This book invites snorkelers and divers on an educational visit to the most important ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea. Keystone species from brown algae to dolphins are presented in their marine habitats and understood as part of a complex ecological system. Instead of grouping animals and plants taxonomically, we have organised them according to the eight main habitats of the Mediterranean Sea. Our journey starts with different types of rocky grounds, then takes you further to the Mediterraneans sandy and muddy grounds, and finally ends with the fish and dolphins of the blue open sea.

You will be introduced to 220 ecologically significant animal and plant species via the texts of Daniel Abed-Navandi, a long-time lecturer on the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea at the University of Vienna, and the photographs of Georg Glaeser, the master behind the camera, who captures marine life on the spot.

Georg Glaeser is a Professor of Mathematics and Geometry at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. As an author of numerous books on the topics of mathematics, geometry, computer graphics and photography, he simultaneously indulges a deep passion for animal photography. He specializes in a unique synthesis that bridges mathematics and biology through the prism of popular science.
Among his publications are -- in collaboration with renowned biologists -- three books published by Springer-Verlag on the evolution of the eye, of flying, and of biological macrostructures.

Daniel Abed-Navandiis deputy director and curator in Vienna's "Haus-des-Meeres" and lecturer for marine biology at the Department of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Vienna.

Habitat: Sunlit Rocky Grounds.- Habitat: Shady Rocky Grounds.- Habitat: Dark Caves.- Habitat: Intertidal Zone.- Habitat: Sandy Grounds.- Habitat: Seagrass.- Habitat: Muddy Grounds.- Habitat: Open Waters.- Humans and the Sea.