Author(s): Robert Butler

Science - Environment

The verdant coastline from northern California to south-east Alaska bursts into a rich hue of jade green when the sun emerges from behind a canopy of cloud. This is the Jade Coast -- brooding in winter, sparkling in summer and always abounding with life. The coastal waters of the Jade Coast support over 400 species of fish, 161 species of marine birds, 29 marine mammals and over 6,500 species of invertebrates. Aside from the number of species, the sheer abundance of some of these animals is staggering. The rivers support some of the largest salmon runs in the world and its estuaries and bays support millions of birds whose migrations span the western hemisphere. In the offshore pelagic waters, whales from Mexico and Hawaii feed below the ocean surface. Among the myriad of islands, fjords, and channels that comprise the Jade Coast are quiet coves within earshot of raging tidal passages, and near-Mediterranean climates within sight of rainforests and mountain top glaciers. This is the story of the ecology of the North Pacific Ocean. The book begins with a primer on some basic concepts in ecology and then launches into a journey far out to sea in the realm of the westerly wind. Readers will scramble along rocky shores, pick away among boulder-strewn beaches, wade in eelgrass meadows, and slop through mudflat ooze. Along the way, they will be introduced to some current, classical and contentious ideas in ecology and conservation of the sea and shore.<