Molluscan Communities of the Florida Keys and Adjacent Areas

This book is the first comprehensive overview of the ecology and biodiversity of the phylum Mollusca in the area extending from the Dry Tortugas and Ten Thousand Islands in the west to Palm Beach in the east. It provides detailed analyses of molluscan faunas found in 20 different ecosystems, emphasizing the marine environments of the Florida Keys archipelago and its extensive coral reef tracts. Full-page color illustrations portray living animals, unique Keys environments, underwater ecosystems, and satellite images. Color plates illustrate over 550 of the region's most ecologically important species.

Marine ecosystems of the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, and the Ten Thousand Islands: past and present. Molluscan faunas of the vegetated sediment shore macrohabitat (estuarine regime). Molluscan faunas of the unvegetated rocky shore macrohabitat (nearshore marine regime). Molluscan faunas of the vegetated softbottom macrohabitat (nearshore marine regime). Molluscan faunas of the unvegetated hardbottom macrohabitat (nearshore marine regime). Molluscan faunas of the unvegetated softbottom macrohabitat (nearshore marine regime). Molluscan faunas of the coral reef tract macrohabitat and gastropod reef macrohabitat (nearshore marine regime). Molluscan faunas of the deep-reef talus macrohabitat (neritic regime). Molluscan faunas of deep softbottom and pelagic macrohabitats (oceanic regime). Tree snails of the Florida Keys. Bibliography. Systematic Appendix: additions to the molluscan biodiversity of the Florida Keys. List of macromollusks: Florida Keys and adjacent areas. Ecologic, oceanographic, and geographic terms. Illustrated specimens.