Algae Of Australia

At head of title: A publication of the Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Featuring over 300 colour photographs, supplemented by elegant hand drawings, this book is a guide to the conspicuous algae found in the streams and lakes of Australia.

The Algae of Australia series will provide the basic systematic data necessary for issues relating to conservation, biological diversity and the management of aquatic ecosystems. For the purposes of this series 'Algae' is interpreted in a very broad sense, to cover all organisms that have traditionally been studied by phycologists, including macroalgae, unicellular and multicellular microalgae and cyanobacteria. Individual titles will range from the more traditional taxon-based accounts to regional or habitat-based treatments.

Lord Howe Island is fringed by the world's southernmost consolidated coral reef. The Capricorn Group is a series of patch reefs and low coral cays. For more than 30 years Dr Kraft has studied the species-rich marine algal communities of these reefs, paying special attention to subtidal habitats. This authoritative account, documenting thegreen algae of Lord Howe Island and the southern Great Barrier Reef, will, in due course, be followed by treatments of the brown and red algae.

To most people, the mention of marine plants conjures up images of rotting seaweeds piled high on the beach, or slithering threateningly around bare ankles during a paddle in the shallows. Certainly, the seaweeds do not inspire the imagination or the romanticism that is usually associated with the sea. Marine Plants of Australia might well alter that perception. This third edition illustrates over 600 species of Australia's underwater plant life, mostly using underwater photographs that reveal the amazing colours and intricate patterns found in this largely unknown realm of life. Imagine plants with blue foliage that turns red in the dark, or iridescent plants, or plants that look like rocks painted in shades of pink. There are seaweeds with the consistency of jelly, or with fronds that form an intricate mesh that rivals the best lace. These plants have evolved a startling myriad of shapes, colours and patterns that will impress everyone who views them -- underwater, or through the pages of this book.