"The result constitutes nothing less than the authoritative reference to the natural - and not so natural - processes that will determine the fate of the world's largest barrier reef. Indeed the accompanying CD-ROM is an unusually valuable resource, providing expandable versions of all figures and dozens of animations to illustrate time-lapse processes. We can only hope that this book sees wide circulation among scientists and planners before time runs out for a priceless resource." -American Scientist, Vol. 89 "Eric Wolanski has drawn on his own wide and high-quality research into coastal and reef systems and coupled this with an array of other research specialists in marine systems and biology, fisheries, land processes and management, to produce a signal book. A book that integrates, explains and, in places, tantalizes with descriptions of the dynamics underpinning the Reef. The strength is in the nice description of dynamic properties and the integration of these physics with biological and chemical processes. The text is clearly written and the scienticfic arguments are well developed, gaining great support from the CD ROM and the graphic illustration of processes - their links and the difficult question of scale. It is not a book of mathematical equations, but is a book of sound scholarship with fascinating products and visualisation - it's about scientific product and implications, rather than the detailed mechanics and often cross-disciplinary obfuscation of such descriptions. It is soundly backed by these details accessible from the bibliographic sections... Wolanski has not neglected the role of humans in the land-sea interactions. Indeed, it could be argued that the notoccasional subjective comments about human impact detract from the remarkably objective treatment of a range of inter-linked ecosystem and Reef processes... This book is a must for oceanographers, biologists, students and land science professionals interested in the Reef and coral reef systems in general - it provides a current scientific picture of system dynamics with an extensive bibliography, and gives a framework for new and urgent research questions. The clarity of text and style, along with the CD graphics, will have a wider appeal to those of the community who are vitally interested in the Great Barrier Reef, coral reefs in general, and the function of Earth systems." -Chris Crossland, Executive Officer, LOICZ IPO, The Netherlands, in Continental Shelf Research" a milestone for those interested in linkages between systems and how the coast as a whole works. Although focused on the relatively well studied Great Barrier Reef, it provides a wealth of ideas and routes to solutions for research and management in other coral reef areas around the world. The book is wide-ranging and cross-disciplinary, crossing boundaries both between sciences and between science and management. It is above all stimulating; revealing unsuspected patterns of interconnectedness. Both students and researchers should be equally stimulated. Those involved in the management of such systems would also do well to study the conclusions reached." - Alasdair Edwards, University of Newcastle, in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science" a collection of 20 high-quality chapters by well-known researchers, centered on the interplay among physical and biological processes governing the function of coral reefs, mangrovesand seagrasses. Linking physical and biological processes into a useful management context generally requires simulation models, and as an introduction to this area, the book excels. There are also intriguing demonstrations of the major differences one would expect in the settling of fish and coral recruits on one side versus another of a reef because of current patterns. The CD-ROM alone would more than justify the purchase of the book, as the multitude of dynamic illustrations it contains can be of immense value in explaining complex ideas to students, scientists and policy-makers alike. I highly recommend the current book to anyone struggling to understand the complexities of coral reef and adjacent environments." - John McManus, Director of the National Center of Caribbean Coral Reef Research and Professor at the RSMAS, in International Society for Reef Studies - Reef Encounter "The papers in this volume relate to a wide range of topics which demonstrate how improved scientific and computer techniques can be used to better explain and demonstrate how ecosystems function, and how relatively minor changes may have significant impacts on biological species and their interactions." -Joe T. Baker, Commissioner for the Environment, ACT, Australia "This book contains important chapters dealing with different aspects of the functioning of the ecosystem in relation to the Great Barrier Reef and demonstrates the impact of human activities on the Great Barrier Reef." -Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia, From the Foreward "Eric Wolanski has produced a very useful book and CD-ROM that will give readers an introduction to the biological and physical oceanographic processes ofcoral reefs. this book will be highly useful for coral reef researchers everywhere. Chapters in this excellent text span the broad-scale regional processes, local oceanography, biological communities and anthropogenic influences on coral reefs. provides an excellent yet sobering look at the challenges that face coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef and is a must for research students, reef managers and interested professionals. This book would also be an excellent text for university courses that want an up-to-date and modern synthesis of the important oceanographic proceses that define coral reefs." -Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Centre for Marine studies, University of Queensland, in UNESCO Coastal & Marine Publications "The science illustrated in this book demonstrates cause and effect relationships through the ecosystem as can be demonstrated both by the physics and the biology. Such insights can help to define the way we can interact with the Great Barrier Reef without damaging it. Just as importantly, the book shows the beauty of the exquisite mechanisms of the ecosystem, which inspire and instill an urgent need to protect the Great Barrier Reef." -David Suzuki, David Suzuki Foundation, From the "This is an impressive book. It is very comprehensive and yet concise and provides an up-to-date definitive text on physical and biological oceanography associated with tropical marine ecosystems and coral reefs... The book will be an excellent reference for students and scientists and is also an excellent read for the well informed non-scientist on how coral reefs function and why we need to look after them." -John Keesing, AMSA (Australian Marine Science Association) Bulletin "It is written byscientists but not just for scientists, for anybody interested in marine science and the Great Barrier Reef... The book is going to be extraordinarily useful. It illustrates how the work of AIMS provides world class scientific information that is essential for the wise management of the reef." -Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia, on WIN-TV, March 2001 "This collection of edited research papers, assembled by Dr. Eric Wolanski of the australian Institute of Marine Science, describes the physical and biological processes that sustain, or threaten, the Great Barrier Reef. It comes with a foreword by the ubiquitous Malcolm Fraser, an Introduction from David Suzuki and its own CD-ROM... Wolanski's book lets the researchers speak for themselves, with some artful help from visualiser Simon Spagnol: the book's accompanying CD presents complex data in striking charts and 3D animations." - Canberra Times, August 16, 2001 Introduction
Demonstrating the relevance and need of science in planning the future of the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs worldwide, Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef emphasizes multi-disciplinary processes - physical and biological links - that have emerged as the dominant forces shaping and controlling the ecosystem. The book draws heavily on data from coral reefs in Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef covers:
Climate and global change
Coastal oceanography
Wetlands ecology
Estuaries
Marine biology
Land use management in the tropics
Fisheries management
Coral Reef ecological modeling
Biodiversity and the human impact
Explore how the ecosystem responds to both physical and biological stimuli, and how they interact
Understand processes imperative to create sustainable design strategies
Comprehend the connectivity of biotopes - land, mangroves, seagrass, and corals
Discover the relationship between managing marine resources and managing adjoining land use
Learn how fish behavior and migration patterns control fisheries
