Chapter 18
The Coasts and Their Costs
O. Pérez-Maqueo, M. L. Martínez, D. Lithgow,
G. Mendoza-González, R. A. Feagin and J. B. Gallego-Fernández
18.1 Introduction
Coastal dunes are unique ecosystems with considerable ecological, social, and
economic relevance (Martínez et al. 2004a, b). Ecologically, they are unique
because they include species with specific tolerance to burial by sand and salinity
(Maun 2009; Gallego-Fernández and Martínez 2011). These species share their
functional responses to the peculiar environment of the coastal dunes and yet their
phylogeny is very diverse, providing a clear example of evolutionary convergence
in both plants and animals. They are also the preferred site to test the theory of
successional dynamics (Martínez et al. 2001; Feagin et al. 2005; Isermann 2011).
O. Pérez-Maqueo (&)
Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Antigua carretera
a Coatepec No. 351, El Haya 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
e-mail: octavio.maqueo@inecol.edu.mx
M. L. Martínez Á D. Lithgow Á G. Mendoza-González
Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Antigua carretera a Coatepec
No. 351, El Haya 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
e-mail: marisa.martinez@inecol.edu.mx
R. A. Feagin
Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
e-mail: feaginr@tamu.edu
J. B. Gallego-Fernández
Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla,
Ap.1095 41080 Sevilla, Spain
e-mail: galfer@us.es
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_18,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
289
The Coasts and Their Costs
O. Pérez-Maqueo, M. L. Martínez, D. Lithgow,
G. Mendoza-González, R. A. Feagin and J. B. Gallego-Fernández
18.1 Introduction
Coastal dunes are unique ecosystems with considerable ecological, social, and
economic relevance (Martínez et al. 2004a, b). Ecologically, they are unique
because they include species with specific tolerance to burial by sand and salinity
(Maun 2009; Gallego-Fernández and Martínez 2011). These species share their
functional responses to the peculiar environment of the coastal dunes and yet their
phylogeny is very diverse, providing a clear example of evolutionary convergence
in both plants and animals. They are also the preferred site to test the theory of
successional dynamics (Martínez et al. 2001; Feagin et al. 2005; Isermann 2011).
O. Pérez-Maqueo (&)
Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Antigua carretera
a Coatepec No. 351, El Haya 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
e-mail: octavio.maqueo@inecol.edu.mx
M. L. Martínez Á D. Lithgow Á G. Mendoza-González
Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Antigua carretera a Coatepec
No. 351, El Haya 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
e-mail: marisa.martinez@inecol.edu.mx
R. A. Feagin
Spatial Sciences Laboratory, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA
e-mail: feaginr@tamu.edu
J. B. Gallego-Fernández
Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla,
Ap.1095 41080 Sevilla, Spain
e-mail: galfer@us.es
M. L. Martínez et al. (eds.), Restoration of Coastal Dunes, Springer Series
on Environmental Management, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_18,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
289