Seamounts Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation

by Pitcher, Tony J.; Morato, Telmo; Hart, Paul J. B.; Clark, Malcolm R.; Haggan, Nigel; Santos, Ricardo S.

• ISBN13: 9781405133432
• ISBN10: 1405133430
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-19
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Seamounts are ubiquitous undersea mountains rising from the ocean seafloor that do not reach the surface. There are likely many hundreds of thousands of seamounts, they are usually formed from volcanoes in the deep sea and are defined by oceanographers as independent features that rise to at least 0.5 km above the seafloor, although smaller features may have the same origin. This book follows a logical progression from geological and physical processes, ecology, biology and biogeography, to exploitation, management and conservation concerns. In 21 Chapters written by 57 of the world's leading seamount experts, the book reviews all aspects of their geology, ecology, biology, exploitation, conservation and management. In Section I of this book, several detection and estimation techniques for tallying seamounts are reviewed, along with a history of seamount research. This book represents a unique and fresh synthesis of knowledge of seamounts and their biota and is an essential reference work on the topic. It is an essential purchase for all fisheries scientists and managers, fish biologists, marine biologists and ecologists, environmental scientists, conservation biologists and oceanographers. It will also be of interest to members of fish and wildlife agencies and government departments covering conservation and management.

Author Biography

Tony J. Pitcher
Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Telmo Morato
Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, University of the Azores, Horta, Portugal

Paul J.B. Hart
Department of Biology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

Malcolm R. Clark
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand

Nigel Haggan
Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Ricardo S. Santos
Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, University of the Azores, Horta, Portugal

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	p. viii
Series Editors Foreword	p. xiv
Preface	p. xvii
Publisher's Acknowledgement	p. xxii
Acknowledgements	p. xxiii
Introduction and characterization of seamounts	p. 1
Seamount characteristics	p. 3
How many seamounts are there and where are they located?	p. 26
A history of seamount research	p. 41
Biophysical coupling on seamounts	p. 63
Physical processes and seamount productivity	p. 65
Seamount plankton dynamics	p. 85
Midwater fish assemblages and seamounts	p. 101
Biology and ecology of seamount organisms	p. 117
Seamount benthos	p. 119
Corals on seamounts	p. 141
Seamount fishes: ecology and life histories	p. 170
Fish visitors to seamounts	p. 189
Tunas and billfish at seamounts	p. 189
Aggregations of large pelagic sharks above seamounts	p. 202
Seamounts and cephalopods	p. 207
Air-breathing visitors to seamounts	p. 230
Marine mammals	p. 230
Sea turtles	p. 239
Importance of seamounts to seabirds	p. 245
Synoptic views of seamounts	p. 253
Biogeography and biodiversity of seamounts	p. 255
Raiding the larder: a quantitative evaluation framework and trophic signature for seamount food webs	p. 282
Modelling seamount ecosystems and their fisheries	p. 296
Exploitation, management and conservation	p. 333
Small-scale fishing on seamounts	p. 335
Large-scale distant-water trawl fisheries on seamounts	p. 361
Catches from world seamount fisheries	p. 400
Impacts of fisheries on seamounts	p. 413
Management and conservation of seamounts	p. 442
The depths of ignorance: an ecosystem evaluation framework for seamount ecology, fisheries and conservation	p. 476
Glossary	p. 489
Subject Index	p. 499
Author Index	p. 511
Species Index	p. 523
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