Seals, seabirds, whales and dolphins are at the top of marine food chains: studying their ecology can help identify and monitor changes in wider marine ecosystems. This book examines our current understanding of marine predator ecology and investigates how it can be used in management and conservation of marine habitats. Preface 1. Introduction I. L. Boyd, S. Wanless and C. J. Campheysen 2. Effects of fisheries on ecosystems: just another top predator? Andrew W. Trites, Villy Christensen and Daniel Pauly 3. Physical forcing in the southwest Atlantic: ecosystem control P. N. Trathan, E. J. Murphy, J. Forcada, J. P. Croxall, K. Reid and S. E. Thorpe 4. The use of biologically meaningful oceanographic indices to separate the effects of climate and fisheries on seabird breeding success B. E. Scott, J. Sharples, S. Wanless, O. Ross, M. Frederiksen and F. Daunt 5. Linking predator foraging behaviour and diet with variability in continental shelf ecosystems: grey seals of eastern Canada W. D. Bowen, C. A. Beck, S. J. Iverson, D. Austin, and J. I. McMillan 6. Distribution and foraging interactions of seabirds and marine mammals in the North Sea: multi-species foraging assemblages and habitat-specific feeding strategies. C. J. Camphuysen, Beth Scott and Sarah Wanless 7. Spatial and temporal variation in the diets of polar bears across the Canadian Arctic: indicators of changes in prey populations and environment Sara J. Iverson, Ian Stirling, and Shelley L. C. Lang 8. Biophysical influences on seabird trophic assessments W. A. Montevecchi, S. Garthe and G. K. Davoren 9. Consequences of prey distribution for the foraging behaviour of top predators Iain J Staniland, Phil Trathan and Anthony R. Martin 10. Identifying drivers of change did fisheries play a role in the spread of North Atlantic fulmars? Paul M. Thompson 11. Monitoring predator-prey interactions using multiple predator species: the South Georgia experience J. P. Croxall 12. Impacts of oceanography on the foraging dynamics of seabirds in the North Sea F. Daunt, S. Wanless, G. Peters, S. Benvenuti, J. Sharples, D. Gr&#233 millet and B. Scott 13. Foraging energetics of North Sea birds confronted with fluctuating prey availability M. R. Enstipp, F. Daunt, S. Wanless, E. M. Humphreys, K. C. Hamer, S. Benvenuti and D. Gr&#233 millet 14. How many fish should we leave in the sea for seabirds and marine mammals? Robert W. Furness 15. Does the prohibition of industrial fishing for sandeels have any impact on local gadoid populations? Simon P. R. Greenstreet 16. Use of gannets to monitor prey availability in the NE Atlantic Ocean: colony size, diet and foraging behaviour Keith C. Hamer, Sue Lewis, Sarah Wanless, Richard A. Phillips, Tom N. Sherratt, Elizabeth M. Humphreys, Janos Hennicke and Stefan Garthe 17. Population dynamics of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba at South Georgia - sampling with predators provides new insights K. Reid, E. J. Murphy, J. P. Croxall and P. N. Trathan 18. The functional response of generalist predators and its implications for the monitoring of marine ecosystems Christian Asseburg, John Harwood, Jason Matthiopoulos and Sophie Smout 19. The method of multiple hypotheses and the decline of Steller Sea Lions in western Alaska Nicholas Wolf, Jason Melbourne and Marc Mangel 20. Modelling the behaviour of individuals and groups of animals foraging in heterogeneous environments J. G. Ollason, J. M. Yearsley, K. Liu and N. Ren 21. The scenario Barents Sea study: a case of minimal realistic modelling to compare management strategies for marine ecosystems Tore Schweder 22. Setting management goals using information from predators Andrew J. Constable 23. Marine reserves and higher predators Sascha K. Hooker 24. Marine management: can objectives be set for marine top predators? Mark L. Tasker.