- Email: [email protected]
The Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem: Environmental Forcing and Sustainable Development of Marine Resources
128
Book reviews
which was not used in the other two diets. This could well have affected the digestibility of the diet and, hence, the measured rate of protein synthesis. The final chapter comprises a summary of the findings of the earlier chapters and the author’s thoughts about where further research could be directed. The author’s area of expertise appears to be more in the physiological and biochemical aspects of the work. In this respect, the book provides some interesting, although at times laborious, reading. David M. Smith CSIRO Marine Research, PO Box 120, Cleveland, Queensland 4163, Australia E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +61-7-3826-7239 doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00335-6
The Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem: Environmental Forcing and Sustainable Development of Marine Resources J.M. McGlade, P. Cury, K.A. Koranteng, N.J. Hardman-Mountford (Eds); Elsevier Large Marine Ecosystem Series, Amsterdam, 2002; ISBN 0 444 51028 1; Euro 99.00, US$99.00; 428pp.
This second book in the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) series consists of 26 chapters divided into four sections. The chapters are authored by 33 well-known natural and social scientists from the region or associated with development agencies. The book is a synopsis of research in the Gulf of Guinea over the past decade and more, adopting the LME approach promoted by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the United Nations and World Bank. This approach is evident in the headings of the four sections. The sections deal, respectively, with principles and programmes, environmental forcing and productivity, fish and fisheries, and ecosystem health and the human dimension. There are 14 pages of colour plates. Geographic coverage is from Guinea Bissau in the west to Gabon and the Congo River in the south and east. The first section of four chapters deals with the main international research projects: the European Union (INCO-DC) project on impacts of environmental forcing on marine biodiversity and sustainable management of fisheries, and the GEF project on the Gulf of Guinea LME. The principles involved are dealt within chapters on a modular approach to monitoring, assessing and managing LMEs, and the concept of ‘‘consilience’’—jumping together of different disciplines in oceanography and fishery research. The second section has nine chapters covering environmental forcing and productivity. These chapters deal with spatial and temporal variability in remotely sensed sea surface temperature and phytoplankton from the continuous plankton recorder colour index, in situ physical and chemical data, bacterial counts, benthic biodiversity, fish catches, and fish surveys. These are analysed using a variety of statistical and numerical techniques ranging
Book reviews
129
from principal components analysis and correspondence analysis to generalised additive models (GAM). These are used to define patterns of variability on different scales from diel changes to inter-decadal regime shifts. The analyses subdivide the Gulf into three subregions, define areas and seasons of upwelling, demonstrate changes in benthic community structure and biodiversity, and illustrate the concept of an optimal environmental window in upwelling systems. A thoughtful tabulation of ecological processes, the appropriate scales of observation, types of data, and methods of analysis is a highlight of chapter 10. The third section is concerned with fish and fisheries and has eight chapters. The first two deal with community structure in the waters of Ghana and Ivory Coast, respectively, and the third with the population structure of two species using genetic markers, concluding that there are deep evolutionary differences between different LMEs but only minor ones within this LME. The next five chapters review the state of fisheries and fish communities and compare them with their state when Fager and Longhurst (1968) analysed them over 30 years ago. The regime shift from Sardinella and various demersal species to triggerfish in the 1970– 1988 period and then the dramatic disappearance of triggerfish from catches are discussed in relation to remote physical forcing via the atmosphere. The changes in fishing from small vessels to large freezer trawlers and the enormous increase in fishing effort and their influences are also discussed, both on the continental shelf and for inshore and lagoon fisheries. There is a semi-technical chapter on developing a fishery database for the region. The fourth section deals with ecosystem health, pollution, socioeconomics, and institutions and governance, with advice on how collaborative research can be of use to fisheries management in developing countries, and research and extension linkages. This book covers a wide range of topics and is therefore bound to vary in style and quality amongst chapters. Some chapters give details of data collection and methods of analysis used, others are more in the nature of reviews. There are some lapses in grammar and a few typographic errors, and it is a pity that considerations of cost forced all the colour plates into one block. Some chapters deal separately with fisheries in different countries, instead of integrating them. On the other hand, the phenomenal increase in knowledge concerning the ‘‘big picture’’ of large-scale patterns of change in the environment and their influence on biotic communities and fisheries are well illustrated in this book. The changes in fishing and fish communities over the past 3 – 4 decades are also covered, with aspects of regime shifts. It illustrates the value of ongoing time series of data, best exemplified by those provided by the authorities in Cote Ivoire and Ghana, coupled with modern remote sensing. The book gives a synthesis of the present state of the art of ecology, oceanography and fisheries science, and their interaction in the tropical eastern Atlantic. It will also be useful for fisheries and coastal zone managers in developing countries and those involved in the other 50 or so ongoing or proposed GEF-funded studies of LMEs of the world, through which the coastal component of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is likely to grow, particularly in developing countries. References E.W. Fager, E.W.A.R. , Longhurst, A.R., 1968. Recurrent group analysis of species assemblages of demersal fish in the Gulf of Guinea. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 25 (7), 1405 – 1421.
