The Biology and Ecology of Giant Kelp Forests.

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART I. THE BIOLOGY OF GIANT KELP -- 1. Introduction to Giant Kelp Forests Worldwide -- Taxonomic Classification -- Evolution -- Biogeography -- History of Research (to 1970) -- 2. The Structure, Function, and Abiotic Requirements of Giant Kelp -- Sporophytes -- Spores -- Gametophytes -- Basic Abiotic Requirements -- 3. The Abiotic Environment -- The Kelp Environment -- Substratum and Sedimentation -- Temperature -- Light -- Nutrients -- Water Motion -- Concluding Comments -- 4. Demography, Dispersal, and Connectivity of Populations -- Demography -- Metapopulations -- Reproductive Output and Sources of Propagules -- Spore Dispersal and Recruitment Windows -- Mechanisms of Dispersal -- Seed Banks -- Genetic Structure of Populations -- PART II. THE GIANT KELP ECOSYSTEM -- 5. Giant Kelp Communities -- A "Composite" Community -- Variation by Biogeographic Province -- Within Communities: Habitats and Patches -- Temporal Variation -- Diversity -- 6. Detached Giant Kelp Communities, Production, and Food / Control Webs -- Detached Giant Kelp Communities -- Kelp Forest Productivity -- Food Webs and Control Webs -- 7. Facilitative and Competitive Interactions in Giant Kelp Forests -- Facilitation -- Competition -- 8. Grazing in Kelp Communities -- Kelp-Sea Urchin Interactions -- Why Do Urchins Rampage? -- Reversion of Barrens to Kelp Habitat -- Other Grazers in Giant Kelp Communities -- 9. Predation and Trophic Cascades in Kelp Communities -- Fish Predation on Grazers -- Lobster Predation on Grazers -- Sea Otters and Predation on Grazers -- Other Predators -- PART III. HUMAN USAGE, MANAGEMENT, AND CONSERVATION -- 10. Anthropogenic Effects on Kelp Forests -- Sewage and Industrial Waste Discharge -- Runoff and Coastal Modification -- Intakes and Discharges from Power and Desalination Plants.

Boat Traffic and Toxic Spills -- Giant Kelp Harvesting -- Introduced and Invasive Species -- 11. Human Usage of Giant Kelp and Kelp Forest Organisms -- Food and Fertilizer -- Chemicals -- Biofuel and Carbon Sequestration -- Aquaculture -- Recreational Use -- Sport Fishing -- Commercial Fishing -- Other Uses -- Restoration of Kelp Forests -- Artificial Reefs, Creation of New Kelp Forests, and "Mitigation" -- 12. Marine Protected Areas and Fisheries Effects -- What Is a Marine Protected Area? -- Design and Implementation -- MPA Effects on Fish, Fisheries, and Communities -- Gaps and the Future of MPAs -- PART IV. GLOBAL CHANGE AND THE FUTURE -- 13. Global Change -- Climate Change Variables and Predicted Trends -- Temperature -- Nutrients and Wave Forces -- Ocean Acidification (OA) -- 14. Giant Kelp Forests: Conclusions and Final Thoughts -- Biology of Giant Kelp -- Communities -- Interactions -- Management -- The Future -- Afterword -- References -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z.

The largest seaweed, giant kelp (Macrocystis) is the fastest growing and most prolific of all plants found on earth. Growing from the seafloor and extending along the ocean surface in lush canopies, giant kelp provides an extensive vertical habitat in a largely two-dimensional seascape. It is the foundation for one of the most species-rich, productive, and widely distributed ecological communities in the world. Schiel and Foster's scholarly review and synthesis take the reader from Darwin's early observations to contemporary research, providing a historical perspective for the modern understanding of giant kelp evolution, biogeography, biology, and physiology. The authors furnish a comprehensive discussion of kelp species and forest ecology worldwide, with considerations of human uses and abuses, management and conservation, and the current and likely future impacts of global change. This volume promises to be the definitive treatise and reference on giant kelp and its forests for many years, and it will appeal to marine scientists and others who want a better appreciation and understanding of these wondrous forests of the sea.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.