The Eastern Mediterranean as a Laboratory Basin for the Assessment of Contrasting Ecosystems /

The Eastern Mediterranean is the most nutrient impoverished and oligotrophic water body known. The unique feature of the Mediterranean is the presence of an eastward longitudinal trend in available nitrate/phosphate ratios, which apparently induces a west-to-east variation in the structure of the pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Malanotte-Rizzoli, Paola
Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
Other Authors: Eremeev, Valeriĭ Nikolaevich
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint : Springer, 1999.
Series:NATO science series. Environmental security ; 51.
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Description
Summary:The Eastern Mediterranean is the most nutrient impoverished and oligotrophic water body known. The unique feature of the Mediterranean is the presence of an eastward longitudinal trend in available nitrate/phosphate ratios, which apparently induces a west-to-east variation in the structure of the pelagic food web and trophic interactions. In this context the Mediterranean, in particular its Eastern basin, provides a unique platform to study hypotheses related to phosphate limitation of production and the shift between `microbial' and `classical' modes of operation of the photic food web. The present work assesses our current knowledge of the contrasting ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean on the basis of ongoing national/international programmes, from both phenomenological and modelling perspectives, and identifies the major environmental issues, on both regional and basin scales, in relation to eutrophication, pollutant transport and system health. The interdisciplinary aspects of marine ecosystems are covered, ranging from marine biology and chemistry to physical oceanography.
Item Description:Electronic resource.
Physical Description:1 online resource (540 pages)
ISBN:9789401147965 (electronic bk.)
9401147965 (electronic bk.)
ISSN:1389-1839 ;