Shallow Seas: New Naturalist 131: Leather bound

Shallow Seas are the most biologically rich and productive areas of the world ocean. This latest New Naturalist volume provides a natural history of this environment and its biological communities.
The margins of the continents, especially broad in the North Atlantic region, are drowned by shallow seas, creating a sea floor environment which is part of the wider and deepening benthic realm – the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. These ‘shelf seas’ are the most biologically rich and productive areas of the world ocean.

Away from rocky coastlines the seafloor is rather flat, often muddy, beneath turbid water with low or no visibility. Benthic faunas mostly live within the sediment of the seafloor, or are sparsely and patchily distributed upon it, and if at all motile are likely to withdraw into burrows or move quickly away on disturbance. Yet, dredges and grabs reveal an often extraordinary diversity and density of animals, suggestive of complex interacting communities. This is not a textbook of marine benthic ecology, nor is it a comprehensive review of the benthic communities of the northwest European shelf seas. Rather, it describes the natural history of some benthic habitats and associations characteristic of our region.

As new condition. Leather bound with NN monogram to the front cover, gilt title on the spine and gilt on all edges. Tipped-in limitation plate to the front endpaper, signed by the author and indicating 50 numbered copies were released. The plate is also marked with a letter ‘B’ (a very small number of these special editions were marked with a letter rather than a number, often signifying designation for a contributor or special collection). In addition, the traditional New Naturalist dustjacket is provided and has been signed by the artist and designer, Robert Gillmor, on the front inside flap. Presented in brown, cloth covered slip case.

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