Cold-Water Corals

'Roberts, Wheeler, Freiwald and Cairns have produced a remarkable text that will set the standard for many years to come. From the early discoveries of these remarkable organisms to details of biology, distribution and current research this is a comprehensive volume bringing together hitherto scattered information.' Professor Imants (Monty) G. Priede, Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen 'Roberts, Wheeler, Freiwald and Cairns' Cold-Water Corals is the finest review of the cold-water corals available now and likely for some time to come. Comprehensive and authoritative, it covers their exploration, geology, biology and ecology, human impacts, and their outlook in a warming, acidifying ocean. A must for anyone interested in this fascinating but still poorly known deep-sea fauna.' Tony Koslow, Director, California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI), Scripps Institution of Oceanography 'Over half the known coral species in the world's oceans are not in tropical shallow water but in the deep sea at depths greater than 200m. This volume represents a major benchmark in our understanding of deep-water coral habitats and provides a springboard for the continuing studies of these dynamic and biodiverse environments in the deep sea.' Paul Tyler, Professor of Deep-Sea Biology, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton 'The major merit of this book is both to demonstrate the richness of cold water coral ecosystems and their ecological complexity but also their vulnerability, the gaps in our knowledge and the need to protect them rapidly.' Denis Allemand, Professor of Biology at Nice-Sophia Antipolis University and Scientific Director of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco