Introduction ; 1. Sampling sediments ; 2. The sediment and related environmental factors ; 3. Describing assemblages of sediment-living organisms ; 4. Diversity ; 5. Functional diversity of benthic assemblages ; 6. Spatial variations in sediment systems ; 7. Temporal variations in benthic assemblages ; 8. Human impacts on soft sediment systems - trawling and fisheries ; 9. Human impacts on soft sediment systems - pollution ; 10. The soft-sediment benthos in the ecosystem ; 11. The benthos in the management of marine sediments ; Concluding remarks

Concise, readable introduction to benthic ecology Accessible text; clear and simple illustrations with learning objectives for students Global examples encourage international appeal Explores the relationship between community structure and function New emphasis on pollution, climate change, conservation and management

John S. Gray was Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Oslo, Norway and did research on marine soft sediments for over 40 years. He is one of ISIs Highly-Cited Scientists in Plant and Animal Ecology. He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Arts and Letters and a recipient of the Fridtjof Nansen prize for his research. In 2006 he was a co-recipient of the John Martin award of the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography. He did research in the Arctic, Antarctic, Great Barrier Reef, Vanuatu, Hong Kong, the East and West coasts of USA and the North Sea and Norwegian continental shelf. Sadly, John died in October 2007, just days after submitting his final manuscript. Michael Elliott is Professor of Estuarine & Coastal Sciences and the Director of the Institute of Estuarine & Coastal Studies (IECS) at the University of Hull, United Kingdom and has been researching estuarine and coastal science and management for 35 years. His research particularly relates to the influence of human activities on estuarine and marine ecology and the way in which society manages those activities. He has published widely on many aspects of these topics including the related text 'The Estuarine Ecosystem' (co-authored with Donald S McLusky). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Biology and President of the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA)

Concise, readable introduction to benthic ecology Accessible text; clear and simple illustrations with learning objectives for students Global examples encourage international appeal Explores the relationship between community structure and function New emphasis on pollution, climate change, conservation and management