130
Book reviews
John G. Field Zoology Department, Marine Biology Research Institute, University of Cape Town, 7701 Rondebosch, South Africa Marine Biological Association of the UK, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00336-8
Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, Volume 40 R.N. Gibson, Margaret Barnes, R.J.A. Atkinson, Taylor and Francis Books Ltd; UK, 2002; ISBN 0 415 25462 0; GBP 99.00, 684 pp. Reviews are not always highly valued these days and it could be argued that they are less essential since the advent of web-based databases of literature. However, the reviews collected in Volume 40 of Oceanography and Marine Biology, An Annual Review are as relevant as ever and constitute highly citable landmarks in their respective fields. There is a wide range of styles and approaches but each review provides a critical synthesis of current trends and most make valuable recommendations for the future directions and applications of research. The volume starts with papers describing research using tide gauges and a review of simulation models applied in European coastal waters. While both papers retain a fondness for acronyms that is occasionally frustrating, the reviews are accessible and well structured. Woodworth et al. make some interesting observations on the tensions between groups of researchers using tide gauges or satellites to measure sea level. A strong case is made for continued investment in a global network of tide gauges, particularly for measuring currents through straits (e.g. Gibraltar, Drake Passage) and in difficult to sample (polar) areas. Approximately 100 models are considered in an excellent review by Jones. The author identifies areas where convergence of methods is occurring and other areas (such as turbulence closure schemes) where no Europe-wide consensus exists. It is argued that a diverse approach, involving comparison of methodologies and different models of the same process, is more useful than any effort to produce a Europe-wide ‘best’ model. The next two papers focus on particular environments: Antarctic sea ice and the sea floor. Thomas and Dieckmann review the limited and at times conflicting information on sea ice biogeochemistry. Inorganic nutrient concentrations in sea ice can range from the limits of detection to orders of magnitude higher than the surrounding sea water. The biogeochemical role of sea ice remains rather speculative and further field studies are required to follow the formation and decomposition of the ice-associated community. Beaulieu gives an authoritative review of the fate of phytoplankton as it accumulates on the sea bed and recognises a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in the process. The sea floor is also the focus of a thoughtful synthesis by Snelgrove and Smith, who discuss the paradox of deep-sea diversity and consider explanations for it. Increased sampling reveals that relationships of diversity with latitude, depth and productivity are
Book reviews
which was not used in the other two diets. This could well have affected the digestibility of the diet and, hence, the measured rate of protein synthesis. The final chapter comprises a summary of the findings of the earlier chapters and the author’s thoughts about where further research could be directed. The author’s area of expertise appears to be more in the physiological and biochemical aspects of the work. In this respect, the book provides some interesting, although at times laborious, reading. David M. Smith CSIRO Marine Research, PO Box 120, Cleveland, Queensland 4163, Australia E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +61-7-3826-7239 doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00335-6
The Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem: Environmental Forcing and Sustainable Development of Marine Resources J.M. McGlade, P. Cury, K.A. Koranteng, N.J. Hardman-Mountford (Eds); Elsevier Large Marine Ecosystem Series, Amsterdam, 2002; ISBN 0 444 51028 1; Euro 99.00, US$99.00; 428pp.
This second book in the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) series consists of 26 chapters divided into four sections. The chapters are authored by 33 well-known natural and social scientists from the region or associated with development agencies. The book is a synopsis of research in the Gulf of Guinea over the past decade and more, adopting the LME approach promoted by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the United Nations and World Bank. This approach is evident in the headings of the four sections. The sections deal, respectively, with principles and programmes, environmental forcing and productivity, fish and fisheries, and ecosystem health and the human dimension. There are 14 pages of colour plates. Geographic coverage is from Guinea Bissau in the west to Gabon and the Congo River in the south and east. The first section of four chapters deals with the main international research projects: the European Union (INCO-DC) project on impacts of environmental forcing on marine biodiversity and sustainable management of fisheries, and the GEF project on the Gulf of Guinea LME. The principles involved are dealt within chapters on a modular approach to monitoring, assessing and managing LMEs, and the concept of ‘‘consilience’’—jumping together of different disciplines in oceanography and fishery research. The second section has nine chapters covering environmental forcing and productivity. These chapters deal with spatial and temporal variability in remotely sensed sea surface temperature and phytoplankton from the continuous plankton recorder colour index, in situ physical and chemical data, bacterial counts, benthic biodiversity, fish catches, and fish surveys. These are analysed using a variety of statistical and numerical techniques ranging
Book reviews
129
