An Argument 
Coastal studies of Islands is miniature ecology course.
p. 1-5.
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| Selections Treasure Coast Regional Planning | Henry Williamson, Tales of Moorland and Estuary Gary Kline, The Coastal Environment. Pilkey & Dixon, The Corps and the Shore. Pilkey, et. al. Living with the California Coast |
Ecology is the study of populations in places; the impact of surrounding conditions on that life, adaptations of life to those surroundings, and the interdependent relation that functionally sustains these living communities.
The endless sea in both space (71% of the planet) and time makes islands of nearly all places on the remaing 29 percent of the Earth's terrain.
Ecological accounting informs design
Places along the shore, reveal studies in adjustment to harsh conditions:
Mendocino "ecological staircase" -- tectonic coasts are rising out of the sea
Cape Sable, the Everglades shore -- receding coasts are sinking into the sea
WEAL as a means to see vegetation and animals together
watershed as a means to link rivers to the sea and shore to upland
vegetation as more than a cover for the land
plants and bacteria as builders and maintainers of land, air, and water.
Succession as changes that climate and plants make on land and sea.
Rivers and river mouths: the places called estuaries.
The habitats within river mouths were misunderstood for two centuries.
Complete guide to the Marshes' book
Patterns need not be obscured.
Brackish water and two kinds of water quality: fresh water is lighter and floats, salt water is dense and sinks.
the dual flow and mixing
the null zone
History of the tidewater as a region
All solutions grow from place.
Complete guide to the Marshes' book
Ecological accounting informs design.
Forbes -- subtidal and intertidal areas change with depth
Merriam -- life zones are distinct areas
Baird -- fisheries rely on plankton
Clements & Cowles -- dune succession and diversity
Shaler -- sustained yield and reclamation
Leopold -- the top level predators and wildlife pyramids
Lindeman -- the lake as a microcosm of solar peoductivity
Carson -- the ecology of the sea, the sea's edge, and us
Odum -- the productivity and diversity of marsh biota
Progressive Comprehensive Riverine Management and regional planning
Coastal conflicts in the seashore zone
the commons and private property rights
Complete guide to the Siry book
Terms:
Zones and zonation as a means to distinguish parst of places.
species:
indicator -- sentinel -- keystone
succession as the gardual change in species over time.
productivity as a measure of integrity and functional performance.
diversity of
gene pools,
species, &
habitats.
urban zoning: commercial -- residential -- industrial -- scenic.
riverine management, multiple- use, flood plains and reservoirs.
fisheries protection and the public trust doctrine.
Clean Water Act and dredge and fill permits.
ecological design as a means to save what remains.
The role of feedback in river mouths is critical to understanding their role, potential and place in civilizations.
Complete guide to the Siry book
Sources
J. Siry, Marshes of the Ocean Shore.
Date: 19 March 2008 revised March 17, 2013
