Beachcombing in South Africa


Book Description

Anyone who spends time beside the sea knows there’s a wealth of ‘treasure’ to be found, be it natural or manufactured, living or washed up. Beachcombing in South Africa is a friendly guide to the seashore’s rich pickings. Short chapters such as Floaters and drifters, Sea-beans, Sponges, Eggs and egg cases, and many more, detail what can be found and how to interpret or identify specimens. Items may reveal links to activities or biological events in the nearby ocean – or, perhaps, thousands of miles away. They may relate to human activities, such as fish or bird tagging, or be oceanographic instruments separated from their moorings. Or they may be part of the growing menace of flotsam and jetsam from the planet’s burgeoning human population. This book will enhance the experience of beachcombing, satisfy curiosity about finds, and contribute to a better understanding of the life in our oceans and along our shores. Aimed at a wide audience of beach strollers, dog walkers, anglers, bird watchers and families who share a fascination with the seashore and its treasures. Sales points: Lively, friendly guide to recreational beach trawling; covers many different kinds of ‘treasure’, be they natural or manufactured, living or washed up; brightly illustrated with multiple photos; will appeal to committed enthusiasts and casual beach strollers alike.




Oceanography and Marine Biology


Book Description

Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography. The ever increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative reviews summarizing the results of recent research. This volume covers topics that include resting cysts from coastal marine plankton, facilitation cascades in marine ecosystems, and the way that human activities are rapidly altering the sensory landscape and behaviour of marine animals. For more than 50 years, OMBAR has been an essential reference for research workers and students in all fields of marine science. From Volume 57 a new international Editorial Board ensures global relevance, with editors from the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Singapore. The series volumes find a place in the libraries of not only marine laboratories and institutes, but also universities. Previous volume Impact Factors include: Volume 53, 4.545. Volume 54, 7.000. Volume 55, 5.071. Guidelines for contributors, including information on illustration requirements, can be downloaded on the Downloads/Updates tab on the volume's CRC Press webpage. Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 7 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. The links can be found on the book's Routledge web page at https://www.routledge.com//9780367134150




Red Algae in the Genomic Age


Book Description

r ed Algae in Genome Age book most people reading this book have childhood memories about being enthralled at the beach with those rare and mysterious living forms we knew as seaweeds. We were fascinated at that time by their range of red hues and textures, and most of all, their exotic beauty. t o a scientist, red algae represent much more than apparent features. t heir complex forms have attracted morphologists for centuries; their intricate life cycles have brought more than one surprise to plant biologists familiar only with ferns and fowering plants; their unusual tastes have been appreciated for mill- nia, and their valuable chemical constituents have been exploited for nearly as long, most recently by biotech companies; their diversity in marine, freshwater, and t- restrial environments has offered centuries of engaging entertainment for botanists eager to arrange them in orderly classifcation systems; still, the red algae continue to teach us how many more challenges need to be overcome in order to understand their biodiversity, biological functions, and evolutionary histories.




Sasol First Field Guide to Fishes of Southern Africa


Book Description

Sasol First Field Guide to Fishes of Southern Africa is a beginner’s guide to the more common fishes of the region, and covers both marine and freshwater species. Full-colour photographs, distribution maps and easy-to-read text will help enthusiasts and budding naturalists to identify the more common fishes in southern Africa, discover where they are found and learn about their unique behaviour, reproduction, conservation status and unusual features. A brief introduction gives context to the topic, outlines points of importance and explains the structure of the book. Sales points: straightforward introductory guide to the region’s fishes; suitable for both adult and younger enthusiasts; informative, uncomplicated text written for beginners; useful introductory section; full-colour photographs of each fish; compact enough for ease of use in the field.




