Climate Change and Coastal Ecosystems

Robert J. Livingston is currently professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida). His interests include aquatic ecology, pollution biology, field and laboratory experimentation, and long-term ecosystem-level research on freshwater, estuarine, and marine systems. Over the past 43 years, Livingston’s research group has conducted a series of studies in areas from Maine to Mississippi. Dr. Livingston is the author of over 170 scientific papers and has written or edited eight books on the subject of aquatic ecology. He has been the principal investigator for more than 100 projects since 1970.

• Part I. Overview. Introduction. Methods. Part II. Long-Term Habit Conditions. Regional Background. Rainfall and River Flows: Long-Term Changes. Nutrient Loading: Natural versus Anthropogenic Inputs. Dredged Passes to the Gulf: Comparative Effects. Methods. Part III. Trophic Response to Long-Term Climate Changes. Climatological Impacts on Gulf Estuaries. Part IV. Impacts of Anthropogenic Nutrient Loading. Estuarine Response to Urban Nutrient Loading. Part V. Comparative Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems. Trophic Organization. Part VI. Information Dissemination. Omission and Misrepresentation by Regional News Media. Part VII. Closing. Conclusion. Appendices. Index.

"The data compilation is impressive by any measure, and thus the book will be useful as a reference volume for researchers working on riverine, estuarine, and coastal marine systems. It is an excellent addition to the scientific literature… I commend Skip for the tremendous amount of effort that he has expended on the production of this book, as well as his other published volumes. The multifaceted nature of the book, inclusive of the huge amount of data compiled, is testimony to Skip’s long and illustrious career as a leading aquatic scientist in the United States."—From the Series Editor Preface, Michael J. Kennish, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA"Occasionally, a book is published that has the potential to change the way we think about estuaries and how dependent we are on them and how we have altered them in the recent past. This is one such book… The Livingston Team has significantly expanded our knowledge of the ongoing and now recognized impacts of global Climate Change in coastal ecosystems – not just the visible rise of sea level and the alteration of habitats, but the invisible and difficult to discern changes in faunal and floral assemblages and the trophic alterations within various habitats… This long-term, comprehensive study of estuaries should serve as a model for future and continuing studies of estuaries in Florida and elsewhere… This treatise is recommended as a source book for all estuarine students, scientists, and coastal resource managers who claim an interest in the health and well-being of coastal ecosystems under their purview and management. Finally, this estuarine treatise contains an up-to-date bibliography of estuarine publications and reports that will serve the reader as a new beginning point for future research and studies. It also contains the methods and materials that Team Livingston used in assessing the health and trophic organization of Flo