Ecologists have long struggled to predict features of ecological systems, such as the numbers and diversity of organisms. The wide range of body sizes in ecological communities, from tiny microbes to large animals and plants, is emerging as the key to prediction. Based on the relationship between body size and features such as biological rates, the physics of water and the amount of habitat available, we may be able to understand patterns of abundance and diversity, biogeography, interactions in food webs and the impact of fishing, adding up to a potential 'periodic table' for ecology. Remarkable progress on the unravelling, describing and modelling of aquatic food webs, revealing the fundamental role of body size, makes a book emphasising marine and freshwater ecosystems particularly apt. In this 2007 book, the importance of body size is examined at a range of scales that will be of interest to professional ecologists, from students to senior researchers.

An attractive, promising, and frustrating feature of ecology is its complex ity, both conceptual and observational. Increasing acknowledgment of the importance of scale testifies to the shifting focus in large areas of ecology. In the rush to explore problems of scale, another general aspect of ecolog ical systems has been given less attention. This aspect, equally important, is heterogeneity. Its importance lies in the ubiquity of heterogeneity as a feature of ecological systems and in the number of questions it raises questions to which answers are not readily available. What is heterogeneity? Does it differ from complexity? What dimensions need be considered to evaluate heterogeneity ade quately? Can heterogeneity be measured at various scales? Is heterogeneity apart of organization of ecological systems? How does it change in time and space? What are the causes of heterogeneity and causes of its change? This volume attempts to answer these questions. It is devoted to iden tification of the meaning, range of applications, problems, and methodol ogy associated with the study of heterogeneity. The coverage is thus broad and rich, and the contributing authors have been encouraged to range widely in discussions and reflections. vi Preface The chapters are grouped into themes. The first group focuses on the conceptual foundations (Chapters 1-5). These papers exarnine the meaning of the term, historical developments, and relations to scale. The second theme is modeling population and interspecific interactions in hetero geneous environments (Chapters 6 and 7).

'Aquatic Food Webs' provides a current synthesis of theoretical and empirical food web research. The textbook is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in community, ecosystem, and theoretical ecology, in aquatic ecology, and in conservation biology.

An authoritative work written by leading experts unravelling the fundamental role of body size.

Beginning systematically with the fundamentals, the fully-updated third edition of this popular graduate textbook provides an understanding of all the essential elements of marine optics. It explains the key role of light as a major factor in determining the operation and biological composition of aquatic ecosystems, and its scope ranges from the physics of light transmission within water, through the biochemistry and physiology of aquatic photosynthesis, to the ecological relationships that depend on the underwater light climate. This book also provides a valuable introduction to the remote sensing of the ocean from space, which is now recognized to be of great environmental significance due to its direct relevance to global warming. An important resource for graduate courses on marine optics, aquatic photosynthesis, or ocean remote sensing; and for aquatic scientists, both oceanographers and limnologists.

The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions. This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry. Carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean decreases the pH of the water and leads to a suite of chemical changes collectively known as ocean acidification. The long term consequences of ocean acidification are not known, but are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean reviews the current state of knowledge, explores gaps in understanding, and identifies several key findings. Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society. The federal government has taken positive initial steps by developing a national ocean acidification program, but more information is needed to fully understand and address the threat that ocean acidification may pose to marine ecosystems and the services they provide. In addition, a global observation network of chemical and biological sensors is needed to monitor changes in ocean conditions attributable to acidification.

This book presents the latest topics in ecological and evolutionary research on aquatic biodiversity from bacteria to fishes, with special reference to Lake Biwa, an ancient lake in western Japan. With a geological history of 4 million years, Lake Biwa is the third oldest lake in the world. It is considered a biodiversity hotspot, where 1,769 aquatic species including 61 endemics are recorded, providing a rare opportunity to study the evolutionary diversification of aquatic biota and its ecological consequences. The first chapter introduces the evolutionary history of biodiversity, especially of fish in this lake. In the second chapter, some examples of trophic polymorphism in fish are described. Fish are keystone predators in lake ecosystems, and they can be a major driver for altering biological communities through their top-down trophic cascading effects. An excellent laboratory experiment is presented, demonstrating that functional diversity of fish feeding morphology alters food web properties of plankton prey communities. The third chapter focuses on aquatic microbes, whose abundance and diversity may also be influenced by the diversity of fish through top-down trophic cascades. Aquatic microbes can have a strong impact on ecosystem functioning in lakes, and in this chapter, the latest molecular techniques used to examine genetic and functional diversity of microbial communities are introduced. The final chapter presents theoretical frameworks for predicting how biodiversity has the potential to control the incidence and intensity of human-induced regime shifts. While respecting the precious nature of biodiversity in lakes, it is essential to be aware that modern human activities have brought a crisis of biodiversity loss in lakes worldwide. Throughout this book, readers will learn why biodiversity must be conserved at all levels, from genes to ecosystems.