Marine Biology for the Non-Biologist

248 Pages·2022·3.071 MB·English

by  Andrew Caine

THE AUTHOR
Andrew Caine
Andrew graduated with honours in Marine
Biology from University of North Wales,
Bangor.
He has been extensively published in various
marine-related magazines over a period of 10
years. During this time, he worked in many
areas within the marine industry,
concentrating on tropical marine biology.
Andrew has now settled down to concentrate
on his family and is teaching and inspiring
the next generation of scientists.
You may always contact him by email here:
[email protected]
Dedications
This book is dedicated firstly to my fantastic
family and Tracey without whose
unquestionable support this book would not
have been possible.
Also, to every marine scientist whose work
through time has led us to an understanding
of the physical workings of the complex
environments within the oceans. Also, to all
those who studied the life that exists here and
allowed us not only to be amazed at the
wonderful animals but be constantly bowled
over by the diverse array of new discoveries
made every year.
Finally, I would like to thank the animals
living in the sea for they are truly amazing.
Picture credits
To obtain the correct illustrations proved to
be a search in itself. All I could find were
scientific diagrams with the associated
scientific terminology, something that has to
be avoided in the case, after all this book is
for the non-biologist. Then I came across
some amazing drawings made by amateur
naturalists many over 100 years ago, they are
pencil drawings without labels. Yet they are
scientifically accurate in their presentation.
These are perfect as they give a visual
representation of the animals we will be
looking at.
It is wonderful to imagine a lady or
gentleman of that period sitting down with
pencil creating illustrations for the scientific
community of that era. They could never of
imagined that their outstanding work would
help people of a future age, understand the
wonderful animals that exist within our
oceans. A shared love of the natural world
extending through time.
All diagrams apart form two, are from the
collection made public by the company
Pearson Scott Foresman.
Squid diagram on page 42 is reproduced
through the courtesy of Biologycorner.com
(Creative Commons Attribution 3.0).
Hydrothermal vent diagram page 112,
courtesy of Alexgiovi, CC BY-SA 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
First edition published 2015
This edition published 2022
ISBN: 978-0-9933738-3-1
Published by Andrew Caine
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior permission of the copyright
owner.
©2022 by Andrew Caine
MARINE
BIOLOGY
for the
Non-Biologist
CONTENTS
THE BASIS OF LIFE IN THE OCEANS
SOFT-BODIED ANIMALS - THE CNIDARIANS
The Jellyfish.
The Hydroids.
The Anemones.
The Corals.
The Stony Corals.
SHELLFISH - THE MOLLUSCS
The Gastropods.
The Mesogastropods.
The Archeogastropods.
The Neogastropods.
The Nudibranchs (Sea
Slugs).
The Bivalves
The
Cephalopods.
The Nautilus.
The Squids, Cuttlefish and Octopi.
ANIMALS WITH EXOSKELETONS - THE
CRUSTACEANS
The Decapods- Crabs, Lobsters and
Shrimps.
The Barnacles.
ANIMALS WITH SPINY SKINS - THE
ECHINODERMS
Characteristic Features.
The Starfish.
The Brittle Stars.
The Sea Urchins.
The Sea Cucumbers.
CORAL REEF ARCHITECTURE
MARINE INVERTEBRATE TOXINS
Limu-Make-o-Hana (the Deadly Seaweed of
Hana).
Shellfish Poisoning.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).
Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP).
Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP).
Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP).
Ciguatera.
The Cone Shells.
Sea Snakes.
Venomous Fish.
HYDROTHERMAL VENTS AND VENT
BIOLOGY
The Discovery.
The Physical
Environment.
Vent Biology.
LIFE IN THE POLAR SEAS
The Polar Environment.
Animal Adaptations.
The Fish.
The Invertebrates.
The Birds.
The Mammals.
INDEX