Springer Basics of Marine and Estuarine Ecology

The book presents recent research on marine ecology in different parts of the world. It aims to shed light on relevant topics for budding marine ecologists. The “blue soup” of Planet Earth, which comprises both biotic and abiotic components, is essential to keeping the wheel of civilization running. Four major ecosystem service categories have been identified within this context, namely provisioning services such as water, food, mangrove timber, honey, fish, wax, fuel wood, fodder and bioactive compounds from marine and estuarine flora and fauna; regulating services such as the regulation of climate, coastal erosion, coral bleaching and pollution; cultural services encompassing recreational (tourism), spiritual and other non-material benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling and photosynthesis. These valuable services are obtained from various resources that must be conserved for the sake of humanity. This book presents data for each resource type, not just in the form of a simple description, but also through case studies that resulted from several research projects and pilot programs carried out in different parts of the world. Statistical tools were also used to critically analyze the influence of relevant hydrological parameters on the biotic community. Advanced research in marine and estuarine ecology is based on the use of sophisticated instruments, sampling precision, statistical tools, etc., which have also been highlighted in the book.         From the Back Cover The book presents recent research on marine ecology in different parts of the world. It aims to shed light on relevant topics for budding marine ecologists. The “blue soup” of Planet Earth, which comprises both biotic and abiotic components, is essential to keeping the wheel of civilization running. Four major ecosystem service categories have been identified within this context, namely provisioning services such as water, food, mangrove timber, honey, fish, wax, fuel wood, fodder and bioactive compounds from marine and estuarine flora and fauna; regulating services such as the regulation of climate, coastal erosion, coral bleaching and pollution;cultural services encompassing recreational (tourism), spiritual and other non-material benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling and photosynthesis. These valuable services are obtained from various resources that must be conserved for the sake of humanity. This book presents data for each resource type, not just in the form of a simple description, but also through case studies that resulted from several research projects and pilot programs carried out in different parts of the world. Statistical tools were also used to critically analyze the influence of relevant hydrological parameters on the biotic community. Advanced research in marine and estuarine ecology is based on the use of sophisticated instruments, sampling precision, statistical tools, etc., which have also been highlighted in the book. About the Author Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Associate Professor and former Head, Dept. of Marine Science, University of Calcutta (INDIA) has been active in the sphere of Oceanography since 1985. He obtained his Ph. D as NET qualified scholar in 1994. Since then he joined Calcutta Port Trust and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature-India), in various capacities to carry out research programmes on environmental science, biodiversity conservation, climate change and carbon sequestration. Presently Dr. Mitra is serving as the advisor of Oceanography Division of Techno India University, Kolkata. He has to his credit about 325 scientific publications in various National and International journals, and 28 books of postgraduate standards. Dr. Mitra is presently the member of several committees like PACON International, IUCN, SIOS, Mangrove Society of India etc. and has successfully completed about 16 projects on biodiversity loss in fishery sector, c