Scholars from a range of disciplines develop an integrated human and environmental history over millennial, centennial, and decadal time scales and make projections for the future. Human history, as written traditionally, leaves out the important ecological and climate context of historical events. But the capability to integrate the history of human beings with the natural history of the Earth now exists, and we are finding that human-environmental systems are intimately linked in ways we are only beginning to appreciate. In Sustainability or Collapse?, researchers from a range of scholarly disciplines develop an integrated human and environmental history over millennial, centennial, and decadal time scales and make projections for the future. The contributors focus on the human-environment interactions that have shaped historical forces since ancient times and discuss such key methodological issues as data quality. Topics highlighted include the political ecology of the Mayans; the effect of climate on the Roman Empire; the "revolutionary weather" of El Niño from 1788 to 1795; twentieth-century social, economic, and political forces in environmental change; scenarios for the future; and the accuracy of such past forecasts as The Limits to Growth.

Comprehensive handbook of seafood information! This definitive reference is the most comprehensive handbook of information ever assembled on foods and other products from fresh and marine waters. Marine and Freshwater Products Handbook covers the acquisition, handling, biology, and the science and technology of the preservation and processing of fishery and marine products. The array of topics covered includes: aquaculture fisheries management, and harvesting o fish meal and fish oil o fish protein concentrates o seaweed products o products from shell o other industrial products o bioactive compounds o cookery o specialty products o surimi and mince o HACCP o modern processing methods o religious and cultural aspects of water products o marine toxins and seafood intolerances o contamination in shellfish growing areas o pathogens in fish and shellfish. Marketing, transportation and distribution, retailing, import and export, and a look to the future of the seafood industry are also addressed. Extensive coverage of species All major marine and freshwater finfish species are covered, as well as processing technologies: fresh fish, preserved fish, finfish processing, and other processed products. Crustaceans and other useful marine and freshwater species and their processing are also covered. These include: mollusk o clams o oysters o scallops o abalone o squid o shrimp o lobster o crawfish o crabs o eels o turtles o sea urchin o octopus o snails o alligator. The definitive seafood industry sourcebook Marine and Freshwater Products Handbook incorporates the advances in biotechnology and molecular biology, including potential drugs and medicinal products; the manufacture of chemicals from the sea; seafood safety, including toxin detection techniques and HACCP, and processing technologies. With contributions from more than 50 experts, helpful, data-filled tables and charts, numerous references and photos, this is the sourcebook for everyone involved in products from our waters. It will serve as the standard reference for the seafood industry for years to come.

The large amount of information on fish reproduction available is not always readily accessible to all interested parties. Written to appeal to aquaculturalists, conservation managers, and scientific researchers, Methods in Reproductive Aquaculture provides an overview of available techniques and addresses ways to improve depleted stocks of endange

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 344 400 square kilometres in size and is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. This comprehensive guide describes the organisms and ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the biological, chemical and physical processes that influence them. Contemporary pressing issues such as climate change, coral bleaching, coral disease and the challenges of coral reef fisheries are also discussed. In addition,the book includes a field guide that will help people to identify the common animals and plants on the reef, then to delve into the book to learn more about the roles the biota play. Beautifully illustrated and with contributions from 33 international experts, The Great Barrier Reef is a must-read for the interested reef tourist, student, researcher and environmental manager. While it has an Australian focus, it can equally be used as a baseline text for most Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Winner of a Whitley Certificate of Commendation for 2009.

In recent years, the field of Toxinology has expanded substantially. On the one hand it studies venomous animals, plants and micro organisms in detail to understand their mode of action on targets. While on the other, it explores the biochemical composition, genomics and proteomics of toxins and venoms to understand their three interaction with life forms (especially humans), development of antidotes and exploring their pharmacological potential. Therefore, Toxinology has deep linkages with biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy and pharmacology. In addition, there is a fast developing applied subfield, clinical toxinology, which deals with understanding and managing medical effects of toxins on human body. Given the huge impact of toxin-based deaths globally, and the potential of venom in generation of drugs for so-far incurable diseases (for example, Diabetes, Chronic Pain), the continued research and growth of the field is imminent. This has led to the growth of research in the area and the consequent scholarly output by way of publications in journals and books. Despite this ever growing body of literature within biomedical sciences, there is still no all-inclusive reference work available that collects all of the important biochemical, biomedical and clinical insights relating to Toxinology. The Handbook of Toxinology aims to address this gap and cover the field of Toxinology comprehensively.