Aimed at scientists and marine workers, this volume examines the ecology of bivalve mollusks from an ecosystem or holistic view. Coverage includes their history, thermodynamics, components, and interactions with other species, especially humans, as well as interactions with temperature, salinity, water motion, suspended particles, and dissolved materials, and the impact of global environmental change on marine and coastal bivalves. The work also discusses physical factors like scale feeding, respiration, growth, and reproduction; population scale processes; the process of bivalves as major ecosystem grazers; the processes of system metabolism and nutrient cycling; the use of ecosystem scale experiments in bivalve dominated systems; and the health or lack of health of these systems and their ability to provide services and be restored. This edition has been expanded to include a new chapter on shell rings that emphasizes the importance of interaction between disciplines, scientific work and case studies from various continents, and additional material on non-equilibrium thermodynamics, complexity theory, and other cross-disciplinary interactions. Each chapter also defines key terms and concepts. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Exploring the potential use of bivalves as indicators and monitors of ecosystem health, this book describes live and computer simulated experiments, mesocosm studies, and field manipulation experiments. This second edition discusses major new developments, including phase shifts in many coastal and estuarine ecosystems dominated by suspension-feeding bivalves, the invasion or introduction of alien bivalve species, the rapid growth of environmental restoration focused on bivalves, and the examination of geological history with regard to global climate change and its impact on bivalve-dominated systems.
