Marine sediments provide the largest habitat on planet earth, yet knowledge of the structure and function of their flora and fauna continues to be poorly described in current textbooks. This concise, readable introduction to benthic ecology builds upon the strengths of the previous edition but has been thoroughly revised throughout to incorporate the new technologies and methods that have allowed a rapid and ongoing development of the field. It explores the relationship between community structure and function, and the selection of global examples ensures an international appeal and relevance. The economic value of marine sediments increases daily, reflected in the text with a new emphasis on pollution, climate change, conservation, and management.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Sampling sediments; 2. The sediment and related environmental factors; 3. Describing assemblages of sediment-living organisms; 4. Diversity; 5. Functional diversity of benthic assemblages; 6. Spatial variations in sediment systems; 7. Temporal variations in benthic assemblages; 8. Human impacts on soft sediment systems - trawling and fisheries; 9. Human impacts on soft sediment systems - pollution; 10. The soft-sediment benthos in the ecosystem; 11. The benthos in the management of marine sediments; Concluding remarks

Reviews

This volume will be a useful and quick introduction for graduate students and advanced undergraduates of the analysis of benthic sampling for use in monitoring programs and integrative studies that seek to extract general features of communities from large sampling schemes. The Quarterly Review of Biology