Elements of Marine Ecology

1 The Oceans.- Extent and Depth.- Ocean Currents.- Ecological Aspects of the Marine Environment.- Elementary Classification of the Marine Environment.- 2 Marine Plankton.- Definitions.- Marine Phytoplankton.- Marine Zooplankton.- 3 Measuring and Sampling.- I Oceanographic Data.- II Biological Sampling.- III Underwater Observations.- 4 Some Parameters of the Environment.- Temperature.- Composition of Sea-water.- Specific Gravity and Pressure.- Illumination.- Currents.- 5 Organic Production in the Sea.- The Organic Food Cycle.- Measurements of Organic Production.- Some Factors Regulating Production.- Ocean Seasons.- Some Mathematical Models.- Geographical Differences of Fertility.- 6 The Sea Bottom.- The Substrate.- Benthic Populations.- 7 The Sea-Shore.- Tides.- Waves.- The Evolution of Coastlines.- Some Problems of Shore Life.- Food Sources.- Zonation.- Fitting the Shore Environment.- Rocky Shores.- Sandy Shores.- Estuaries.- 8 Sea Fisheries.- Fishing methods.- The Biology of some Food Fishes.- The Overfishing Problem.- Fishery Research.- The Regulation of Fisheries.- Increasing the Production of Food from the Sea.- 9 Energy Relationships of Marine Production.- Primary Production.- The Grazing Chain.- The Detritus Chain.- The Energy Balance Sheet.- Conclusion.- Appendix 1 Suggested Topics for Further Study and Class Discussion or Written Work.- Appendix 2 Summary of Laboratory Exercises.- Appendix 3 Synopsis of a Field Course.- Abundance Scale for Intertidal Organisms.- Appendix 4 Supplementary Readings.- Appendix 5 Metric Units of Measurement and their Conversion.