Book Review

Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef
by Eric Wolanski

Oceanographic processes are crucial to the understanding of coral reefs yet are often downplayed in attempts to explain how these intricate ecosystems function. Volumes that integrate the biological, physical, and chemical aspects of this subject are also rare. Eric Wolanski, however, has produced a very useful book and CDROM that will give readers an introduction to the biological and physical oceanographic processes of coral reefs. He has done this by focusing the book's subject matter on the key processes that underpin the world's largest continuous reef system, the Great Barrier Reef. Despite its Australian focus, this book will be highly useful for coral reef researchers everywhere. Chapters in the excellent text span the broad-scale regional processes, local oceanography, biological communities, and anthropogenic influences on coral reefs. An overriding theme of the book is the important role that linkages play within this ecosystem, whether these are between land and reef, or between individual reef com-ponents. The book also provides an excellent text for university courses that want an up-to-date and modern synthesis of the important oceanographic processes that define coral reefs.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Center for Marine Studies, University of Queensland, 4072 QLD, Australia