Marine hard bottoms feature some of the most spectacular and diverse biological communities on this planet. These not only contain a rich treasure of genetic, taxonomic and functional information but also deliver irreplaceable ecosystem services. At the same time, they are highly vulnerable and increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures. This volume has collected contributions by 50 scientists from numerous biogeographic regions, dealing with characteristics of hard bottom communities. Distributional patterns in space and time are described, followed by analyses of the intrinsic and extrinsic dynamics producing these patterns. A strong emphasis is placed on the ongoing changes occurring in the structure and diversity of these communities in response to spiralling environmental impacts, and on state-of-the-art countermeasures aiming to preserve these ecological treasures. Finally, various values of diversity are assessed, hopefully as an incentive for enhanced conservation efforts.

In a perspective of sustainable management, the balance between ecological dynamics, social and economic are now at the heart of ecological modeling and environmental strategies screenwriting. Diversity and marine ecosystems function illustrates biodiversity, habitat diversity, structures and food webs in various oceans of the world and systems: pelagic and benthic ecosystems, coral reefs and seagrass beds, oasis of hydrothermal vents ridges or areas rich upwelling. Appropriate observation methods, long-term monitoring and modeling reveal the complexity of systems, trophic interactions and spatiotemporal dynamics. The ecosystem approach is a prerequisite to assess the state of these systems, their living resources and ecological services involved in local and global environmental changes.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1958.

Biofouling (the colonisation of an interface by a diverse array of organisms) is almost always a problem where it occurs, as it negatively affects surfaces, the materials that they are made from and the structures that they form, and can even destroy them. This comprehensive book covers in detail in its first section the processes involved in marine , freshwater and medical biofouling including coverage of settlement by larvae and spores, biofouling community processes, epibiosis (biofouling on living organisms) and microbial fouling, including biofilms deleterious to human health. The book's second section, encompassing biofouling processes with industrial implications, includes coverage of biofouling on artificial substrata, paints and coatings technology for the control of marine biofouling, biofouling and antifouling in the maritime industries, such as shipping, offshore oil , and aquaculture, and in power stations and other industries. The impacts of both biofouling and biofouling control and details of current legislation of relevance to biofouling issues are fully covered. The book's final section looks at methods for the measurement of biofouling, and future prospects for biofouling, including in-depth coverage of the changes anticipated in biofouling worldwide due to global climate change, and likely future directions in antifouling research, technology and legislation. Biofouling, which includes contributions from many international experts, is an essential reference for all those working in the antifouling industry including those involved in formulation of antifouling products such as paints and other coatings. Aquatic biologists, ecologists, environmental scientists and lawyers, marine engineers, aquaculture personnel, chemists, and medical researchers will all find much of interest within this book. All universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught should have copies of this important work on their shelves.