The oceans and the marine environment, covering about 70% of the earth, are critically important to humans. Marine biology provides an understanding of the various organisms that inhabit this essential ecosystem. Recently, biologists encompassing a broad interdisciplinary community of researchers and industrialists have gained enormous interest in understanding the enigmas of survival, the food web, primary production, natural products, interactions and competition, communication, reproduction, evolution, diversity, fouling and many other aspects pertaining to the marine ecosystem. This book encompasses original and internationally significant contributions from all fields of marine biology that promote understanding of the current marine environment and its life forms. It offers insights from a range of scientific sub-disciplines, and will prove beneficial for students, researchers, scientists and industrialists. It addresses topics such as bioremediation, authentication, biodiversity, as well as commercial utility.
This book explores the Mississippi River’s influence on the Northern Gulf of Mexico. This highly productive coastal region, home to the most extensive marsh communities in the US, is eroding and stressed by excess nutrients and the Macondo oil leak as remediation is problematic.