The Coastal Guide of South Africa


Book Description

On an extraordinary journey along South Africa’s coastline, this definitive guidebook explores the beauties and hidden secrets of the country’s natural heritage. Stretching for almost 2,000 miles, the country’s southern shoreline contains distinct climates that accommodate an enormously rich and diverse array of birds, mammals, reptiles, marine life, and plants. The west coast plays host to cold, nutrient-rich waters, kelp forests, and low-growing, succulent scrub along the dunes, while on the east and north coasts conditions are more tropical with higher rainfall, warmer waters, greater marine diversity, and tall, dense forests. This handbook outlines the coastline’s biodiversity from dune to ocean, developed in order to offer beach enthusiasts, vacationers, and recreational anglers a simple way to identify the plants and animals most commonly seen or caught along the coast. In addition to background information on tides and habitats, guidelines are also included for The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative, a consumer guide to making sustainable choices. Detailed and thorough, this overview will create a deeper appreciation of what can be found on this rich and beautiful landscape.




Two Oceans


Book Description

This popular and authoritative guide has been fully revised, updated and expanded to encompass more than 2,200 species found in and around southern Africa’s oceans. It includes an additional 125 species, 190 new photographs, revised distribution maps, and 260 updated species names to reflect the new taxonomy. Key features include: Concise and easy-to-use species descriptions; spectacular full-colour photographs; accurate and up-to-date distribution maps. This new edition of Two Oceans is a celebration of the extraordinary diversity of life that inhabits the sea and surrounding coastline, reaffirming this book’s reputation as the region’s pre-eminent guide for scientists, students, divers and beachcombers. Sales points: Covers over 2,200 species; full-colour photos, maps and concise text make identification easy; up-to-date information; highly accomplished author team.




Southern African Sea Life - A Guide for Young Explorers


Book Description

This exciting guide for young explorers combines scientific facts, fascinating titbits, brilliant full-colour photography and sensitive illustrations to bring a wonderful variety of ocean creatures vibrantly to life. Children will enjoy poring over the colourful pages as they read about marine habitats such as sandy beaches, rocky shores, estuaries, coral reefs and kelp forests. Discover plant and animal groups, including molluscs, crustaceans, coastal birds, mammals and reptiles, among others. Learn to identify important species from each group, using picture field guides. Study the helpful holiday guides to find out what sea life to look out for along the shore - all the way from Walvis Bay to Mozambique. Find out why the ocean is vital to us, how it may be harmed by human activities and some of the ways in which we can help. Learn about the valuable work that marine scientists do. This introduction to the habitats, plants and creatures of the southern African seashores is a captivating celebration of ocean life and is sure to become a firm favourite with beachcombers of all ages.




Ecology and Conservation of Estuarine Ecosystems


Book Description

An integrated synthesis of scientific knowledge and management information concerning the world's first protected, and Africa's largest, estuarine system.




A Guide to, and Checklist for, the Decapoda of Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique (Volume 2)


Book Description

Decapods are a culmination of nearly 600 million years of Crustacean evolution, during which time they have radiated into a variety of superfamilies, families, genera and species which occupy a variety of niches from fresh mountain streams to the abysses of the oceans. This book will fill a gap in the current literature on southern African decapods. Since Barnard published his Descriptive Catalogue of South African Decapod Crustacea in 1950, there have been numerous additions and name changes. This publication updates the taxonomy, and includes ecological and fisheries information. In addition, Kensley’s (1981) distributional checklist for the region has been updated and includes large numbers of new species and records for the region, bringing the total number of decapod to over 1000 species. Although not exhaustive, 262 species are featured, some of which are beautiful, some have commercial or artisinal value, both for consumption and the aquarium, and some have important ecological functions, while others are rare or interesting. For each species there is a photograph, synonymies, common names, a description, ecological information and name derivation (etymology). All the decapod families found in South Africa are described, some new, along with chapters on decapod research history in southern Africa, commercial and artisinal food value of decapods, biodiversity and future research direction. The book is arranged systematically, as taxonomy is based on phylogeny, starting with the earliest forms and progressing to the most derived and advanced forms, and will serve to stimulate interest and future research into southern Africa’s rich decapod biodiversity, especially at a time when biodiversity itself is threatened by global warming, coral bleaching and habitat loss. It will appeal to people interested in Decapoda, including academics, scholars, students, fishermen, aquarists, aquaculturists, recreational snorkel and SCUBA divers, as well as those interested in conservation, biodiversity, management and governance.




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