Research Guides: Biological Sciences Research Guide: Marine Biology

Introduction

This guide selectively lists print and Internet reference resources in marine biology.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Treatises and Reviews
Bibliographies
Handbooks & Manuals
Taxonomic and Biodiversity Databases
Internet Subject Directories/Portals/Gateways

See also the two related research guides on Fisheries and Oceanography. The Oceanography guide in particular includes broader works that include information on marine biology, e.g. the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences.

There are two excellent starting places for identifying key literature on selected areas in marine biology:

MBREF: A Reference Source For Marine Biology Student Research (Levinton) Includes references on over 40 topics. Some topics include a list of key books and papers, classic papers and recent papers; other topics provide access to extensive web-accessible bibliographies on the specific subject.

CERF-Lit: Coastal and Estuarine Science Reference Series(Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation) Includes over 30 expertly-prepared guides in estuarine and coastal ocean science that list summary papers, classic papers, and recent contributions to help direct students, teachers, and new researchers to key literature on the topic.

As with other scientific areas most marine biology research is published in journals. For lists of marine biology journals see Literature of Oceanography: Journals. Databases that index the marine biology literature are listed in Articles and Databases: Oceanography.

Treatises and Reviews

Ecological Characterization of the Central & Northern California Coastal Region
(Jones & Stokes Associates) 1981 (FWS/OBS-80/46.2) (QH 105 C2 E36 1981 Hum Co Coll) Five volume work in eight parts. Prepared for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management as a compilation and synthesis of existing information that can be used to evaluate potential ecological consequences of urban, industrial and commercial development in the area. The bibliography is intended to be a guide to additional environmental information. The five volumes cover:

Vol. 1: Basic Ecological Concepts
Vol. 2.1: Regional Characterization
Vol. 2.2: Species - contains species accounts for 200 plant and animal species that live within the central and northern California coastal region.
Vol. 3.1: Habitats - contains ecological characterizations of 45 marine, estuarine, riverine, lacustrine (lakes), palustrine (ponds) and terrestrial habitats.
Vol. 3.2: Community Composition Lists - contains extensive listings of

The HSU Library has three annually issued publications that contain collections of review papers in marine biology.
- Advances in Marine Biology (QH 91 A1 A22)
- Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review (GC 1 O32)
- Progress in Phycological Research (QK 564 P76)
Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae (Young) 2002 (QL364.18 A74 2002) comprehensive guide to larval form and anatomy. Each chapter provides a referenced overview of life cycles, reproduction, embryology, larval life, larval form and metamorphosis in a particular group of invertebrates.
Biology of Crustacea (Bliss) 1982-1986 (QL 435 B48) 10 volumes
Marine Ecology: A Comprehensive Integrated Treatise on Life in the Oceans and Coastal Waters(Kinne) 1970-1984 (5 vols. in 13 parts) (QH 541.5 S3 K5)
Mollusca (Wilbur) 1983-1988) (QL402 M57 1983) 12 volume set.
Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates (Giese and Pearse) 1974 - (QP 251 G437) 7 volumes completed to date
Summary of Knowledge of the Central and Northern California Coastal Zone and Offshore Areas(Winzler & Kelly) 1977 (4 vols. in 7 parts) (ref GB 458.8 W56) Extensive survey of the knowledge of this area up through 1974 compiled for the Bureau of Land Management as background information for potential OCS oil leasing. Contains an 800-page bibliography.
Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology (Hedgpeth) 1957 (Geological Society of America Memoir #67) (QE 1 G29m #67) The first major treatise on marine ecology.

Bibliographies

AlgaeBase Literature
(Guiry and Dhonncha) Includes over 43,000 references on algae with a bias toward macroalgae.
Ascidian News
Bibliographia Nudibranchia
(McDonald) Attempts to list all publications on nudibranchs.

Bibliography of Opisthobranchia
(Steve Long) Includes 14,000 citations on sea slugs.

