For the inhabitants of many of the world's major towns and cities, estuaries provide their first and nearest glimpse of a natural habitat. Despite the attempts of man to pollute or reclaim it, the estuarine ecosystem continues to provide a fascinating insight into a natural world where energy is transformed from sunlight into plant material, and then through the steps of a food chain is converted into a rich food supply for birds and fish.
When the previous editions of this book appeared, biologists were beginning to realize that the estuarine ecosystem was an ideal habitat in which to...

Proceedings of the 18th EBSA Symposium held in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., 29th August to 2nd September 1988

For the inhabitants of many of the world's major cities and towns, estuaries provide their nearest glimpse of a natural habitat; a habitat which, despite the attempts of man to pollute it or reclaim it, has remained a fascinating insight into a natural world where energy is transformed from sunlight into plant material, and then through the steps of a food chain is converted into a rich food supply for birds and fish. The biologist has become interested in estuaries as areas in which to study the responses of animals and plants to severe environmental gradients. Gradients of salinity for...