Coastal-Marine Conservation : Science and Policy

by Ray, G. Carleton; McCormick-Ray, Jerry

• ISBN13: 9780632055371
• ISBN10: 0632055375
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-29
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The coastal-marine realm is where land, sea, and air exchange energy and materials, and where the greatest biological diversity on Earth exists. This realm is also where most people live, but where conservation has been most neglected. Species loss, over-abundance, ill-health, abnormal behavior, and deteriorating habitats mount in the face of human extractions, additions, and physical alterations. Of even greater concern are the rates and magnitude of environmental change and an environmental debt that has resulted from centuries of human development. This book provides a window into the complex world of coastal-realm conservation science and policy. Conservation issues and mechanisms begin the text, followed by a characterization of the coastal-marine realm and a review of natural history concepts. Three cases ? the temperate Chesapeake Bay, the sub-arctic Bering Sea, and the tropical Bahamas ? illustrate real-world conservation issues. An analysis of the effects of human activities on coastal-marine ecosystems highlights increasing rates of change and fragmented governance. The book concludes with a synthesis of the major challenges for conservation and strategies for the future. The book is intended for undergraduates and graduates taking courses in coastal and marine conservation and management, as well as for those actively engaged in coastal-marine conservation activities.

Author Biography

G. Carleton Ray is Research Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. He has conducted research from the polar regions to the tropics, concentrating on biodiversity, fishes, marine mammals, and conservation science. He has also been actively engaged in protected-area establishment.

Jerry McCormick-Ray is Senior Research Scientist of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. Her research has focused on physiological and pollution ecology and conservation in temperate and tropical nearshore and estuarine systems.

Table of Contents

Authors of boxes	p. vii
Preface	p. x
Acknowledgments and permissions	p. xiii
Issues and mechanisms	p. 1
Conservation issues	p. 3
Introduction	p. 3
Primary issues	p. 3
Secondary issues	p. 10
Tertiary issues	p. 22
Conclusion	p. 26
Mechanisms	p. 27
Introduction	p. 27
Species and habitat conservation	p. 27
Governance	p. 32
New directions	p. 44
Agents of change	p. 46
Conclusion	p. 56
Science	p. 57
The coastal-realm ecosystem	p. 59
Introduction	p. 59
Global dynamics	p. 59
Defining attributes	p. 62
Physical components	p. 67
Biotic land-seascapes	p. 76
Coastal-realm properties	p. 78
The coastal realm: a complex ecosystem	p. 83
Conclusion	p. 89
Natural history of coastal-marine organisms	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
Diversity of coastal-realm life	p. 91
Life in water	p. 95
Life-history diversity	p. 100
Biological assembly	p. 113
Patterns	p. 115
Biogeography and environmental classification	p. 122
Conclusion	p. 123
Case studies	p. 127
Chesapeake Bay: estuarine alteration and restoration	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
Characteristic features of Chesapeake Bay	p. 133
Ecosystem properties under biotic control	p. 138
Humans: force and magnitude of change	p. 155
Assessing ecosystem condition	p. 163
Restoration: the Chesapeake Bay Program	p. 169
Conclusion	p. 170
Bering Sea: marine mammals in a regional sea	p. 172
Introduction	p. 172
Physical setting	p. 173
Biotic relationships	p. 177
Historical exploitation of Beringian marine mammals	p. 180
Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus	p. 182
Pacific walrus, Odobenus rosmarus divergens	p. 189
Conclusion	p. 202
The Bahamas: tropical-oceanic island nation	p. 205
Introduction	p. 205
Process and pattern	p. 206
Natural resource conservation issues	p. 214
Roots of conservation in social history	p. 227
Conservation for sustainability	p. 228
Conclusion	p. 235
Analysis and synthesis	p. 239
Coastal-realm change	p. 241
Introduction	p. 241
Accounting for change	p. 241
Conservation issues	p. 245
The human-dominated coastal realm	p. 259
Conclusion	p. 263
Synthesis	p. 265
Introduction	p. 265
The rise of coastal-realm conservation	p. 266
Present challenges for coastal-realm conservation	p. 269
Strategies for coastal-realm conservation	p. 285
Conclusion	p. 289
Citations and suggested readings	p. 291
Index	p. 316
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