Pinnipeds and El Ni: Responses to Environmental Stress (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9783642764004)

El Ni o is a meteorological and oceanographic phenomenon, which occurs at irregular intervals in the eastern tropical Pacific. Its most obvious characteristic is the warming of surface waters, which causes enormous disturbances of the marine environment. A severe Ni o may also affect continental systems worldwide. This book gathers in a comprehensive way the information available on the effects of the exceptionally strong 1982-83 Ni o on a group of marine mammals, the pinnipeds. It presents an analysis of the effects of environmental stress on the populations of top predators. Data and interpretations are based on a most unusual collection of long-term studies of pinniped population dynamics, behavior and ecology which spanned the El Ni o event. The responses of pinniped populations to the El Ni o disturbance of the marine ecosystem also has important implications for the management and conservation of marine mammal populations.

Author: Fritz Trillmich
ISBN-10: 3642764002
ISBN-13: 9783642764004
Publisher: Springer
Language: English
Published: 12/27/2011
Pages: 293
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.65d