Beautifully illustrated, this is the only identification guide to zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Zooplankton are critical to the vitality of estuaries and coastal waters. In this revised edition of Johnson and Allen's instant classic, readers are taken on a tour of the miniature universe of zooplankton, including early developmental stages of familiar and diverse shrimps, crabs, and fishes. Zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts details the behavior, morphology, and coloration of these tiny aquatic animals. Precise descriptions and labeled illustrations of hundreds of the most commonly encountered species provide readers with the best source available for identifying zooplankton. Inside the second edition • an updated introduction that orients readers to the diversity, habitats, environmental responses, collection, history, and ecological roles of zooplankton • descriptions of life cycles • illustrations (including 88 new drawings) that identify 340-plus taxa and life stages • range, habits, and ecology for each entry located directly opposite the illustration • appendices with information on collection and observation techniques and citations of more than 1,300 scientific articles and books

Furthermore, sponges are extremely fragile and easily damaged by contact with fishing gear. High rates of fishery bycatch clearly indicate a strong interaction between existing fisheries and sponge habitat. Bycatch in fisheries and fisheries-independent surveys can be a major source of information on the location of the sponge fauna, but current monitoring programs are greatly hampered by the inability of deck personnel to identify bycatch. This guide contains detailed pecies descriptions for 112 sponges collected in Alaska, principally in the central Aleutian Islands. It addresses bycatch identification challenges by providing fisheries observers and scientists with the information necessary to adequately identify sponge fauna.Using that identification data, areas of high abundance can be mapped and the locations of indicator species of vulnerable marine ecosystems can be determined.

A thorough understanding of planktonic organisms is the first step towards a real appreciation of the diversity, biology, and ecological importance of marine life. A detailed knowledge of their distribution and community composition is particularly important since these organisms are often very delicate and sensitive to change, and can be used as early indicators of environmental change. Natural and man-induced modification of the environment can affect both the distribution and composition of plankton, with important ecological and economic impacts. Marine Plankton provides a practical guide to plankton biology with a large geographic coverage spanning the North Sea to the north-eastern Atlantic coast of the USA and Canada. The book is divided into three sections: an overview of plankton ecology, an assessment of methodology in plankton research covering sampling, preservation, and counting of samples, and a taxonomic guide richly illustrated with detailed line drawings to aid identification. This is an essential reference text suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in marine ecology (particularly useful for fieldwork) as well as for professional marine biologists. It will also be of relevance and use to environmental scientists, conservation biologists, marine resource managers, environmental consultants, and other specialised practitioners.

This landmark scientific reference for scientists, researchers, and students of marine biology tackles the monumental task of taking a complete biodiversity inventory of the Gulf of Mexico with full biotic and biogeographic information. Presenting a comprehensive summary of knowledge of Gulf biota through 2004, the book includes seventy-seven chapters, which list more than fifteen thousand species in thirty-eight phyla or divisions and were written by 138 authors from seventy-one institutions in fourteen countries. This first volume of Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota, a multivolumed set edited by John W. Tunnell Jr., Darryl L. Felder, and Sylvia A. Earle, provides information on each species' habitat, biology, and geographic range, along with full references and a narrative introduction to the group, which opens each chapter.

Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates: Keys to Nearctic Fauna, Fourth Edition presents a comprehensive revision and expansion of this trusted professional reference manual and educational textbook—from a single North American tome into a developing multivolume series covering inland water invertebrates of the world. Readers familiar with the first three editions will welcome this new volume. The series, now entitled Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates, (edited by J.H. Thorp), began with Volume I: Ecology and General Biology, (edited by J.H. Thorp and D.C. Rogers). It now continues in Volume II with taxonomic coverage of inland water invertebrates of the Nearctic zoogeographic region. As in previous editions, all volumes of the fourth edition are designed for multiple uses and levels of expertise by professionals in universities, government agencies, and private companies, as well as by undergraduate and graduate students. - Features zoogeographic coverage for all of North America, south to the general area of the Tropic of Cancer, and Greenland and Bermuda - Provides keys to families of freshwater insects - Provides keys to all other inland water invertebrates at the taxonomic level appropriate for the current scientific knowledge - Includes multiple taxonomic keys in each chapter that progress from higher to lower taxonomic levels, thereby allowing users to work up to their level of need and expertise - Presents additional material in each chapter on group introduction, limitations to the keys, terminology and morphology, material preparation and preservation, and references

The Age and Growth Program at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is tasked with providing age data in order to improve the basic understanding of the ecology and fisheries dynamics of Alaskan fish species. The primary focus of the Age and Growth Program is to estimate ages from otoliths and other calcified structures for age-structured modeling of commercially exploited stocks; however, the program has recently expanded its interests to include numerous studies on topics ranging from age estimate validation to the growth and life-history of non-target species. Because so many applications rely upon age data and particularly upon assurances as to their accuracy and precision, the Age and Growth Program has developed this practical guide to document the age determination of key groundfish species from Alaskan waters. The main objective of this manual is to describe techniques specific to the age determination of commercially and ecologically important species studied by the Age and Growth Program. The manual also provides general background information on otolith morphology, dissection, and preparation, as well as descriptions of methods used to measure precision and accuracy of age estimates. This manual is intended not only as a reference for age readers at the AFSC and other laboratories, but also to give insight into the quality of age estimates to scientists who routinely use such data.