Written and edited by leading, internationally recognized clinicians and scientists in reproductive medicine and related fields, this unique text is a practical and comprehensive review of the clinical and scientific significance of unexplained male and female infertility and its management. The book is divided into thematic sections to ensure the most useful presentation of topics, opening wit…
Plant dormancy involves synchronization of environmental cues with developmental processes to ensure plant survival; however, negative impacts of plant dormancy include pre-harvest sprouting, non-uniform germination of crop and weed seeds, and fruit loss due to inappropriate bud break. Thus, our continued quest to disseminate information is important in moving our understanding of plant dormanc…
This contributed volume regenerates the significance of and respect for natural phenomenon in the background of the risks and complications seen in ART such as ovarian hyperstimulation and multiple pregnancies. Balancing the clinical practice between the beneficial natural physiology and the prolific use of stimulation drugs for ART may help eliminate risks that may prove clinically, financia…
Earth Stewardship implies a paradigm shift that links facts and values, multiple forms of ecological knowledge and practices, and broadens the mission of the ecological sciences. To confront global environmental change it is necessary, but not sufficient, to conduct long-term socio-ecological research. It is also necessary to act. Earth stewardship calls on ecologists to engage not only in the …
The book provides a cross-disciplinary and multi-scale assessment of a world top river, the Changjiang (Yangtze River) and its adjacent marginal environment, the East China Sea. The studies in this volume bridges the watersheds of the river and the marginal sea through a combined approach of hydro-dynamics, geochemistry, sedimentary processes, ecology and fishery. The response of ecosystem to t…
This book focuses on the ecological impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunamis, a rare and extremely large disturbance event, on various coastal ecosystems in Japan's Tohoku area, including sub-tidal and tidal animal communities, sand dune plant communities and coastal forests. The studies presented here describe not only how species and populations in these ecosystems we…
What are the causes and consequences of species diversity in forested ecosystems, and how is this species diversity being affected by rapid environmental and climatic change, movement of invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores into new biogeographic regions, and expanding human populations and associated shifts in land-use patterns? In this book, we explore these questions for assemblages of for…
Nature provides us with many services seemingly for free: recharged groundwater, fertile soil and plant biomass created by photosynthesis. We human beings draw extensive benefits from these "ecosystem services," or ES -- food, water supply, recreation and protection from natural hazards. Major international studies, such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, have addressed the enormous role o…
This book summarizes the key adaptations enabling extremophile fishes to survive under harsh environmental conditions. It reviews the most recent research on acidic, Antarctic, cave, desert, hypersaline, hypoxic, temporary, and fast-flowing habitats, as well as naturally and anthropogenically toxic waters, while pointing out generalities that are evident across different study systems. Knowledg…
This book presents a detailed case study of ecological and cultural interactions between the people and their natural environment at Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, a land of rich biodiversity. This volume documents the subsistence lifestyle of the people and their indigenous ecological knowledge, analyzes the effects of recent socioeconomic changes on the people and ecosystem, and proposes fu…