This book explores the ethnobiology of corals by examining the various ways in which humans, past and present, have exploited and taken care of coral and coralline habitats. This book will bring the educated general audience closer to corals by exploring the various circumstances of human-coral coexistence by providing scientifically sound and jargon-free perspectives and experiences from across the globe. Corals are a vital part of the marine environment since they promote and sustain marine and global biodiversity while providing numerous other environmental and cultural services. Countless valuable coral conservation efforts are published in academic and general audience venues on a daily basis. However relevant, few of these reports show a direct, deeper understanding of the intimate relationship between people and corals throughout the world’s societies. Ethnobiology of Corals and Coral Reefs establishes an intimate bond between the audience and the wonder of corals and their importance to humankind.

This book explores the knowledge, work and life of Pacific coastal populations from the Pacific Northwest to Panama. Center stage in this volume is the knowledge people acquire on coastal and marine ecosystems. Material and aesthetic benefits from interacting with the environment contribute to the ongoing building of coastal cultures. The contributors are particularly interested in how local knowledge -either recently generated or transmitted along generations- interfaces with science, conservation, policy and artistic expression. Their observations exhibit a wide array of outcomes ranging from resource and human exploitation to the magnification of cultural resilience and coastal heritage. The interdisciplinary nature of ethnobiology allows the chapter authors to have a broad range of freedom when examining their subject matter. They build a multifaceted understanding of coastal heritage through the different lenses offered by the humanities, social sciences, oceanography, fisheries and conservation science and, not surprisingly, the arts. Coastal Heritage and Cultural Resilience establishes an intimate bond between coastal communities and the audience in a time when resilience of coastal life needs to be celebrated and fortified.

Life on Earth is facing a mass extinction event of our own making. Human activity is changing the biology and the meaning of extinction. What Is Extinction? examines several key moments that have come to define the terms of extinction over the past two centuries, exploring instances of animal and human finitude and the cultural forms used to document and interpret these events. Offering a critical theory for the critically endangered, Joshua Schuster proposes that different discourses of limits and lastness appear in specific extinction events over time as a response to changing attitudes toward species frailty. Understanding these extinction events also involves examining what happens when the conceptual and cultural forms used to account for species finitude are pressed to their limits as well. Schuster provides close readings of several case studies of extinction that bring together environmental humanities and multispecies methods with media-specific analyses at the terminus of life. What Is Extinction? delves into the development of last animal photography, the anthropological and psychoanalytic fascination with human origins and ends, the invention of new literary genres of last fictions, the rise of new extreme biopolitics in the Third Reich that attempted to change the meaning of extinction, and the current pursuit of de-extinction technologies. Schuster offers timely interpretations of how definitions and visions of extinction have changed in the past and continue to change in the present.

Drawing on diverse perspectives, this collection of 12 essays and around 150 colour illustrations explores the history and mysteries of the “Coral Road” from the Mediterranean to Japan. From Italy, with its ancient traditions of deep-sea coral fishery, production and trade, the reader is transported to Tibet and India, where coral has long been revered as a Buddhist treasure and amulet. The focus then moves to Japan, with the book highlighting the vivid red coral “tree” of folklore and festivals and the lavish use of the exotic gemstone in the magnificent accessories and craftwork of the Edo Period (1603–1868), before tracing the history of Japanese coral fishery, trade and production in modern times. Inspired by an urgently perceived need to preserve the legacy of precious coral for future generations, this retrospective, yet forward-looking, book will appeal to a wide readership, from marine ecologists to economic, social, cultural and religious historians, as well as scholars of fashion and design.

Natural Bioactive Compounds: Technological Advancements deals with the latest breakthroughs in the field of screening, characterization and novel applications of natural bioactive compounds from diverse group of organisms ranging from bacteria, viruses, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, bryophytes, higher plants, sponges, corals and fishes. Written by some of the most reputed scientists in the field, this book introduces the reader to strategies and methods in the search for bioactive natural products. It is an essential read for researchers and students interested in bioactive natural products, their biological and pharmacological properties, their possible use as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents, and other future potential applications. - Explores natural sources of bioactive compounds, including cyanobacteria, bacteria, viruses, fungi and higher plants - Discusses the potential applications of biological products, such as their use in medicine (antibiotics, cancer research, immunology), as food additives, supplements and technological substances - Analyzes the contributions of emerging or developing technologies for the study of bioactive natural compounds (characterization and purification)

World Seas: An Environmental Evaluation, Second Edition, Volume Two: The Indian Ocean to the Pacific provides a comprehensive review of the environmental condition of the seas from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Each chapter is written by experts in the field who provide historical overviews in environmental terms, current environmental status, major problems arising from human use, informed comments on major trends, problems and successes, and recommendations for the future. The book is an invaluable worldwide reference source for students and researchers who are concerned with marine environmental science, fisheries, oceanography and engineering and coastal zone development. - Covers regional issues that help countries find solutions to environmental decline that may have already developed elsewhere - Provides scientific reviews of regional issues, thus empowering managers and policymakers to make progress in under-resourced countries and regions - Includes comprehensive maps and updated statistics in each region covered

Oceans and Human Health: Opportunities and Impacts, Second Edition explores the inextricably interconnected and complex relationship between oceans and humans. Through the lens of the expanding oceans and human health meta-discipline, this work examines the many invaluable ecosystem services offered by oceans as well as the global anthropogenic impacts, and explores the associated risks and benefits to human health. Written and edited by an interdisciplinary team of experts, the book features international perspectives on the resources available to address these benefits and risks, including enhanced research, policy, and community engagement. The book concludes by examining the future of ocean stewardship and how global populations can unite to nurture and promote our life-enhancing relationship with oceans. This is an indispensable resource for students, researchers, communities, and industry specialists in marine sciences, public health, and international policy. - Addresses benefits, opportunities, risks, and impacts resulting from the relationship between oceans and humans, informed by more than 100 international authors - Identifies and links necessary tools to relevant disciplines for action, and provides illustrative international case studies - Covers scientific, socioeconomic, political, and ethical analyses behind the latest ocean and human health research - Provides study questions and horizon scans at the end of each chapter to encourage individual thought and action, offering a resource for course instructors, students, and communities

In view of the importance of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for biodiversity, and the need to improve individual countries’ capacity to report fisheries-related OECMs and understand how the fisheries sector contributes to current and future area-based biodiversity conservation objectives, FAO has been carrying out a series of activities to support countries to identify and implement OECMs. [Author] These activities include the organization of workshops and the development of practical guidance, as requested by FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI). [Author] With the support of the Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano (Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus [OSPECA]), FAO organized the workshop on other effective area-based conservation measures in fisheries-related areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Author] The workshop was held on 27–28 March 2023 in the city of San José, Costa Rica. [Author] This workshop supported Member Countries of the Commission for Small-scale and Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPESAALC), as well as regional and national fisheries-related organizations in the Latin American and Caribbean regions to: (i) apply CBD criteria for the identification of OECMs; (ii) understand the challenges, opportunities and needs that arise in the identification of fisheries‑related OECMs; and (iii) synthesize lessons learned and obtain recommendations. [Author] To achieve these objectives, topics discussed included: concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation and reporting of OECMs; examples of OECMs in the world; conservation strategies in Latin America and the potential contribution of OECMs to these; the framework for fisheries governance and area-based management in Latin America; Argentina’s progress in recognizing OECMs; and the presentation of four case studies carried out in Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. [Author] The workshop enabled extensive exchanges on the difficulties of interpreting the concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation, and reporting of OECMs, as well as the key points, challenges, and difficulties in analysing and considering potential OECMs. [Author]