World Atlas Of Coral Reefs Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world, host to an extraordinary variety of marine plants and animals. They are also one of the world's most fragile and endangered ecosystems. The growth of mass tourism, combined with the boom in popularity of scuba diving, has brought these spectacular ecosystems to public attention across the planet.Coral reefs provide essential fish habitat, support endangered and threatened species, and harbor protected marine mammals and turtles. They are a significant source of food, provide income and employment through tourism and marine recreation, and offer countless other benefits to humans, including supplying compounds for pharmaceuticals. Yet coral reefs around the world are rapidly being degraded by a number of human activities, such as overfishing, coastal development, and the introduction of sewage, fertilizer, and sediment.World Atlas of Coral Reefs provides the first detailed and definitive account of the current state of our planet's coral reefs. With its wealth of authoritative and up-to-date information, the finest maps available, and detailed descriptive texts and images by leading experts, this full-color volume will be a critical resource for anyone interested in these vital environments.World Atlas of Coral Reefs contains eighty-four full-page newly researched and drawn color maps, together with more than two hundred color photos illustrating reefs, reef animals, and images taken from space by NASA astronauts during the 2000 and 2001 space shuttle flights. The authors provide a wealth of information on the geography, biodiversity, and human uses of coral reefs, as well as details about the threats to their existence.Prepared at the UNEP–World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, England--the United Nations office responsible for providing authoritative information on the condition of global biodiversity--the Atlas will be a critical tool for scientists, students, policymakers, and planners at local, national, and international levels alike.Publication of the World Atlas of Coral Reefs is supported by international institutions including the United Nations Environment Programme; The Marine Aquarium Council, The International Coral Reef Initiative; ICLARM--The World Fish Center; the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, and the Aventis Foundation.
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 3, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520232550
ISBN-13: 978-0520232556
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 1.5 x 11.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #245,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems > Coral Reefs #30 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ichthyology #80 in Books > Reference > Atlases & Maps > World
As the author of books about the ocean, I've read a lot of other books and articles about coral reefs. This is by far the best and most thorough book of its kind. Want to know what conditions are like on the Great Barrier Reef system? Around the Red Sea? Off Sulawesi? This is the place to go for answers. With wonderful maps and easy-to-understand text, it's destined to become the standard reference for divers, marine biologists and armchair adventurers who just want to learn more about this precious and fascinating ecosystem.
I bought this for my daughter, a graduating Biologist, but it was so fascinating that I'm afraid she got a slightly used book. It covers all coral reefs anywhere in the world. The maps are superb, as are the color photographs of the reefs. Each reef had a discussion of conditions in the reef, and the life that grows there. It's a huge book but one starts wishing for more; more maps, more photos, more detail. Maybe in the next edition, but meanwhile we can enjoy this superb book just as it.
Having purchased Green and Short's "World Atlas of Seagrasses", also from California Press, I was quite excited to find this volume. Green and Short describe nearly all of the world's seagrasses, complete with line drawings and species comparisons, and map their distribution. They also include info on preservation, destruction, etc. It is an invaluable resource for anyone needing to identify or locate seagrasses. I was disappointed, however, when I received "World Atlas of Coral Reefs". The entire text is devoted to describing areas where reefs are found, but rarely mentions anything about the corals themselves! I saw listed more often than any coral genus! If you want to learn about the per capita fish consumption of Mauritius or phosphate mining on the atoll of Nauru, this is the book for you. If, however, you are interested in corals and the reefs that they construct (which is probably why you are reading this) you should move on to another book.
Whether you teach marine biology or are planning the long-awaited diving trip to a tropical location, this book is the comprehensive guide to coral reefs world-wide. For each area, information is provided on locations of reefs with special reference to threats to their survival. This is not a species identification guide but rather an ecological treatment. The book is most suited to the reader who already has some knowledge of the biology of corals.
There are plenty of specific and detailed marine flora and fauna books out there and then there are even more books dedicated to diving around the world; but no book, (reference) like this one. As one reviewer called it; "groundbreaking" seems to fit here. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the world's reefs, location, general health,future prognosis and so forth. It is not meant to be a travel guide, nor a encyclopedia of every coral species, it is the current, (as of printing) world - wide status of coral reefs in general. A must for any serious diver, hobbyist, researcher or naturalist as a great, indespensible reference. The only potential negative issue would be the ever changing environmental conditions over time, vs. a fixed publication.
I bought this for my daughter, a graduating Biologist, but it was so fascinating that I'm afraid she got a slightly used book. It covers all coral reefs anywhere in the world. The maps are superb, as are the color photographs of the reefs. Each reef had a discussion of conditions in the reef, and the life that grows there. It's a huge book but one starts wishing for more; more maps, more photos, more detail. Maybe in the next edition, but meanwhile we can enjoy this superb book just as it.
I bought this book for the maps and descriptions of reef conditions. It has helped me be prepared for my next destination as a scuba diver and I also use it to pick new places to explore. Recommended
A truly beautiful book, although I expected the pictures to be larger. There is not one full page photo in the book unfortunately. It would really enhance the book to have some of those lovely photos blown up full page.
World Atlas of Coral Reefs Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers Science Comics: Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean Coral Reefs National Geographic Readers: Coral Reefs Coral Reefs: In Danger (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3) A Field Guide to Coral Reefs: Caribbean and Florida (Peterson Field Guides) The Biology of Coral Reefs (Biology of Habitats Series) Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas Coral Reefs: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) Peterson Field Guide(R) to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean & Florida (Peterson Field Guide Series) The Nature of Florida's Ocean Life : Including Coral Reefs, Gulf Stream, Sargasso Sea, and Sunken Ships Texas Coral Reefs (Gulf Coast Books, sponsored by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Six Months in the Sandwich Islands: Among Hawaii's Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida Including Bermuda and the Bahamas (The Peterson Field Guide Series) Coral Reefs: Cities Under the Sea (Casebound hardback) Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea Tide Pools & Coral Reefs Thematic Unit A Guide to the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico (Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies)
