Download or read book Ecological Comparisons of Sedimentary Shores written by K. Reise and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sedimentary coasts with their unique forms of life and productive ecosystems are one of the most threatened parts of the biosphere. This volume analyzes and compares ecological structures and processes at sandy beaches, tidal mudflats and in shallow coastal waters all around the world. Analyses of local processes are paired with comparisons between distant shores, across latitudinal gradients or between separate biogeographic provinces. Emphasis is given to suspension feeders in coastal mud and sand, to biogenic stabilizations and disturbances in coastal sediments, to seagrass beds and faunal assemblages across latitudes and oceans, to recovery dynamics in benthic communities, shorebird predation, and to experimental approaches to the biota of sedimentary shores.