The new, sixth edition of Marine Biology covers the basics of marine biology and takes a global, non-regional perspective, emphasizing that the world’s oceans and seas are an integrated system that cannot be understood by looking in any one person's own backyard. For many students this is a new perspective. This introductory, one-semester text is designed for non-majors.

Table of Contents

1 Principles of Marine Science
1 The Science of Marine Biology
2 The Sea Floor
3 Chemical and Physical Features of Seawater and the World Ocean
4 Fundamentals of Biology
2 The Organisms of the Sea
5 The Microbial World
6 Multicellular Primary Producers: Seaweeds and Plants
7 Marine Animals without a Backbone
8 Marine Fishes
9 Marine Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals
3 Structure and Function of Marine Ecosystems
10 An Introduction to Marine Ecology
11 Between the Tides
12 Estuaries: Where Rivers Meet the Sea
13 Life on the Continental Shelf
14 Coral Reefs
15 Life Near the Surface
16 The Ocean Depths
4 Humans and the Sea
17 Resources from the Sea
18 The Impact of Humans on the Marine Environment
19 The Oceans and Human Affairs
Appendix A Units of Measurement