Acknowledgments
A work the size of this encyclopedia inevitably relied on
the help and cooperation of a very large number of people,
only some of whom can be identified. My particular
thanks go to the Editorial Board, an international
group of highly respected coral reef scientists. To Guy
Cabioch, Peter Davies, Terry Done, Eberhardt Gischler,
Ian Macintyre, Rachel Wood, and Colin Woodroffe, thank
you for keeping this project on course by helping to
choose the topics which form the entries, suggesting
high-quality authors, reviewing the initial manuscripts,
and finally checking the proofs with your selected groups
of authors as well as writing important contributions
yourselves.
This leads to the largest group I wish to acknowledge,
the authors of the 260 entries which range in size from
a few hundred words up to major contributions of
10,000 words. Many authors have also taken on more than
one entry within their speciality area. Also, with authors
from 15 different countries for many, English is not their
first language, yet, with help from the Editorial Board
and from Springer, they have provided quality articles.
Inevitably, with such a large group of people there have
been problems with illness, with members of their family,
etc. and yet, the overall production has not deviated to any
great extent from the original timetable. The writers of the
articles are highly commended for their dedication to the
work.
At the production end of this project has been the
staff of Springer. Their help, understanding, and cooperation, especially when small problems arose, is something
I cannot appreciate enough. Their patient collaboration
with authors and board did much to maintain the smooth
timetable. Special acknowledgment must go to Petra van
Steenbergen, Sylvia Blago, and Simone Giesler, who were
involved with the encyclopedia from start to finish,
a period of over 3 years. In particular, their decision to
accept so many color illustrations has done much to add to
the attractiveness and interpretation of these entries on coral
reefs. Advice, especially in the formative stages, from Charlie Finkl, himself a coastal scientist, and a Series Editor for
the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, did much to
guide the project along the most effective tracks.
In many works like this, thanks are expressed to the
editor’s/author’s spouse for their patience and support.
My appreciation to Patricia goes far beyond this as without her many hours of support, the project would not have
been completed. Not only did she run an efficient office,
maintaining a most complex filing system and, due to my
own deficiencies, taking on responsibilities for all communications but also she provided continuous motivation
through the many hours she spent, furthering the project.
Finally, to the many unnamed people who have contributed to the encyclopedia, thank you for your time and effort
and I hope the final product meets with your approval.
A work the size of this encyclopedia inevitably relied on
the help and cooperation of a very large number of people,
only some of whom can be identified. My particular
thanks go to the Editorial Board, an international
group of highly respected coral reef scientists. To Guy
Cabioch, Peter Davies, Terry Done, Eberhardt Gischler,
Ian Macintyre, Rachel Wood, and Colin Woodroffe, thank
you for keeping this project on course by helping to
choose the topics which form the entries, suggesting
high-quality authors, reviewing the initial manuscripts,
and finally checking the proofs with your selected groups
of authors as well as writing important contributions
yourselves.
This leads to the largest group I wish to acknowledge,
the authors of the 260 entries which range in size from
a few hundred words up to major contributions of
10,000 words. Many authors have also taken on more than
one entry within their speciality area. Also, with authors
from 15 different countries for many, English is not their
first language, yet, with help from the Editorial Board
and from Springer, they have provided quality articles.
Inevitably, with such a large group of people there have
been problems with illness, with members of their family,
etc. and yet, the overall production has not deviated to any
great extent from the original timetable. The writers of the
articles are highly commended for their dedication to the
work.
At the production end of this project has been the
staff of Springer. Their help, understanding, and cooperation, especially when small problems arose, is something
I cannot appreciate enough. Their patient collaboration
with authors and board did much to maintain the smooth
timetable. Special acknowledgment must go to Petra van
Steenbergen, Sylvia Blago, and Simone Giesler, who were
involved with the encyclopedia from start to finish,
a period of over 3 years. In particular, their decision to
accept so many color illustrations has done much to add to
the attractiveness and interpretation of these entries on coral
reefs. Advice, especially in the formative stages, from Charlie Finkl, himself a coastal scientist, and a Series Editor for
the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, did much to
guide the project along the most effective tracks.
In many works like this, thanks are expressed to the
editor’s/author’s spouse for their patience and support.
My appreciation to Patricia goes far beyond this as without her many hours of support, the project would not have
been completed. Not only did she run an efficient office,
maintaining a most complex filing system and, due to my
own deficiencies, taking on responsibilities for all communications but also she provided continuous motivation
through the many hours she spent, furthering the project.
Finally, to the many unnamed people who have contributed to the encyclopedia, thank you for your time and effort
and I hope the final product meets with your approval.