THE BLUE PLANET --- SEAS OF LIFE by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill, and Martha Holmes. DK Publishing, 2001
    FORWARD by Sir David Attenborough (p10-11)

    EARTH AND ITS OCEANS (p12-13)

    PART 1 --- THE WATER PLANET (p14-57)

      With water generally so available to us at the turn of a faucet handle, it is easy to forget how essential it is for life on Earth. Water, collected in the great ocean basins, regulates the planet's temperature and climate as well as providing numerous habitats for plant and animal life:

        1.1 Water world

        1.2 Forces of Nature

        1.3 Living in the sea

    PART 2 --- LIFE ON THE EDGE (p58-99)

      Around the borders of the ocean, where the land meets the sea, lie some of the most challenging of the ocean habitats. From sandy beaches to rocky shores and river estuaries, waves and weather constantly erode coastal areas. While many creatures come here to breed, there are few permanent residents. Those that do live here must be hardy and adaptable enough to survive the daily ebb and flow of the tides, which transform their habitat on a daily basis:

        2.1 The dynamic border

        2.2 Surviving the coast

        2.3 The need to breed

    PART 3 --- TROPICAL SEAS (p100-153)

      The warm waters of the tropics are relatively poor in nutrients and oxygen, making substantial stretches of the shallows somewhat barren. However, in certain areas, where conditons are favorable, seagrass beds, mangroves and the most diverse marine communities of all --- coral reefs --- can be found. The efficient recycling of nutrients in these habitats allows them to flourish:

        3.1 Coral reefs

        3.2 Mouths of the reef

        3.3 Sex on the reef

        3.4 Mangroves and seagrass beds

    PART 4 --- TEMPERATE SEAS (p154-211)

      The green, algae-rich waters of the world's temperate zones are some of the most productive on the planet. These intensely seasonal areas see an annual cycle of bloom and bust that depends upon the plankton. It is a bounty for which many animals will migrate thousands of miles to harvest. These waters are also home to most of the world's seaweed and the underwater cliffs are festooned with invertebrates that are as colorful as any coral reef:

        4.1 The richest seas

        4.2 Blooming plankton

        4.3 Ocean forests

        4.4 The living bed

    PART 5 --- FROZEN SEAS (p212-259)

      The perimeters of the frozen seas of the Arctic and Antarctic attract surprising numbers of birds, seals, and whales. But most of these migrate away as the annual sea ice forms in autumn. Only a handful remain to cope with the rigours of a polar winter:

        5.1 The polar regions

        5.2 Antarctic wildlife

        5.3 Arctic wildlife

    PART 6 --- THE OPEN OCEAN (p260-311)

      Much of this seemingly limitless wilderness seems also to be like a lifeless "desert," yet in the right conditions life explodes into intense productivity. This is a world in perpetual motion. Plankton engage in an incessant daily migration from the dark depths to the surface and back again. Many of the most powerful marine predators cruise these shelterless seas in search of prey. But simply finding enough food is not enough. Somehow each species must ensure the survival of their offspring in this most unforgiving of habitats:

        6.1 Ocean wide, ocean blue

        6.2 Ocean drifters

        6.3 Ocean hunters

        6.4 Ocean birth

    PART 7 --- THE DEEP (p312-372)

      Below 150 meters (492 feet), where there is no longer enough light for photosynthesis, the deep ocean begins. It is by far the largest habitat for life on Earth and is the one about which we know the least information. The enormous pressures and perpetual darkness make exploration extremely difficult. Until recently it was thought to be barren. But now we know that in these inhospitable waters there lives a rich variety of extraordinary creatures that have adapted in a variety of ways for life in this challenging environment:

        7.1 The twilight zone

        7.2 The dark zone

        7.3 The deep-sea floor

        7.4 Life without the sun

      GLOSSARY (p373-376)

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (p377)

      PICTURE CREDITS (p378-379)

      INDEX (p380-384)

      ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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