Product Description
Freshwater algae are among the most diverse and ubiquitous organisms on earth.They occupy an enormous range of ecological conditions from lakes and rivers to acidic peat swamps, inland saline lakes, snow and ice, damp soils, wetlands, desert soils, wastewater treatment plants, and are symbionts in and on many plants, fungi, and animals.In North America, the variety of freshwater habitats colonized by algae is very rich, and offers an enormous and fascinating range of environments for their study.They form the base of most aquatic food webs and are critical to studies of ecosystem health.Algal ecologists and taxonomists play an important role in the understanding of aquatic ecosystems: their biodiversity, productivity, interactions with other organisms, and water quality.This book provides in one volume a practical and comprehensive guide to the genera of freshwater algae known from North America.The format combines the necessary ecological, taxonomic and methodological information for all scientists working in aquatic environments, whether their specialty is in environmental monitoring and water quality assessment, biological composition, ecology, evolution, or molecular biology.

Key Features
* The first complete accounting of North America's freshwater algal genera in more than 50 years
* Includes a guide to the current literature on species identification in each group of algae
* High-quality photographs and drawings of more than 770 genera
* A clear, easy-to-use introductory key to the diagnostic chapters
* Synthetic chapters on freshwater habitats, use of algae in environmental assessment, and control of nuisance algae
* Contributions from 27 experts in all areas of freshwater algae
* Extensive literature citations
* Companion volume of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates 2nd edition, edited by Throp and Covich ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A FUNDAMENTAL CONTRIBUTION
THIS PUBLICATION IS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE FOR THOSE WORKING IN AQUATIC BIOLOGY. IN THIS BOOK IS EASY TO FIND INFORMATION ON ECOLOGY AND AND SYSTEMATICS OF FRESHWATER ALGAE. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT COLOR PAGES ARE NOT PRESENT PARTICULARLY OF MICROSCOPIC ALGAE FOR IDENTIFICATION ANALYSES. HOWEVER, THE PUBLICATION IS VERY HELPFUL IN PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION.

UNA EXCELENTE RECOPILACIÓN
Magnífico estudio de los diferentes grupos de algas de agua dulce presentes en el N del continente americano. Contiene claves, descripciones, y gran cantidad de documentos gráficos. Muy útil para quienes estén interesados en el conocimiento de estos organismos y no sólo de Norteamérica, también de Europa.

algae reference
This book is a must for the reference library or for the laboratory of pesons who study algae or microscopic aquatic organisms. While it does not substitute for the collective contributions of other scientists over time, it is a great first stop for those who are interested in these organisms. For many there will be no need to search further.
The book is organized in a conventional manner with major groups treated in separate chapters. It is easy to use and well-illustrated. It will find a home with scientists, students, and interested lay persons alike.

A Much Needed Updating of Smith
It has been over 50 years since the last edition (1950) of Smith's "Freshwater Algae of the United States" and much has changed in our knowledge of the classification of the "Algae".These are now known to contain several quite different organisms from Euglena to Chara and from diatoms to desmids and Spirogyra.The flora is huge and often poorly known.Thus it was with some enthusiasm that I welcomed the publication of this massive tome.A much-needed updating of Smith's classic book and more, it contains numerous black and white photos and drawings, plus extensive bibliographies for each chapter. I also much appreciate the keys, having been involved in writing several for spider genera. The only down side is the rather high price, which is quite a bit more than its companion volume on freshwater invertebrates.

I don't fault this book for lack of color because that might have easily made it even more expensive.If you want to see color photos of algae, and indeed very good ones, try "Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored" by Hilda Canter-Lund and her husband J. W. Lund.

Despite the cost, I recommend this book as essential for anyone trying to understand the North American freshwater algal flora.

