INTRODUCTION TO MARINE BIOLOGY, 4E, International Edition sparks curiosity about the marine world and provides an understanding of the process of science. Taking an ecological approach and intended for non-science majors, the text provides succinct coverage of the content while the photos and art clearly illustrate key concepts. Studying is made easy with phonetic pronunciations, a running glossary of key terms, end-of-chapter questions, and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter. The open look and feel of INTRODUCTION TO MARINE BIOLOGY, 4E, International Edition and the enhanced art program convey the beauty and awe of life in the ocean. Twenty spectacular photos open the chapters, piquing the motivation and attention of students, and over 60 photos and pieces of art are new or redesigned.

The oceans are our planet's most distinctive and imposing natural habitat. They cover 71 percent of its surface; support a remarkably diverse and exquisitely adapted array of life forms, from microscopic viruses, bacteria, and plankton to the largest existing animals; and possess many of Earth's most significant, intriguing, and inaccessible ecosystems. In an era in which humans are significantly altering the global environment, the oceans are undergoing rapid and profound changes. The study of marine biology is thus taking on added importance and urgency as people struggle to understand and manage these changes to protect our marine ecosystems. Healthy oceans produce half of the oxygen we breathe; stabilize our climate; create ecosystems that protect our coasts from storms; provide us with abundant food; and host diverse organisms that provide us with natural products for medicine and biotechnology. In this Very Short Introduction, marine biologist Philip Mladenov provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of marine biology, offering a tour of marine life and marine processes that ranges from the unimaginably abundant microscopic organisms that drive the oceans' food web to the apex predators that we exploit for food; from polar ocean ecosystems to tropical coral reefs; and from the luxurious kelp beds of the coastal ocean to deep-ocean hydrothermal vents where life exists without the energy of the sun. Throughout the book he considers the human impacts on marine life including overfishing, plastic and nutrient pollution, the spread of exotic species, and ocean warming and acidification. He discusses the threats these pose to our welfare, and the actions required to put us on a path to a more sustainable relationship with our oceans so that they can be restored and protected for future generations. Mladenov concludes with a new chapter offering an inspiring vision for the future of our oceans in 2050 that can be realised if we are wise enough to accelerate actions already underway and be bold with implementing new approaches. The next decade will decide the state of the oceans that we leave behind for future generations. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Oceanography and Marine Biology preserves the basic elements of the physical, chemical, and geological aspects of the marine sciences, and merges those fundamentals into a broader framework of marine biology and ecology. Existing textbooks on oceanography or marine biology address the companion field only cursorily: very few pages in oceanography texts are devoted to marine biology, and vice versa. This new book overcomes that imbalance, bringing these disparate marine science text formats closer together, giving them more equal weight, and introducing more effectively the physical sciences by showing students with everyday examples how such concepts form the foundation upon which to build a better understanding of the marine environment in a changing world. Lecturer supplements will also be available.

The new edition of An Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life is designed to reach your introductory students with effective and interesting learning tools. Its design and content are focused on capturing the attention of your students-- and focused on helping you teach. In the sixth edition, author James Sumich has maintained the text's readability and balanced approach, while incorporating several exciting new features:

Appeal to every students's natural curiosity about the oceans! - Complete content review and answer key that links every chapter in the student book with its corresponding lab - Tips on preparing and setting up each of the labs - A list of aquariums, marine-science centers, web sites, and other helpful teaching resources - Tried-and-true methods to ensure that students get the most from every lab and project See the companion Marine Biology lab manual and Marine Biology student book

This book is the seventh companion volume to 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. It is designed to augment the information on using GIS in marine biology provided in that book, and, indeed, to be used alongside it rather than to be used independently as a stand-alone volume. Therefore, this book will be of most interest to those who have already read 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. This supplementary workbook contains five exercises covering the practical use of GIS in marine biology. These exercises aim to introduce marine biologists to using QGIS (or Quantum GIS), a freely-available, open-source GIS software package, and range from making a simple map of the locations where a species was recorded for inclusion in a publication, or presentation to creating grids of species presence-absence, richness and abundance, and grids of environmental variables. The exercises are designed to be followed in the order they are presented, and work with a specific data set which can be downloaded separately for free. Working through these five exercises will help the novice GIS user obtain experience in working with GIS and so develop their GIS skills. Unlike most other GIS tutorials, this information is specifically presented in a marine biological context and all the exercises use real data from a marine biological study. Therefore, these exercises are more likely to provide the kind of experience in using GIS that marine biologists will find useful and applicable to their own research. These exercises are presented in the same easy-to-follow flow diagram-based format first introduced in the 'How To...' section of 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. They are accompanied by images which show the user how their GIS project should look as they progress through the exercises, allowing them to compare their own work to the expected results. This is part of the PSLS series of books which use Task-Oriented Learning (TOL) to teach the practical application of research skills to the life sciences. This involves demonstrating how these skills can be used in the specific circumstances in which they are likely to be required rather than concentrating on teaching theoretical frameworks or on teaching skills in a generic or abstract manner. By seeing how the similar processes are used to achieve a variety of different goals within a specific field, it becomes easier for the reader to identify the general rules behind the practical application of these processes and, therefore, to transfer them to novel situations they may encounter in the future.

The charismatic mammals that live in the ocean are a constant source of interest, both for scientists and our society at large. Their biology, behavior, and conservation are of utmost importance, as a vast number of species are currently threatened. Intended for the upper-level undergraduate or graduate student within biology, marine biology, or conservation/environmental science, An Introduction to Marine Mammal Biology and Conservation provides a broad introduction to marine mammal biology using cutting edge information and student-friendly learning tools. The text begins with chapters on the evolution and classification of marine mammals and their general biology. It moves on to discuss the behavior and ecology of different groups of marine mammals, such as polar bears, otters, and cetaceans. Part 3 dives into many different conservation issues facing marine mammals, as well as discussions on how they can be addressed. Closing chapters provide information on how scientists study marine mammals, how society can enjoy observing the animals while making sure they are preserved, and a word to students looking to pursue a career with marine mammals.