Biodiversity in the Marine Environment

ISBN-13: 9789401785655 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 198 str.

Philippe Goulletquer;Philippe Gros;Gilles Boeuf

Opis

The oceans cover over 70% of our planet. They are host to a biodiversity of tremendous wealth. Its preservation is now a global priority featuring in several international conventions and a confirmed objective of European policies and national strategies. Understanding the dynamics and the uses of the marine biodiversity is a genuine scientific challenge. Fourteen international experts have got together and identified five priority research themes to address the problem, based on analysing the state of knowledge.

Recenzje

From the book reviews:

"This excellent review, translated from French, extends beyond the general subject of biodiversity to encompass a wealth of information that will be valuable for managing and conserving living marine resources. ... this concise, well-written book will be useful as a textbook and as a reference work on marine biodiversity. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners." (J. C. Briggs, Choice, Vol. 52 (1), September, 2014)

Spis treści

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
The importance of marine biodiversity
Key features
Hierarchical components
The impacts of human activities on marine biodiversity
The strategic values of research
Status and trends
How many marine species are there?
Taxonomic records
Cryptic species
The drive to identify new species
The "taxonomic impediment"
Species under pressure
Extinct species
Endangered species
Ecosystems under pressure: the deep sea
Spatial patterning of characteristics
Temporal patterns
Conceptualising biodiversity
Conceptual frameworks for relationships between biodiversity and human societies. Choice of model framework
Measuring biodiversity
Biodiversity as a macroscopic descriptor in the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
Drivers of changes in biodiversity and its uses
Environmental drivers: a working framework
Integrated scenarios and policies
Policies and decision support
Developing scenarios
Quantitative methods, models and integrated assessment
Research needs
The framework: environmental research
Naturalistic dimensions
Human dimensions of research
Developing modelling: a summarising approach
Sources
References
Databases
Abbreviations and acronyms
Group of experts

O autorze

Philippe Goulletquer, PhD in biological oceanography, is in charge of issues of marine and coastal biodiversity at Ifremer. He is a member of the scientific council on Natural heritage & biodiversity.

Philippe Gros, a highly qualified professor of biological sciences at the École normale supérieure, joined Ifremer in 1984. He was director of Living resources there.

Gilles Boeuf, holding a PhD in developmental biology, is a professor at Pierre & Marie Curie university and President of the National museum of natural history (MNHN).

Jacques Weber, an economist and anthropologist, research director at the Cirad, lecturer at the École des hautes études and Pierre & Marie Curie university, is vice-chairman of the French committee for Man and biosphere.

Blurb

Oceans cover more than 70% of earth and host a largely unknown marine biodiversity critical for future human beings. An improved knowledge of marine biodiversity at various scales (from genes to ecosystems) is required to facilitate building integrated scenarios and policies for a sustainable development as well as its conservation. Understanding species interactions, ecosystem functioning and dynamics, as well as biodiversity uses is presently a scientific challenge. Conservation of marine biodiversity is now a worldwide priority emphasized by several international conventions (UN, CBD..) and a key target for European policies and national strategies. This book provides a comprehensive review of the status and trends of marine biodiversity, an impact assessment of human activities and suggests a conceptual framework for relationships between biodiversity and human societies. Further research needs and priorities are identified to sustain the development of integrated scenarios and policies, considering a sustainable development as well as biodiversity conservation. The book is the product of a collective scientific expertise based upon international experts originating from social, biological and ecological sciences.