| Abstract |
The author describes tropical coral reef ecology based around the three types of biological diversity (also known as biodiversity), which are known as genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. While the book focuses on tropical coral reefs, these ecosystems have micro-ecosystems and there are other adjacent ecosystems such as pelagic zones and mangrove forests. Species diversity is found among the world’s approximately 8.7 ± 1.3 million species. Species diversity also relates to the terms endemic species, threatened and endangered species, indicator species, keystone or flagship species, and charismatic species. Genetic diversity refers to the number of individuals within a given species. Because of the importance of biodiversity, the author concludes with a discussion of its connectivity to seascapes. |
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