Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation (Modeling Dynamic Systems) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387953175 ISBN 13: 9780387953175

Publisher: Springer, 2002

Synopsis

The oceans are shrinking. They're not literally shrinking; warming in the last century has actually expanded the sea enough to threaten low-lying coastal lands that are vul­ nerable to storm surge. During the same interval, however, events on land have increasingly affected the sea. Since in most ways the Earth is a closed system-a zero-sum planet in today's parlance-as terrestrial influence on the sea expands, the sea's influence on its own processes shrinks. Control of many crucial marine processes no longer resides within the sea. The evidence for this is abundant and, to anyone who is looking, unmis­ takable. In recent decades scientists have witnessed unprecedented pertur­ bations and increases in previously uncommon events that demonstrate growing terrestrial influences on the sea. Numerous marine species, from sea urchins to monk seals, have experienced devastating epidemics. The number of harmful algal blooms and jellyfishpopulation explosions is rising An hypoxic "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico off the mouth of the Mississippi Rivernow appears each year and grows to encompass an area as large as NewJersey. Live coral cover in shallow reefs in Florida,Jamaica, the Maldives and many other locations has severely declined. Deepwater reef­ building corals, once widely distributed, have disappeared throughout much of their ranges. Researchers have discovered high concentrations of persis­ tent organic pollutants in declining populations of beluga whales and polar bears, both high trophic level predators in marine food webs.

About this title

Review

From the reviews:

"The main aim of this book is to explore the ecological complexity in marine systems in the light of setting a new conservation agenda using the power of dynamic modeling via the graphical programming language of STELLA Research software. ... I recommend this book to anyone interested in actively learning about and understanding the new challenges in marine conservation and related issues." (Andrea Belgrano, Ecology, Vol. 83 (9), 2002)

Synopsis

The effects of disturbed ecosystems, from devastating algal blooms to the loss of whale populations, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the oceans' biodiversity. Conservation of marine systems requires knowledge from many different fields in order to understand the complex interactions that threaten those systems. Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation provides a method of learning how these systems function, determining how natural and human actions have put them in peril and how we can best influence the marine world in order to maintain biodiversity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0387953175
• ISBN 13: 9780387953175
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 469
• Editor: Ruth Matthias, Lindholm James