Marine Ecology
An evolutionary perspectiveEdited by:
M. C. Gambi and L. Levin
ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 44/87 Marine & Freshwater Biology
Impact Factor: 1.234
Marine Ecology publishes original contributions on the structure and dynamics of marine benthic and pelagic ecosystems, and on the critical links between ecology and evolution of marine organisms. The journal will prioritise contributions elucidating fundamental aspects of species' interaction and adaptation to the environment through integration of information from various organizational levels (molecules to ecosystems) and different disciplines (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, marine biology, natural history, geography, oceanography, palaeontology and modelling) as viewed from an ecological perspective. The journal also focuses on population genetic processes, evolution of life histories, morphological traits and behaviour, historical ecology and biogeography, macro-ecology and seascape ecology, palaeoecological reconstruction and on ecological changes due to introduction of new biota, human pressure or climate change.
It encourages theoretical and speculative contributions addressing the same issues in a section called "Thinking beyond the data" (see Aims and Scope for details).
TopNews and Announcements
JUST PUBLISHED: COMARGE Special Issue not to be missed!
Continental margins, the ribbon of sea floor from 200 to 4000m water depth between the shelf and the abyss, offer some of the most variable terrain in the ocean. In recent decades mapping and expeditions have revealed a wealth of canyon, seep, organic fall, bank and depositional environments on continental margins. Margins provide key ecosystem functions, such as carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and biodiversity maintenance, as well as providing living and energy resources. Understanding controls on continental margin diversity is crucial as these regions are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic influence. Both overt activities, in the form of trawling, predator removal, energy extraction, mining and waste disposal, and more insidious climate change effects in the form of warming, deoxygenation and acidification, are likely to alter existing patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Understanding how both natural and human-induced sources of habitat heterogeneity shape margin communities and ecosystems is fundamental to conservation of margin resources and to the development of indicators and proxies that can aid large-scale management practices.
This special issue of Marine Ecology is the outcome of the Marine Life Continental Margin Ecosystems (COMARGE) workshop held at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in September 2008. The goals of the workshop were to examine the roles of habitat heterogeneity in generating and maintaining diversity on continental margins. Papers explore global heterogeneity-diversity relationships for specific margin habitats and diversity patterns. These studies bring together for the first time geographically and taxonomically diverse data sets to consider whether there are common habitat influences on patterns of diversity on margins.
Read the entire issue for free online > > >
Previous special issues have included:
- Remote and inaccessible habitats, in-situ research and biodiversity: a tribute to Rupert Riedl (September 2007)
- Vent, Seep and Whale-Fall & Wood-Fall Communities (March 2007)
- Seagrasses (December 2006)
You can browse all of the full article abstracts online
Forum section launched
With the June 2007 issue (28-2) Marine Ecology started the new forum 'Thinking beyond the data' (TBD) to encourage theoretical and speculative contributions presenting novel ideas and/or syntheses or challenging hypotheses on the functioning of marine ecosystems and their evolutionary history. Further information is available here.
Evolutionary focus for Marine Ecology
From 2005, Marine Ecology has changed its focus, Editorial Board and general structure. To access the Editorial and the first Review paper from the primary issue of the newly focused Marine Ecology, click here.
Free Online Access in the Developing World
Free online access to this journal is available within institutions in the developing world through the AGORA Initiative with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the OARE Initiative (Online Access to Research in the Environment) with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
NIH Public Access Mandate
For those interested in the Wiley-Blackwell policy on the NIH Public Access Mandate, please visit our policy statement.
TopHighlights
Related Links
Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland
South African Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Scientists
Blackwell Ecology - Blackwell Publishing's ecology subject site
