankton species every other page and it is very boring. Other than that, the book is fine but nothing more than average.

Great text. Great price. Book arrived in excellent condition, in a timely manner, and Kevin Serkes, seller, was great with the follow up, and with addressing my concerns about other book orders I had placed. Thank you for a great job!!