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In examining the breadth of definitions of estuaries, the authors argue that three important components need to be incorporated into the definition of an estuary: coastal containment, the mixing of freshwater with seawater, and the presence of an estuarine biota. Accordingly, in reviewing the breadth of estuarine classifications, they relate them to ecosystems defined by dominant biota, such as macrophytic vegetation – seaweeds, seagrasses, saltmarshes, and mangals. Ultimately, they argue for a primary classification system of three classes – (1) valley estuary; (2) lagoon and lake; and (3) river mouth – but question whether species diversity and associations or nutrient and productivity might provide valuable secondary diagnostics when comparing the structure and functioning of adjacent ecosystems or classifying systems according to broad ecological characteristics.

We wish to thank especially Hannah Rutland, Charlotte (Charlie) Kent, and Gemma Mattingley, successive Development Editors at Elsevier Oxford and Laura Jackson and Sue Jakeman, the production team, who have borne the burden of e-mailing authors and editors and sending out reminders when needed, and of preparing xl Preface the final publication. We also thank Laura Kelleher, the Publishing Editor at Elsevier US, who was responsible for developing the original idea and for appointing the editors.

We also thank Laura Kelleher, the Publishing Editor at Elsevier US, who was responsible for developing the original idea and for appointing the editors. We should also acknowledge that, prior to Laura, the original idea came from Frank Cynar, and after Laura’s promotion we thank John Fedor for seeing the Treatise though to its final production. 01 Introduction to Classification of Estuarine and Nearshore Coastal Ecosystems C Simenstad, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA T Yanagi, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Japan © 2011 Elsevier Inc.