Brown Seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) of Britain and Ireland

Brown Seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) of Britain and Ireland provides the first complete, up-to-date, detailed illustrated guide and keys to the nearly 200 species of brown algae present around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. It is the culmination of over 30 years of field and laboratory studies by the author.

Following an exhaustive introduction that covers the biology and ecology of brown seaweeds, a checklist of species is set out, followed by clear and user-friendly keys to the genera. Particular attention is then paid to providing detailed illustrations, and the volume holds more than 300 compound plates of line drawings and photographs in its extensive taxonomic treatment. Comprehensive information is given on the geographical and seasonal distributions, synonymy, morphology, anatomy, cytology, reproduction, life histories, taxonomy, systematics and bibliographic material pertaining to each species.

Notably, this flora offers a much fuller consideration of many of the lesser known, more cryptic microscopic brown algae than previously available. Further, the book also contains the results of much original research undertaken by the author. This will surely remain a standard reference work on brown seaweeds for many years to come - an indispensable research tool and field guide for phycologists and students throughout the North Atlantic region and beyond.

Robert Fletcher is a Visiting Reader at the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Portsmouth, UK, where he has worked since 1971. He has published widely on aspects of the ecology, life histories, molecular biology, taxonomy and applied aspects of marine algae, with particular respect to the brown algae. He is a member of both the British Society of Phycology and the International Society of Phycology. He received his PhD in Marine Botany from the University of London, UK in 1974.