Tropical Marine Ecology

No realm on Earth elicits thoughts of paradise more than the tropics. The tropical marine realm is special in myriad ways and for many reasons from seas of higher latitude, in housing iconic habitats such as coral reefs, snow white beaches, crystal clear waters, mangrove forests, extensive and rich seagrass meadows and expansive river deltas, such as the exemplar, the Amazon. But the tropics also has an even more complex side: tropical waters give rise to cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, and unique oceanographic phenomena including the El Niño- Southern Oscillation which affects global climate patterns.   

Tropical Marine Ecology documents the structure and function of tropical marine populations, communities, and ecosystems in relation to environmental factors including climate patterns and climate change, and patterns of oceanographic phenomena such as tides and currents and major oceanographic features, as well as chemical and geological drivers. The book focuses on estuarine, coastal, continental shelf and open ocean ecosystems. The first part of the book deals with the climate, physics, geology, and chemistry of the tropical marine environment. The second section focuses on the origins, diversity, biogeography, and the structure and distribution of tropical biota. The third part explores the rates and patterns of primary and secondary production, and their drivers, and the characteristics of pelagic and benthic food webs. The fourth part examines how humans are altering tropical ecosystems via unsustainable fisheries, the decline and loss of habitat and fragmentation, Further, pollution is altering an earth already in the throes of climate change.  

Tropical Marine Ecology is an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to tropical marine ecology for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. It is also a rich resource and reference work for researchers and professional managers in marine science. 

Preface ix

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Definition of the Tropics 1

1.2 What Makes the Tropics Different? 2

References 6

Part 1 Physical Environment 7

2 Weather and Climate 9

2.1 Tropical Heat Engine 9

2.2 Tropical Winds and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) 11

2.3 Tropical Rainfall and Temperature Patterns 13

2.4 Monsoons 15

2.4.1 The Asian Monsoon 16

2.4.2 The Indo- Australian Monsoon 18

2.4.3 The African Monsoons 18

2.4.4 The South American Monsoon 20

2.5 Tropical Weather Systems 21

2.6 The El Niño- Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), the Madden- Julian Oscillation (MJO), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) 24

2.7 Climate Change: Physical Aspects 28

2.7.1 Rising Atmospheric CO 2 29

2.7.2 Ocean Acidification 30

2.7.3 Rising Temperatures, Increased Storms, Extreme Weather Events, and Changes in Precipitation 32

2.7.4 Changes in Ocean Circulation 33

2.7.5 Sea- Level Rise (SLR) 34

References 36

3 Tropical Marine Hydrosphere 40

3.1 Introduction 40

3.2 Large- Scale Circulation Patterns 40

3.3 Coastal Circulation 44

3.4 Estuarine Circulation 47

3.5 Coral Reef Hydrodynamics 52

3.6 Fluid Mechanics in Seagrass Meadows 54

3.7 Tides 56

References 57

4 Tropical Marine Geosphere 62

4.1 Major Sedimentary Patterns 62

4.2 Distribution of Major Habitat Types 66

4.3 Nutrients 74

4.4 Tropical River Loads, Plumes, and Shelf Margins 75

References 84

Part 2 Structure 87

5 Biogeography and Origins 89

5.1 Tropical Biogeography 89

5.2 The Coral Triangle 93

5.3 Origins Explained 97

5.4 Marine Ecoregions and Provinces 102

5.5 The Latitudinal Diversity Gradient 102

References 106

6 Populations and Communities 109

6.1 Introduction 109

6.2 Density Independence, Density Dependence, and Intraspecific Competition 110

6.3 Populations with Age Structure 114

6.4 Meta- populations 117

6.5 Interspecific Competition 120

6.6 Mutualism 130

6.7 Commensalism 135

6.8 Parasitism 136

6.9 Predation 138

6.10 Plant–Herbivore Interactions 150

6.11 Trophic Cascades 155

6.12 Facilitation Cascades 158

References 161

7 Ecosystems 175

7.1 Introduction 175

7.2 Rocky Shores 175

7.3 Sandy Beaches and Tidal Flats 178

7.4 Coastal Lagoons 186

7.5 Mangrove Forests 190

7.6 Seagrass Meadows 196

7.7 Coral Reefs 201

7.8 Continental Shelves 203

7.9 Open Ocean 216

References 227

Part 3 Function 237

8 Primary Production 239

8.1 Introduction 239

8.2 Sandy Beaches and Tidal Flats 240

8.3 Mangrove Forests 240

8.4 Seagrasses 251

8.5 Coral Reefs 260

8.6 Coastal Lagoons, Estuaries, and Tidal Waterways 267

8.7 Shelf Seas 273

8.8 Open Ocean 280

References 285

9 Secondary Production 298

9.1 Introduction 298

9.2 Heterotrophic Bacterioplankton 298

9.3 Zooplankton 301

9.4 Benthos 309

9.5 Fisheries 317

References 321

10 Food Webs and Carbon Fluxes 331

10.1 Introduction 331

10.2 Sandy Beaches and Tidal Flats 333

10.3 Rocky Intertidal Shores 340

10.4 Seagrass Meadows 343

10.5 Mangrove Forests 352

10.6 Coral Reefs 365

10.7 Estuaries and Coastal Lagoons 373

10.7.1 Food Webs 373

10.7.2 Carbon Dynamics 381

10.8 Coastal Bays and Continental Shelves 387

10.8.1 Trophic Dynamics 387

10.8.2 Carbon Cycling 390

10.9 Open Ocean 399

References 409

11 Nutrient Biogeochemistry 429

11.1 Introduction 429

11.2 Sandy Beaches, Tidal Flats, and Rocky Intertidal Shores 431

11.3 Seagrass Meadows 433

11.4 Mangrove Forests 437

11.4.1 N Cycling 437

11.4.2 P Cycling 446

11.5 Coral Reefs 448

11.6 Estuaries and Coastal Lagoons 460

11.7 Coastal Bays and Continental Shelves 464

11.8 Open Ocean 470

References 474

Part 4 Human Impacts 487

12 Pollution 489

12.1 Introduction 489

12.2 Hydrocarbons 490

12.3 Metals 496

12.4 Eutrophication 507

12.5 Pesticides and Industrial Organic Chemicals 518

12.6 Plastics and Other Marine Debris 529

12.7 Biological Pollution 538

12.7.1 Sewage and Microbial Diseases 538

12.7.2 Invasive Species 546

References 549

13 Climate Change 566

13.1 Introduction 566

13.2 Rising Temperatures, Increased Storms, Extreme Weather Events, and Changes in Precipitation 567

13.3 Sea- level Rise (SLR) 580

13.4 Rising Atmospheric CO 2 586

13.5 Ocean Acidification 588

13.6 Increasing Hypoxia 604

13.7 Impacts on Shelf and Oceanic Ecosystems and Fisheries 607

References 617

14 Habitat Destruction and Degradation 630

14.1 Introduction 630

14.2 Coral Reefs 630

14.3 Seagrass Meadows 635

14.4 Mangrove Forests 638

References 645

15 Epilogue 648

Index 659

About the Author

Daniel M. Alongi is Lead Scientist for Tropical Coastal and Mangrove Consultants in Victoria, Australia.