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This book aims to help people manage coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems; especially to solve problems that flow from nearby catchment (watershed) areas. Such catchment areas may be adjacent to the coral reef, or include areas a long way away and outside the jurisdiction and control of the coastal manager. This book introduces ways to reduce some of that damage through cooperation with people and industries upstream, based on the experiences of many coastal managers around the world. A catchment area is defined as all the land that channels rainwater and groundwater into a river or stream, that then delivers water to coastal areas, in this case areas that contain coral reefs. The term catchment is often interchangeable with watershed, which is particularly used in the USA and nearby countries. However, watershed is also used to describe the boundary line between two catchment areas i.e. a line drawn across the tops of hills or mountains.

This encyclopedia illuminates a topic at the forefront of global ecology - biological invasions, or organisms that come to live in the wrong place. Written by leading scientists from around the world, the book addresses all aspects of this subject at a global level - including invasions by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria - in succinct, alphabetically arranged articles. Scientifically uncompromising, yet clearly written and free of jargon, the volume encompasses fields of study including biology, demography, geography, ecology, evolution, sociology, and natural history and features many cross-references, suggestions for further reading, illustrations, an appendix of the world's worst 100 invasive species, a glossary, and more. The book features articles on well-known invasive species such the zebra mussel, chestnut blight, cheatgrass, gypsy moth, Nile perch, giant African snail, and Norway rat and details regions with especially large numbers of introduced species including the Great Lakes, Mediterranean Sea, Hawaiian Islands, Australia and New Zealand. This work will be of great value in ecology and conservation science. Invasive species are a severe and exponentially growing problem of the environment, and one difficult even to characterize, much less contain.-Edward O. Wilson, author and scientist "Second only to habitat loss mixed with climate disruption, invasive species represent the next most serious threat to biodiversity. The Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions, written by an impressive group of experts, now makes available to conservation biologists, managers, decision makers, and concerned citizens a comprehensive single source of this key topic."-Paul R. Ehrlich, co-author of The Dominant Animal

This document is part of a technical report series on conservation projects funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the Conservation International Pacific Islands Program (CI-Pacific). The main purpose of this series is to disseminate project findings and successes to a broader audience of conservation professionals in the Pacific, along with interested members of the public and students. The reports are being prepared on an ad-hoc basis as projects are completed and written up. In most cases the reports are composed of two parts, the first part is a detailed technical report on the project which gives details on the methodology used, the results and any recommendations. The second part is a brief project completion report written for the donor and focused on conservation impacts and lessons learned. The CEPF fund in the Polynesia-Micronesia region was launched in September 2008 and will be active until 2013. It is being managed as a partnership between CI Pacific and CEPF. The purpose of the fund is to engage and build the capacity of non-governmental organizations to achieve terrestrial conservation. The total grant envelope is approximately US$6 million, and focuses on three main elements: the prevention, control and eradication of invasive species in key biodiversity areas (KBAs); strengthening the conservation status and management of a prioritized set of 60 KBAs and building the awareness and participation of local leaders and community members in the implementation of threatened species recovery plans.

Photo of lake full of plants and animals like seaweed, mussels, and jelly fish

Features a coral island in Palau. An unusual marine lake exists in the middle of this coral island.