General Acknowledgements
There are many individuals I must thank for their generous assistance in bringing this
document to its present form.
First, I absolutely have to thank Dr. Howard M. Feder, my undergraduate mentor in the
study of invertebrates at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. In addition to recently
offering me invaluable critical commentary on improving this work’s accuracy, some 21
years ago he was my instructor in an extremely exciting and thorough invertebrate
zoology course. The great enthusiasm and knowledge that Dr. Feder brought to his
instruction of invertebrates went far beyond the scope of the standard undergraduate
biology course. This did much to deepen my fascination with these animals. In addition,
Dr. Feder has spent many, many hours during the past three years editing this document.
In this endeavor, he strived to reveal every detail that could be improved upon. For his
exceptional pedagogical work, his unflagging encouragement in all my academic efforts,
and his tremendous effort as an editor of this document, this book is dedicated to Dr.
Howard M. Feder.
Partial funding for the production of this document was provided through the generous
support of Alaska Sea Grant (Fairbanks division). Much gratitude is thus extended to
Alaska Sea Grant for this support.
Dr. Gayle Hansen of Oregon State University deserves the highest praise and thanks for
wholly rewriting the chapters on seagrasses and algae, extensively editing the chapter on
bacteria, and providing excellent suggestions for the classification chapter and adding
algal terms to the glossary. Indeed, Dr. Hansen’s changes were so extensive that she is
now a contributing author for the book. These portions of the book were much improved
as a result of her expert knowledge in these fields. Again, my deepest appreciation is
extended to this most knowledgeable and hard working professional.
Funding for this project was provided by Alaska Sea Grant (Fairbanks office) and The
Alaska SeaLife Center. I am very grateful for the support provided by both of these
outstanding institutions.
Very special gratitude is extended to Tylan Schrock, executive director of The Alaska
SeaLife Center, and Richard Blythe, visitor services director. Indeed, through accepting
the copyright and thereby overseeing critical aspects of its production, both of these
individuals endorsed this book for use by the Alaska SeaLife center.
I am very appreciative to Theresa Zabala, ASLC Education and Volunteer Coordinator,
for having taken me on as a volunteer interpreter during the summer of 2003. It was this
experience that gave me the idea to write this book (although I originally conceived it as
a 40 – 60 page “handbook”!). Certainly Theresa’s encouragement was essential to its
completion.
The book is also very much indebted to Steve Carrick, ASLC Manager of Exhibits and
Interpretive Services. It was Steve who believed in the book’s potential and also insisted
that I expand the number of species described from the original 106 to the present 291.
In addition,
Steve has worked very hard in getting the manual’s text, pictures, and photographs into a
proper computer format. As the old saying goes, I couldn’t have done it without him!
Chad Lockwood offered provided a much appreciated critical reading of the chapter on
birds. His expertise in this area was therefore of great help.
The illustrations for this book were produced by graphics artist Nathan Chambers. Thank
you, Nathan, for your patience and excellent workmanship in producing these images.
For help in locating vital sources of information and use of research/computer facilities, I
heartily thank Dr. Philip W. Willink, Division of Fishes at Chicago’s Field Museum of
Natural History. I also must extend my appreciation to Dr. Janet Voight, of the Field
Museum’s Invertebrate Division, for her critical commentaries on cephalopods. Indeed,
many other individuals (including especially librarians) at the Field Museum were most
congenial and helpful towards my efforts in completing this book
Finally, I am greatly indebted to three of my family members as well. First, many thanks
to my sister Paula M. Uscian–Johnson for critical commentaries that improved the text.
In addition, I extend the deepest appreciation to my mother and now deceased father,
both of whom provided me with marine aquariums, vacations to the sea/ocean, and
related experiences when I was younger. All of these helped me to develop an even
deeper love for and fascination with marine life.