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Beyond the tropical paradise and beyond the fear of climate change effects, the Maldives is a fascinating island country that faces social, cultural, economic and environmental transformations. Atolls of the Maldives: Nissology and Geography provides a spatial analysis on some key challenges the Maldivian society has to deal with, and guides the reader in the discovery of the human and environmental geography of this Indian Ocean archipelago. Geographers, political scientists, sociologists, geologists, biologists and experts in environmental policies help the audience to move through the complex systems of interrelations, connections and disconnections that shape the environment and the geography of this extraordinary archipelagic country.
Coral reefs are acknowledged for the beauty of their organisms, which has made this natural ecosystem one of the most appreciated on Earth. It is believed to be the richest in terms of species diversity and species interactions, at least in theory since there is yet much documentation work to be done. Indeed, the paradox is that of the estimated one million species living in this ecosystem globally, only 10% of them have been described. To date, most of the coral reef studies have focused on the most peculiar and fabulous groups, such as corals and fishes, although most of the diversity is usually represented by small, colored, camouflaged, hidden, and crypto organisms from all kingdoms of life. The mystery of their diversity, ecology, biology, and importance in the functioning of coral reefs motivate many scientists to dive, all around the world, in order to discover, name, and appreciate such a fascinating, but unfortunately overlooked, component of nature. This book is a very nice illustration of the charm of the coral-associated fauna.
“Informed, utterly blindsiding account.” - Booklist, starred review It’s falling from the sky and in the air we breathe. It’s in our food, our clothes, and our homes. It’s microplastic and it’s everywhere—including our own bodies. Scientists are just beginning to discover how these tiny particles threaten health, but the studies are alarming. In A Poison Like No Other, Matt Simon reveals a whole new dimension to the plastic crisis, one even more disturbing than plastic bottles washing up on shores and grocery bags dumped in landfills. Dealing with discarded plastic is bad enough, but when it starts to break down, the real trouble begins. The very thing that makes plastic so use...
Human health and wellbeing cannot be sustained without proper ecosystem functioning and high biodiversity is essential to maintain such functioning. Worldwide, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources by a growing human population has imposed serious pressures on ecosystem integrity. To change the tide, the United Nations declared the current decade as the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, with the aim of “supporting and scaling up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide”. Large-scale active ecosystem restoration actions will be needed to achieve these ambitious aims. Whereas methodologies for systemic restoration of terrestrial ecosystems ha...
This book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the fundamental roles that ecological interactions play in extinction processes, bringing to light an underground of hidden pathways leading to the same dark place: biodiversity loss.We are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. We see species declining and vanishing one after another. Poached rhinos, dolphins and whales slaughtered, pandas surviving only in captivity are strong emotional testimonials of what is happening. Yet, the main threat to natural communities may be overshadowed by the disappearance of large species, with most extinctions happening unnoticed and involving less eye-catching organisms, such as paras...
Microplastic pollution is a global problem, and its severity only threatens to get worse. This book presents all of the most up-to-date research on microplastic pollution, identifies issues and proposes actions to be taken and solutions to be implemented in facing down this environmental threat. The book details a host of aspects related to microplastic pollution, including: causes and effects; the impact on different environments; the emerging threat of nanoplastics; detection systems for monitoring areas subject to pollution; the ramifications in regard to other types of pollutants; green approaches for the synthesis of environmentally-friendly polymers; and socio-economic and environmenta...
Now in its third edition, Disaster Recovery continues to serve as the most comprehensive book of its kind and will span the core areas that recovery managers and voluntary organizations must tackle after a disaster. It remains the go-to textbook for how to address and work through housing, donations, volunteer management, environmental recovery, historic and cultural resources, psychological needs, infrastructure and lifelines, economic recovery, public sector recovery, and much more. Special features include instructor’s manual, PowerPoints, a free consultation with the authors upon adoption of the text; updated discussion questions; references and recommended readings; and updated resour...