This title will introduce readers to ocean ecosystems, the plants and animals that thrive there, its climate, its food web, any threats to it, and conservation efforts. Readers will also learn about the most well known oceans and their unique characteristics. . Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Oceans and Aquatic Ecosystems theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The theme guides the reader through various pathways followed by surface water on earth. It describes the dominant processes that govern how organisms interact with water and with each other, and how they in turn can modify water properties. This knowledge is important for humanity. Indeed, only by understanding our actions impacts upon water, and the animals and plants living in it, can we learn to exploit water, marine and fresh-water habitats and the living organisms, without destroying the resources on which our livelihood and very survival depend. The Theme on Oceans and Aquatic Ecosystems discusses matters of great relevance to our world such as: Freshwater Wetland Resources and Biology; Problems, Restoration and Conservation of Lakes and Rivers; Coastal Regions; The Oceans and Seas; Oceanic Islands These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Conventional management approaches cannot meet the challenges faced by ocean and coastal ecosystems today. Consequently, national and international bodies have called for a shift toward more comprehensive ecosystem-based marine management. Synthesizing a vast amount of current knowledge, Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans is a comprehensive guide to utilizing this promising new approach. At its core, ecosystem-based management (EBM) is about acknowledging connections. Instead of focusing on the impacts of single activities on the delivery of individual ecosystem services, EBM focuses on the array of services that we receive from marine systems, the interactive and cumulative effects of multiple human activities on these coupled ecological and social systems, and the importance of working towards common goals across sectors. Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans provides a conceptual framework for students and professionals who want to understand and utilize this powerful approach. And it employs case studies that draw on the experiences of EBM practitioners to demonstrate how EBM principles can be applied to real-world problems. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to social and ecological resilience —the extent to which a system can maintain its structure, function, and identity in the face of disturbance. Utilizing the resilience framework, professionals can better predict how systems will respond to a variety of disturbances, as well as to a range of management alternatives. Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans presents the latest science of resilience, while it provides tools for the design and implementation of responsive EBM solutions.

This volume examines the deep sea ecosystem from a variety of perspectives. The initial chapters examine the deep-sea floor, the deep pelagic environment and the more specialised chemosynthetic environments of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. These environments are examined from the perspective of the relationship of deep-sea animals to their physico-chemical environment.Later chapters examine the biogeography of the main deep oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian) with particular attention to the downward flux of surface-derived organic matter and how this drives the processes within the deep-sea ecosystem. The peripheral deep seas including the polar seas and the marginal deep seas (inter alia the Mediterranean, Red, Caribbean and Okhotsk seas) are explored in the same context. The final chapters examine the processes occurring in the deep sea and include an analysis of why the deep sea has high species diversity, how the fauna respond to organic input and how species have adapted reproductive activity in the deep sea. The volume concludes with an analysis of the anthropogenic impact on the deep sea.

Recent decades have been marked by the decline or collapse of one fishery after another around the world, from swordfish in the North Atlantic to orange roughy in the South Pacific. While the effects of a collapse on local economies and fishing-dependent communities have generated much discussion, little attention has been paid to its impacts on the overall health of the ocean's ecosystems. In a Perfect Ocean: The State of Fisheries and Ecosystems in the North Atlantic Ocean presents the first empirical assessment of the status of ecosystems in the North Atlantic ocean. Drawing on a wide range of studies including original research conducted for this volume, the authors analyze 14 large marine ecosystems to provide an indisputable picture of an ocean whose ecology has been dramatically altered, resulting in a phenomenon described by the authors as "fishing down the food web." The book: provides a snapshot of the past health of the North Atlantic and compares it to its present status presents a rigorous scientific assessment based on the key criteria of fisheries catches, biomass, and trophic level considers the factors that have led to the current situation describes the policy options available for halting the decline offers recommendations for restoring the North Atlantic An original and powerful series of maps and charts illustrate where the effects of overfishing are the most pronounced and highlight the interactions among various factors contributing to the overall decline of the North Atlantic's ecosystems. This is the first in a series of assessments by the world's leading marine scientists, entitled "The State of the World's Oceans." In a Perfect Ocean: The State of Fisheries and Ecosystems in the North Atlantic Ocean is a landmark study, the first of its kind to make a comprehensive, ecosystem-based assessment of the North Atlantic Ocean, and will be essential reading for policymakers at the state, national, and international level concerned with fisheries management, as well for scientists, researchers, and activists concerned with marine issues or fishing and the fisheries industry.

Oceans and Aquatic Ecosystems theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The theme guides the reader through various pathways followed by surface water on earth. It describes the dominant processes that govern how organisms interact with water and with each other, and how they in turn can modify water properties. This knowledge is important for humanity. Indeed, only by understanding our actions impacts upon water, and the animals and plants living in it, can we learn to exploit water, marine and fresh-water habitats and the living organisms, without destroying the resources on which our livelihood and very survival depend. The Theme on Oceans and Aquatic Ecosystems discusses matters of great relevance to our world such as: Freshwater Wetland Resources and Biology; Problems, Restoration and Conservation of Lakes and Rivers; Coastal Regions; The Oceans and Seas; Oceanic Islands These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.