The Biology of Polar Regions

by Thomas, D.N.; Fogg, G.E.; Convey, P.; Fritsen, C.H.; Gili, J.-M.; Gradinger, R.; Laybourn-Parry, J.; Reid, K.; Walton, D.W.H.

• ISBN13: 9780199298112
• ISBN10: 0199298114
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

There is now an increased awareness of the importance of polar regions in the Earth system, as well as their vulnerability to anthropogenic derived change, including of course global climate change. This new edition offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to polar ecology and has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout, providing expanded coverage of marine ecosystems and the impact of humans. It incorporates a detailed comparison of the Arctic and Antarctic systems, with a particular emphasis on the effects of climate change, and describes marine, freshwater, glacial, and terrestrial habitats. This breadth of coverage is unique in the polar biology literature. As with other titles in the Biology of Habitats Series, particular emphasis is placed on the organisms that dominate these extreme environments although pollution, conservation and experimental aspects are also considered. This accessible text is suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in polar ecology, often as part of a wider marine biology degree program. It will also be of value and use to the many professional ecologists and conservation biologists requiring a concise overview of the topic.

Author Biography

Dr. David N. Thomas is Professor in Marine Biology at the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales Bangor. Between 1989 and 1996 he held four research scientist posts in Germany at the University of Bremen, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, University of Oldenburg and Centre for Marine Tropical Ecology, Bremen. He was appointed to his position at the University of Wales-Bangor in July 1996. In 2001 to 2003 he held an Ocean and Climate Research Fellowship at the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study, Germany.
G. E. Fogg was Professor Emeritus of Marine Biology, School of Ocean Sciences University of Wales, Bangor.
Dr. Peter Convey is Research Scientist at the Biological Sciences Division of the British Antarctic Survey.
Dr. Christian Fritsen is Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at the Desert Research Institute, Nevada, USA.
Dr Josep-Maria Gili is of the Institut de Ciencies del Mar, Spanish National Research Council Dr Rolf Gradinger is Assistant Professor of Biological Oceanography at the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Prof. Johanna Laybourn-Parry is Dean of Natural Sciences at Keele University. Her research interests centre around polar limnology, in particular carbon cycling, environmental microbiology, protozoan ecophysiology and biological processes on glaciers. Her Antarctic work is conducted with the Australian and US Antarctic programmes while her work in the Arctic is conducted in Svalbard. She has been funded by NERC, The Leverhulme Trust, EPSRC, Industry, the US National Science Foundation and the Australian Antarctic Science Advisory Committee (ASAC). She currently holds a grant from the Leverhulme Trust for work on protozoan feeding selectivity physiology and from ASAC for investigating bacterial biodiversity in Antarctic saline lakes.
Dr. Keith Reid is an ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey. Professor David Walton is a chief scientist at the British Antarctic Survey.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction to the polar regions	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The energy balances of the polar regions	p. 2
Climate	p. 17
Thermohaline circulation	p. 22
El Nino Southern Oscillation	p. 23
Arctic and North Atlantic Oscillations	p. 25
Magnetic and electrical phenomena	p. 26
Stress, adaptation, and survival in polar regions	p. 28
Introduction	p. 28
Life at low temperatures	p. 30
Desiccation	p. 39
The effects of radiation	p. 42
Biological rhythms in the polar environment	p. 49
Periglacial and terrestrial habitats in polar regions	p. 53
Introduction	p. 53
Substrata	p. 54
Communities	p. 65
The physiological ecology of polar plants and invertebrates	p. 90
Specialized communities	p. 92
Comparison of Arctic and Antarctic terrestrial habitats and communities	p. 97
Glacial habitats in polar regions	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Life in the interior of polar ice sheets and glaciers	p. 102
Life at the margin	p. 107
The snow alga community	p. 112
Wider perspectives	p. 115
Inland waters in polar regions	p. 116
Introduction	p. 116
Arctic lakes	p. 118
Antarctic lakes	p. 125
Streams and rivers	p. 139
Conclusions	p. 142
Open oceans in polar regions	p. 143
Introduction	p. 143
Gradients in waters	p. 143
The plankton	p. 146
The physiological ecology of polar phytoplankton	p. 154
The zooplankton	p. 165
Squid	p. 172
Fish	p. 173
The polar marine pelagic systems	p. 175
Frozen oceans in polar regions	p. 179
Introduction	p. 179
The physical characteristics of sea ice	p. 180
The biology of sea ice	p. 192
The ice edge	p. 209
Polynyas	p. 213
The wider significance of sea ice biology	p. 214
Marine benthos in polar regions	p. 220
Introduction	p. 220
The littoral zone	p. 222
The shallow sublittoral zone	p. 226
The benthos of deep waters	p. 244
Benthos under ice shelves	p. 246
Seasonality and dynamics of benthic communities	p. 248
Comparisons and conclusions	p. 254
Birds and mammals in polar regions	p. 259
Introduction	p. 259
Seabirds	p. 259
Seals	p. 270
Whales	p. 277
Bears and foxes	p. 280
Climate change in polar regions	p. 284
Introduction	p. 284
Changes during geological time: the ice ages	p. 285
Biological responses to long-term changes	p. 287
Present-day global climate change and polar regions	p. 295
Human impact on polar regions	p. 301
The first invasions by humans	p. 301
The ecology of pre-industrial humans in the Arctic	p. 302
Sealing and whaling	p. 303
Hunting	p. 307
Fishing	p. 308
Pastoral and agriculture development	p. 311
Introduction of non-native organisms by humans	p. 314
Mineral and oil extraction	p. 316
Pollution	p. 320
Tourism	p. 323
Military uses of the polar regions	p. 326
Conservation	p. 327
Some conclusions	p. 332
Further reading and web resources	p. 338
References	p. 344
Index	p. 377
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.