This book provides a comprehensive and up to date overview of peatland ecosystems. It examines the entire range of biota present in this habitat and considers management, conservation, and restoration issues.

This book provides a novel perspective on agroecosystems, summarising our current understanding of the basic and applied aspects of these important and complex habitats, whilst focusing on environmental concerns in the context of global change.

The second edition of this widely cited textbook continues to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave and subterranean biology, describing this fascinating habitat and its biodiversity. It covers a range of biological processes including ecosystem function, evolution and adaptation, community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. The authors draw on a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats. One of the barriers to the study of subterranean biology has been the extraordinarily large number of specialized terms used by researchers; the authors explain these terms clearly and minimize the number that they use. This new edition retains the same 10 chapter structure of the original, but the content has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout to reflect the huge increase in publications concerning subterranean biology over the last decade.

A revised and thoroughly updated edition of this concise but comprehensive introduction to desert ecology.

Coral reefs represent the most spectacular and diverse marine ecosystem on the planet as well as a critical source of income for millions of people. However, the combined effects of human activity have led to a rapid decline in the health of reefs worldwide, with many now facing complete destruction. Their world-wide deterioration and over-exploitation has continued and even accelerated in many areas since the publication of the first edition in 2009. At the same time, there has been a near doubling in the number of scientific papers that have been written in this short time about coral reef biology and the ability to acclimate to ocean warming and acidification. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, incorporating the significant increase in knowledge gained over the last decade whilst retaining the book's focus as a concise and affordable overview of the field. The Biology of Coral Reefs provides an integrated overview of the function, physiology, ecology, and behaviour of coral reef organisms. Each chapter is enriched with a selection of 'boxes' on specific aspects written by internationally recognised experts. As with other books in the Biology of Habitats Series, the emphasis in this book is on the organisms that dominate this marine environment although pollution, conservation, climate change, and experimental aspects are also included. Indeed, particular emphasis is placed on conservation and management due to the habitat's critically endangered status. A global range of examples is employed which gives the book international relevance.

This accessible text provides a concise but comprehensive introduction to the biology of global grasslands. Grasslands are vast in their extent, with native and non-native grasslands now covering approximately 50% of the global terrestrial environment. They are also of vital importance to humans, providing essential ecosystem services and some of the most important areas for the production of food and fibre worldwide. It has been estimated that 60% of calories consumed by humans originate from grasses, and most grain consumed is produced in areas that were formerly grasslands or wetlands. Grasslands are also important because they are used to raise forage for livestock, represent a source of biofuels, sequester vast amounts of carbon, provide urban green-space, and hold vast amounts of biodiversity. Intact grasslands contain an incredibly fascinating set of plants, animals, and microbes that have interested several generations of biologists, generating pivotal studies to important theoretical questions in ecology. As with other titles in the Biology of Habitats Series, the emphasis is on the organisms that dominate this environment although restoration, conservation, and experimental aspects are also considered.

How do plants, animals, and humans manage to survive and adapt to the urban environment? This book provides a comprehensive coverage of biological matters related to urban environments presenting both the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings, and practical examples required to understand and address the challenges presented by this novel environment. The Biology of Urban Environments focusses on urban denizens: species (both domesticated and non-domesticated) that live for all or part of their life cycle in towns and cities. The biology of household plants and companion animals is discussed alongside that of species that have become feral or have not been domesticated. Temporal and spatial distribution patterns are set out and generalizations are made while exceptions are also discussed. The various strategies used and the genotypic, phenotypic, and behavioural adaptions of plants and animals in the face of the challenges presented by urban environments are explained. The final two chapters contain a discussion of the impacts of urban environments on human biology and suggestions on how this understanding might be used to address the increasing human health burden associated with illnesses that are characteristic of urbanites in the early twenty-first century.