Coastal-Marine Conservation: Science and Policy introduces students and managers to complex conservation and management issues facing coastal nations of the world, their citizens, and international and non-governmental organizations. It aims to reduce complexity and inspire a greater consensus for more effective conservation action.
- Presents the coastal realm as a heterogeneous, diverse ecosystem of exceptionall high biological diversity and productivity, and where conservation challenges are most difficult and urgent
- Examines the critical issues facing coastal-marine conservation and the mechanisms for dealing with them
- Reviews the basic science required for addressing conservation issues by presenting the coastal realm as a land-sea ecosystem of global significance, and by reviewing the natural-history features of coastal-marine organisms
- Presents three ecologically and latitudinally distinct "real-world" case studies to create a context for understanding of regional systems, their cultures, and their conservation: the polar Bering Sea, the temperate Chesapeake Bay, and the tropical Bahamas
- Makes apparent the ecological stresses on the coastal realm, increasing rates of ecosystem change, loss of ecosystem health, and fragmented governance
- Synthesizes the major challenges for conservation and suggests future policy and management strategies, including ecosystem management and needs for achieving sustainability and addressing the environmental debt
This book is intended for undergraduates and graduates taking courses in coastal and marine conservation and management, as well as those actively engaged in coastal-marine conservation activities, and gives the reader a clear steer to future management approaches.
References additional to those in the book are available at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/ray_references.pdf
The artwork is available to download at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ray/
The coastal-marine realm is where land, sea, and air exchange energy and materials, and where the greatest biological diversity on Earth exists. This realm is also where most people live, but where conservation has been most neglected. Species loss, over-abundance, ill-health, abnormal behavior, and deteriorating habitats mount in the face of human extractions, additions, and physical alterations. Of even greater concern are the rates and magnitude of environmental change and an environmental debt that has resulted from centuries of human development.
This book provides a window into the complex world of coastal-realm conservation science and policy. Conservation issues and mechanisms begin the text, followed by a characterization of the coastal-marine realm and a review of natural history concepts. Three cases ¾ the temperate Chesapeake Bay, the sub-arctic Bering Sea, and the tropical Bahamas ¾ illustrate real-world conservation issues. An analysis of the effects of human activities on coastal-marine ecosystems highlights increasing rates of change and fragmented governance. The book concludes with a synthesis of the major challenges for conservation and strategies for the future.The book is intended for undergraduates and graduates taking courses in coastal and marine conservation and management, as well as for those actively engaged in coastal-marine conservation activities.
