Most arches built today contain a single building block at the top that is the most important piece. This special piece can be found in the arches of soaring cathedrals, doorways in temples, and even simple buildings made out of wooden blocks. It is called a keystone, and it holds everything else together. Remove the keystone and the building or doorway is likely to collapse.The same thing is true in nature. Certain species of animals and plants are so important to their ecosystems, that if they disappear, the whole system may collapse. They are called keystone species.Some keystone species are large, like white rhinos, while others are quite small, like honey bees. But size doesn't matter in an ecosystem. All living things rely on other species to survive. A keystone species plays an especially large role that affects many different species in an ecosystem. Some keystone species are at the top of a huge ecosystem like the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, while others may affect a tiny ecosystem in a river or forest. Whether the ecosystem is big or small, the result of a keystone species disappearing or being greatly reduced is the same. Just like one falling domino can cause many others to fall, the loss of a keystone species can lead to the extinction of many other species.Today scientists are focusing more attention on preserving the natural balance in ecosystems. Identifying and protecting keystone species is an important part of their work.

"Captivating. . . . a full portrait of this adorable and ecologically important animal." —Publishers Weekly A science journalist travels the Pacific Coast in search of sea otters in this entertaining and inspiring book on the importance and history of this charismatic endangered species Sea otters—the adorable, furry marine mammals often seen floating on their backs holding hands—reveal the health of the coastal ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. Once hunted for their prized fur in the 18th and 19th centuries, these animals nearly went extinct. Only now, nearly a century after hunting ceased, are populations showing stable growth in some places. Sea otters are a keystone species in coastal areas, feeding on sea urchins, clams, crab, and other crustaceans. When they are present, kelp beds are thick and healthy, providing homes for an array of sea life. When otters disappear, sea urchins take over, and the kelp disappears along with all the creatures that live in the beds. Now, thanks to their protected status, sea otters are making a comeback in California, Washington, and Alaska. In this hopeful book, science writer Todd McLeish embarks on an epic journey along the Pacific Coast—traveling from California to Alaska—to track the status, health, habits, personality, and viability of sea otters, and reveals how conservationists brought them back from the brink of extinction.

Sea otters are good indicators of ocean health. In addition, they are a keystone species, offering a stabilizing effect on ecosystem, controlling sea urchin populations that would otherwise inflict damage to kelp forest ecosystems. The kelp forest ecosystem is crucial for marine organisms and contains coastal erosion. With the concerns about the imperiled status of sea otter populations in California, Aleutian Archipelago and coastal areas of Russia and Japan, the last several years have shown growth of interest culturally and politically in the status and preservation of sea otter populations. Sea Otter Conservation brings together the vast knowledge of well-respected leaders in the field, offering insight into the more than 100 years of conservation and research that have resulted in recovery from near extinction. This publication assesses the issues influencing prospects for continued conservation and recovery of the sea otter populations and provides insight into how to handle future global changes. - Covers scientific, cultural, economic and political components of sea otter conservation - Provides guidance on how to manage threats to the sea otter populations in the face of future global changes - Highlights the effects that interactions of coastal animals have with the marine ecosystem

The impetus for this volume comes from two sources. The first is scientific: by virtue of a preference for certain large benthic invertebrates as food, sea otters have interesting and significant effects on the structure and dynamics of nearshore communities in the North Pacific. The second is political: be cause of the precarious status of the sea otter population in coastal California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced, in June 1984, a proposal to establish a new population of sea otters at San Nicolas Island, off southern California. The proposal is based on the premise that risks of catastrophic losses of sea otters, due to large oil spills, are greatly reduced by distributing the population among two geographically separate locations. The federal laws of the U.S. require that USFWS publish an Environmental Impact Statement (ElS) regarding the proposed translocation of sea otters to San Nicolas Island. The EIS is intended to be an assessment of likely bio logical, social, and economic effects of the proposal. In final form, the EIS has an important role in the decision of federal management authority (in this case, the Secretary of the Interior of the U.S.) to accept or reject the proposal.

The book presents a collection of large-scale network-modeling studies on coastal systems in Latin America. It includes a novel description of the functioning of coastal complex ecosystems and also predicts how natural and human-made disturbances percolate through the networks. Coastal areas belong to the most populated ecosystems around the globe, and are massively influenced by human impacts such as shipping, mining, fisheries, tourism, pollution and human settlements. Even though many of these activities have facilitated socio-economic development, they have also caused a significant deterioration in natural populations, communities and ecosystems worldwide. Covering coastal marine ecosystems of Latin America such as the NE and SE Pacific, NW Atlantic and Caribbean areas, it discusses the construction of quantitative (Ecopath-Ecosim-Ecospace and Centrality of Node Sets) and semi-quantitative (Loop Analysis) multispecies trophic-network models to describe and assess the impacts of natural and human interventions like pelagic and benthic fishing as well as natural events such as El Niño, and La Niña. The book also features steady state (and/or near moving equilibrium) and dynamical models to support the management of exploited organisms, and applies and quantifies macroscopic indices, based on Ascendency (Ulanowicz) and Local Stability (Levins ́ Loop Analysis). Further, it discusses the determination of the Keystone Species Complex Index, which is a holistic extension of the classical concept of Keystone Species (Paine), offering novel strategies for conservation monitoring and management.

