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Life in coastal sand dunes, salt marshes and shingle banks presents a variety of challenges to their inhabitants. By describing the interactions of coastal organisms with the physical processes shaping the granular deposits within and on which they live, the authors illuminate many aspects of adaptation, population dynamics, community ecology, zonation and ecophysiology. A wide range of biological principles and geomorphological features are illustrated and there is lively discussion of the relevant aspects of applied biology, environmental threat and conservation management. Well-chosen examples and case studies have been drawn from coastal systems around the world, particularly those of the British Isles, continental Europe and North America.
List of contents
Introduction and primary concepts. Primary and secondary production: the autotrophs and their associates. Water and ionic relationships: plant adaptations to coastal environments. Salt marshes: tides, time and function. Salt-marsh dynamics and communities. Sand dunes: initiation, development and function. Sand dune-dynamics and communities. Coastal shingle. Environmental impacts. Variation in sea level and climatic change. Coastal management and conservation.
Summary
Life in coastal sand dunes, salt marshes and shingle banks presents a variety of challenges to their inhabitants.
