The marine world is an immense, three-dimensional living space inhabited by marine life that varies from the mundane to the bizarre. Its salty influence extends up river estuaries, over seashores and inland with brine-laden spray. The Marine World covers all those organisms that live in, on and around the ocean bringing together in a single text everything from the miniscule to the immense. With chapters on marine bacteria, plants, fungi and protozoa, as well as all the major groups of marine invertebrates, plus fish, reptiles, mammals and birds, it provides an insight into the existence and way of life of almost everything living in the ocean. Each animal or plant is found in its own particular place and The Marine World encompasses principal ocean habitats and ecosystems including open water, seashores, deep sea, coral reefs and many more. Written with clear, accessible text and illustrated throughout with photographs and detailed drawings, The Marine World provides in depth information to provide answers for each group on 'what?' 'where?' and 'how?', via sections on identification, distribution, structure, biology, classification and conservation.
The Marine World is for the inquisitive: for the naturalist on, in and around the ocean, for the student who needs more detail, for the scientist wanting background knowledge, for the diver exploring what he is seeing, for the fisherman's finds, for parents to answer "what's this, mum?", for anyone who loves the ocean.
Frances Dipper has always loved the sea, in spite of being brought up on a farm in deepest Warwickshire. An author, lecturer and marine consultant, she is a naturalist at heart and has been studying marine life round the world for nearly 40 years.
Drawing on her experiences, she has written many books for both children and adults. Her children’s book, Guide to the Oceans, won the Royal Society Aventis Prize for junior Science Books. Other books include Extraordinary Fish written to tie-in with the BBC’s Blue Planet series and Waterlife of Britain, still in print after 28 years. She’s happiest sitting on the seabed watching the marine world go by and testing the patience of her diving buddies.