"Ocean Bestiary tells the history of our relationship with the sea, one animal at a time, from A to Z. From the earliest Polynesian navigators to the pilots of deep-sea submersibles today, humans have been exploring the globe's most dominant and inaccessible ecosystem and bringing home to those ashore breathtaking accounts of what they observed. Jumping off from the stories of whalemen, pirates, explorers, immigrants, naturalists, writers, painters, and cruiser-sailors-some famous, some entirely unknown and unpublished-this little book examines and shares what it was they saw. Ocean Bestiary crosses a range of geographies and oceanic environments, from shallows to depths and including coral reefs, upwelling zones, and more. It covers an equally wide range of organisms as well, from tiny zooplankton to immense whales. In playful prose, Richard J. King unfurls his stories and their relevance today for our understanding of environmental history, the history of marine biology, and our shifting perceptions of the ocean"--

Recent Developments in Applied Microbiology and Biochemistry, Vol. 2, provides a comprehensive treatment and understanding on application oriented microbial concepts, giving readers insights into recent developments in microbial biotechnology and medical, agricultural and environmental microbiology. - Discusses microbial proteome analyses and their importance in medical microbiology - Explores emerging trends in the prevention of current global health problems, such as cancer, obesity and immunity - Shows recent approaches in the production of novel enzymes from environmental samples by enrichment culture and metagenomics approaches - Guides readers through the status and recent developments in analytical methods for the detection of foodborne microorganisms

With coverage of current issues and emerging trends, Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 7 provides a comprehensive, all-new reference for the management of zoo and wildlife diseases. A Current Therapy format emphasizes the latest advances in the field, including nutrition, diagnosis, and treatment protocols. Cutting-edge coverage includes topics such as the "One Medicine" concept, laparoscopic surgery in elephants and rhinoceros, amphibian viral diseases, and advanced water quality evaluation for zoos. Editors R. Eric Miller and Murray E. Fowler promote a philosophy of animal conservation, bridging the gap between captive and free-ranging wild animal medicine with chapters contributed by more than 100 international experts. - The Current Therapy format focuses on emerging trends, treatment protocols, and diagnostic updates new to the field, providing timely information on the latest advances in zoo and wild animal medicine. - Content ranges from drug treatment, nutrition, husbandry, surgery, and imaging to behavioral training. - Coverage of species ranges from giraffes, elephants, lions, and orangutans to sea turtles, hellbenders, bats, kakapos, and more. - An extensive list of contributors includes recognized authors from around the world, offering expert information with chapters focusing on the latest research and clinical management of captive and free-ranging wild animals. - A philosophy of animal conservation helps zoo and wildlife veterinarians fulfill not only the technical aspects of veterinary medicine, but contribute to the overall biological teams needed to rescue many threatened and endangered species from extinction. - All content is new, with coverage including coverage of cutting-edge issues such as white-nose disease in bats, updates on Ebola virus in wild great apes, and chytrid fungus in amphibians. - Full-color photographs depict external clinical signs for more accurate clinical recognition. - Discussions of the "One Medicine" concept include chapters addressing the interface between wildlife, livestock, human, and ecosystem health. - New sections cover Edentates, Marsupials, Carnivores, Perrissodactyla, and Camelids. - Over 100 new tables provide a quick reference to a wide range of topics. - An emphasis on conserving threatened and endangered species globally involves 102 expert authors representing 12 different countries.

"Many of the findings in the book . . . are classics of ecology. . . . A rare and delightful insight into timely science."—Jane Lubchenco, Nature "Estes's refreshing narrative deftly weaves rigorous science with personal reflection to create an absorbing and introspective read that is equal parts memoir, ecological textbook, and motivational guidebook for young ecologists."—Science To newly minted biologist James Estes, the sea otters he was studying in the leafy kelp forests off the coast of Alaska appeared to have an unbalanced relationship with their greater environment. Gorging themselves on the sea urchins that grazed among the kelp, these small charismatic mammals seemed to give little back in return. But as Estes dug deeper, he unearthed a far more complex relationship between the otter and its underwater environment, discovering that otters play a critical role in driving positive ecosystem dynamics. While teasing out the connective threads, he began to question our assumptions about ecological relationships. These questions would ultimately inspire a lifelong quest to better understand the surprising complexity of our natural world and the unexpected ways we discover it. Serendipity tells the story of James Estes’s life as a naturalist and the concepts that have driven his interest in researching the ecological role of top-level predators. Using the relationships between sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins as a touchstone, Estes retraces his investigations of numerous other species, ecosystems, and ecological processes in an attempt to discover why ecologists can learn so many details about the systems in which they work and yet understand so little about the broader processes that influence these systems. Part memoir, part natural history, and deeply inquisitive, Serendipity will entertain and inform readers as it raises thoughtful questions about our relationship with the natural world.

This open access book summarizes peer-reviewed articles and the abstracts of oral and poster presentations given during the YOUMARES 9 conference which took place in Oldenburg, Germany, in September 2018. The aims of this book are to summarize state-of-the-art knowledge in marine sciences and to inspire scientists of all career stages in the development of further research. These conferences are organized by and for young marine researchers. Qualified early-career researchers, who moderated topical sessions during the conference, contributed literature reviews on specific topics within their research field. .