Biological Oceanography of the Baltic Sea (eBook)

The aim of the book is to provide students and other readers with deeper understanding of the conditions for and the nature of life in the Baltic Sea, as well as to supply knowledge on the functioning of and anthropogenic threats to the Baltic Sea ecosystem. This book is the first comprehensive science-based textbook on life in the Baltic Sea, one of the world's major brackish water bodies. It highlights the special nature of biological variation along the unique environmental gradients of salinity and climate in the Baltic Sea area. The book treats adaptive challenges for life processes and ecosystem functioning resulting from a highly variable recent geological history, geographical isolation and heavy anthropogenic pressure. It describes and explains interactions between organisms and their environment that are central to ecosystem processes such as biogeochemical cycles, speciation and genetic diversity, patterns of species diversity, physiological adaptations, biological invasions and ecotoxicological responses. The subsystems of the Baltic Sea: pelagic zone, ice, deep soft bottoms, sandy shores, rocky shores and estuaries and coastal lagoons, are treated in detail with respect to structure, function and consequences of natural and anthropogenic changes, both global and regional. Finally, it discusses ecosystem-based management and ways to deal with contemporary and emerging threats to ecosystem health.

Pauline Snoeijs is a professor in Pelagic Systems Ecology at the University of Stockholm. Her current research deals with the pelagic system of the brackish Baltic Sea and integrates ecology, ecophysiology and biochemistry.

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This is the first comprehensive science-based textbook on the biology and ecology of the Baltic Sea, one of the world's largest brackish water bodies. The aim of this book is to provide students and other readers with knowledge about the conditions for life in brackish water, the functioning of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and its environmental problems and management. It highlights biological variation along the unique environmental gradients of the brackish Baltic Sea Area (the Baltic Sea, Belt Sea and Kattegat), especially those in salinity and climate.  pt;font-family:"e;Arial"e;,"e;sans-serif"e;; color:#262626"e;>The first part of the book presents the challenges for life processes and ecosystem dynamics that result from the Baltic Sea's highly variable recent geological history and geographical isolation. The second part explains interactions between organisms and their environment, including biogeochemical cycles, patterns of biodiversity, genetic diversity and evolution, biological invasions and physiological adaptations. In the third part, the subsystems of the Baltic Sea ecosystem - the pelagic zone, the sea ice, the deep soft sea beds, the phytobenthic zone, the sandy coasts, and estuaries and coastal lagoons - are treated in detail with respect to the structure and function of communities and habitats and consequences of natural and anthropogenic constraints, such as climate change, discharges of nutrients and hazardous substances. Finally, the fourth part of the book discusses monitoring and ecosystem-based management to deal with contemporary and emerging threats to the ecosystem's health.