from principal components analysis and correspondence analysis to generalised additive models (GAM). These are used to define patterns of variability on different scales from diel changes to inter-decadal regime shifts. The analyses subdivide the Gulf into three subregions, define areas and seasons of upwelling, demonstrate changes in benthic community structure and biodiversity, and illustrate the concept of an optimal environmental window in upwelling systems. A thoughtful tabulation of ecological processes, the appropriate scales of observation, types of data, and methods of analysis is a highlight of chapter 10. The third section is concerned with fish and fisheries and has eight chapters. The first two deal with community structure in the waters of Ghana and Ivory Coast, respectively, and the third with the population structure of two species using genetic markers, concluding that there are deep evolutionary differences between different LMEs but only minor ones within this LME. The next five chapters review the state of fisheries and fish communities and compare them with their state when Fager and Longhurst (1968) analysed them over 30 years ago. The regime shift from Sardinella and various demersal species to triggerfish in the 1970– 1988 period and then the dramatic disappearance of triggerfish from catches are discussed in relation to remote physical forcing via the atmosphere. The changes in fishing from small vessels to large freezer trawlers and the enormous increase in fishing effort and their influences are also discussed, both on the continental shelf and for inshore and lagoon fisheries. There is a semi-technical chapter on developing a fishery database for the region. The fourth section deals with ecosystem health, pollution, socioeconomics, and institutions and governance, with advice on how collaborative research can be of use to fisheries management in developing countries, and research and extension linkages. This book covers a wide range of topics and is therefore bound to vary in style and quality amongst chapters. Some chapters give details of data collection and methods of analysis used, others are more in the nature of reviews. There are some lapses in grammar and a few typographic errors, and it is a pity that considerations of cost forced all the colour plates into one block. Some chapters deal separately with fisheries in different countries, instead of integrating them. On the other hand, the phenomenal increase in knowledge concerning the ‘‘big picture’’ of large-scale patterns of change in the environment and their influence on biotic communities and fisheries are well illustrated in this book. The changes in fishing and fish communities over the past 3 – 4 decades are also covered, with aspects of regime shifts. It illustrates the value of ongoing time series of data, best exemplified by those provided by the authorities in Cote Ivoire and Ghana, coupled with modern remote sensing. The book gives a synthesis of the present state of the art of ecology, oceanography and fisheries science, and their interaction in the tropical eastern Atlantic. It will also be useful for fisheries and coastal zone managers in developing countries and those involved in the other 50 or so ongoing or proposed GEF-funded studies of LMEs of the world, through which the coastal component of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is likely to grow, particularly in developing countries. References E.W. Fager, E.W.A.R. , Longhurst, A.R., 1968. Recurrent group analysis of species assemblages of demersal fish in the Gulf of Guinea. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 25 (7), 1405 – 1421.
130
Book reviews
John G. Field Zoology Department, Marine Biology Research Institute, University of Cape Town, 7701 Rondebosch, South Africa Marine Biological Association of the UK, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00336-8
Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, Volume 40 R.N. Gibson, Margaret Barnes, R.J.A. Atkinson, Taylor and Francis Books Ltd; UK, 2002; ISBN 0 415 25462 0; GBP 99.00, 684 pp. Reviews are not always highly valued these days and it could be argued that they are less essential since the advent of web-based databases of literature. However, the reviews collected in Volume 40 of Oceanography and Marine Biology, An Annual Review are as relevant as ever and constitute highly citable landmarks in their respective fields. There is a wide range of styles and approaches but each review provides a critical synthesis of current trends and most make valuable recommendations for the future directions and applications of research. The volume starts with papers describing research using tide gauges and a review of simulation models applied in European coastal waters. While both papers retain a fondness for acronyms that is occasionally frustrating, the reviews are accessible and well structured. Woodworth et al. make some interesting observations on the tensions between groups of researchers using tide gauges or satellites to measure sea level. A strong case is made for continued investment in a global network of tide gauges, particularly for measuring currents through straits (e.g. Gibraltar, Drake Passage) and in difficult to sample (polar) areas. Approximately 100 models are considered in an excellent review by Jones. The author identifies areas where convergence of methods is occurring and other areas (such as turbulence closure schemes) where no Europe-wide consensus exists. It is argued that a diverse approach, involving comparison of methodologies and different models of the same process, is more useful than any effort to produce a Europe-wide ‘best’ model. The next two papers focus on particular environments: Antarctic sea ice and the sea floor. Thomas and Dieckmann review the limited and at times conflicting information on sea ice biogeochemistry. Inorganic nutrient concentrations in sea ice can range from the limits of detection to orders of magnitude higher than the surrounding sea water. The biogeochemical role of sea ice remains rather speculative and further field studies are required to follow the formation and decomposition of the ice-associated community. Beaulieu gives an authoritative review of the fate of phytoplankton as it accumulates on the sea bed and recognises a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in the process. The sea floor is also the focus of a thoughtful synthesis by Snelgrove and Smith, who discuss the paradox of deep-sea diversity and consider explanations for it. Increased sampling reveals that relationships of diversity with latitude, depth and productivity are