Bibliography to the World List of Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans
(Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Systematic Biology: Invertebrate Zoology) Emphasis is on taxonomic works.
Cephalopod Bibliography
(Smithsonian Institution Research Information System) Includes books, journal articles and other publications about Recent cephalopods and cephalopod related subjects (predators, prey, etc.).
CyBib Bibliographic Archive
(Schneegurt) Includes 25,000 references on cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and the genus Prochlorons
Database on Amphipod Literature
(Vader - University of Tromso) Alphabetical list by author.
Hexacorallians of the World
(Fautin) Compilation of publications concerning taxonomy, nomenclature, and geographic distribution of extant hexacorallians.
Marine Mammals Bibliography
(Smithsonian Institution Research Information System) Includes over 4,500 references to publications (books, journal articles, etc.) about marine mammals and related subjects (fisheries, food, etc.).
References on Brachiopods
(BrachNet)
References on Phoronida
(Phoronida)
SeaMounts Literature
(SeaMounts Online) Emphasis is on seamount biology.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences
(Steele, Turekian and Thorpe) 2001 (Ref GC 9 E58 2001) Six-volume set contains over 400 articles which can be used as background information on a topic and provide lists of key references (see link below).

Encyclopedia of Tide Pools and Rocky Shores (Denny and Gaines) 2007 (QH 541.5 S35 E53 2007) Includes over 200 articles.

State of the Bay
a resource for historical context and up-to-date analysis of the conditions in and around Galveston Bay. The State of the Bay includes analysis based on datasets available through December 2017
Glossary of Marine Biology
Derived from Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology by Jeffrey Levinton.

Handbooks & Manuals

Experimental Marine Biology (Mariscal) 1974 (QH 91 M26)
ICES Zooplankton Methodology Manual (Harris) 2000 (QL 123 I2 2000)
Manual of Methods in Aquatic Environmental Research, Parts 1-11 (Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (FAO Fisheries Technical Paper) (SH 1 F203)
Methods for the Study of Marine Benthos (Holme & McIntyre) 2005 (QH 91.57 D7 M47)
Methods in Marine Zooplankton Ecology (Omori & Ikeda) 1984 (QL 123 O4613 1984)
Monitoring Rocky Shores (Murry, Ambrose and Dethier) 2006 (QH 541.5 S35 M87)
Pelagic Ecology Methodology (Subba Rao) 2002 (QK 934 P44 2002)
The Shore Environment (Price, Irvine and Farnham) 1980 (QH 541.5 S35 S52) Vol 1 Methods; Vol 2 Ecosystems

Content Attribution

Some of the content of this page was created in another format by Robert Sathrum, HSU Librarian, retired 06/2013.

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Taxonomic and Biodiversity Databases

AlgaeBase
Database of information on algae that includes terrestrial, marine and freshwater organisms.
Census of Marine Life (CoML)
Purpose is to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life.
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)
Provides global geo-referenced information on marine species, with online tools for visualizing relationships among species and their environment.
WoRMS: World Register of Marine Species
Purpose is to provide the most authoritative list of names of all marine species. Contributes to the Catalogue of Life, the Encyclopedia of Life, and serves as the taxonomic backbone of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. Integrates global, regional and thematic species lists (see links below).
Catalogue of Life
Catalogue of Life (COL) is a collaboration bringing together the effort and contributions of taxonomists and informaticians from around the world. COL aims to address the needs of researchers, policy-makers, environmental managers and the wider public for a consistent and up-to-date listing of all the world’s known species. COL also supports those who need to manage their own taxonomic information and species lists.
Encyclopedia of Life

Internet Subject Directories/Portals/Gateways

Algal Web Links
(Phycological Society of America)
Biogeoinformatics of Hexacorals
(Fautin)
BrachNet
(Emig and Pardo) Guide to resources on brachiopods.
Bryozoa Home Page: Recent and Fossil Bryozoa
(Bock)
Cnidaria Home Page
(Steele-University of California, Irvine)
Copepod Web Portal
(University of L'Aquila)
Crustacean-Related Resources on the Web
(Crustacean Society)
Echinoid Directory
(Smith - Natural History Museum, London)
Marine Biology Web
(Levinton)
MarineBio
(MarineBio Conservation Society)
Phoronid@
(Emig)
Plankton*Net
Radiolaria.org
Sea Slug Forum
(Australian Museum)
Seaweed Site
(Guiry - National University of Ireland-Galway)
Slug Site
(Miller) Devoted to the study of Opisthobranch Molluscs.
World of Copepods
(Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History)