Review
One thing I look for in a book are color photos from "the wild". I didn't see any of that, but there's plenty of information to go through and lots of references for further study. ... Read more

Product Description
The Mekong is the most controversial river in Southeast Asia, and increasingly the focus of international attention. It flows through 6 counties, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam.The 4 downstream countries have formed the Mekong River Commission to promote sustainable development of the river and many of their people depend on it for their subsistence ? it has possible the largest freshwater fishery in the world, and the Mekong waters support rice agriculture in the delta in Viet Nam (which produces about 40% of that country's food) as well as in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

China is now building the first large mainstream dam on the river, and has proposals for several more.These dams are likely to affect the downstream countries. Several of the downstream countries also have plans for large scale hydropower and irrigation development which could also impact the river.

This book will provide a solid overview of the biophysical environment of the Mekong together with a discussion of the possible impacts, biophysical, economic and social, of some possible development scenarios.It is intended to provide a technical basis which can inform the growing political and conservation debate about the future of the Mekong River, and those who depend on it. It is aimed at river ecologists, geographers, environmentalists and development specialists both in the basin and (especially) outside for whom access to this material is most difficult.

This book will be the first comprehensive treatment of the Mekong system



Key Features

* The first comprehensive overview of all aspects of the Mekong River system.

* Deals with a regionally critical ecosystem and one under threat.

* The Mekong supports the world's largest freshwater fishery and provides water underpinning a major regional rice paddy system.

* Presents the authoritative findings of the Mekong River Commission's research for a wider audience for the first time outside of limited distribution reports
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Provides context for the political debate
There has been a lot of technical material produced, particularly on the Lower Mekong, but much of it is difficult to access, fragmented since much of it was produced for short-term consultancies of research projects, and not all of it is reliable.This book addresses that issue. Technical information cannot resolve the debate about the future of the Mekong, but it is critical to making sure it is at least informed. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a compendium of molecular biologyapplications for the study of aquatic community ecology. Thecollection presents the diversity of approaches that have been used,and provides future directions for the study of `molecular ecology' ofaquatic communities, from viruses to fish, and in aquatic systemsranging from freshwater streams and lakes to estuaries and oceans.This collection of papers will provide a useful text and resource forupper-level undergraduate and graduate students in ecology, as well asfor the researcher and educator. ... Read more

Product Description
The percid fishes (or perch family) comprise many species including the perch, pikeperch, yellow perch, walleye and the darters. These species are of great ecological and economic importance, being important components of the freshwater ecosystem and recreational and commercial fisheries.

Percid Fishes covers aspects such as systematics, morphology, biology, ecology, diseases and parasites and the economic importance of percid fisheries. Special emphasis is placed within the book on the complex relationship between this family of fishes and their environment and how they respond to perturbations, especially those induced by humans.

The author, John Craig who has a great deal of experience working on these fishes in many of the countries in which they occur, has drawn together an extremely important book which provides a unique, comprehensive and indispensable review of this most significant group of fish. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is about freshwater fish in streams, lakes,reservoirs, and special habitats around the world. It addressesapproximately twentymajor topics in freshwater fish ecology in aformat suitable for usein graduate-level courses. The book focuseson basic ecology andcontains much data from fisheries ecology. Dr.Matthews explains theway in which empirical studies, theoreticalconcepts, andexperimental evaluations blend into the currentstate-of-the-art withrespect to each major topic, and providesoriginal data andinterpretations on some points as well as newsyntheses. Each chaptercontains empirical information, a synthesis,and a summary. ... Read more

Product Description
Streams around the world flow toward the sea in floodplains.All along this transit, there is exchange of water between the stream itself and the surrounding sediments which form the floodplain.Many chemical, biological, and geological processes occur when water moves back and forth between streams and these flood plain sediments.Streams and Groundwaters focuses on the consequences of water flow between streams, their underlying sediments, and surrounding landscapes.Certain to appeal to anyone interested in stream ecology, the management of stream ecosystems, or landscape ecology, this volume should become a oft-opened reference. ... Read more

Product Description
Riparian Landscapes examines the ecological systems of streamside and floodplain areas from the perspective of landscape ecology. The author describes the specific spatial pattern of riparian vegetation as a result of, and a control on, the ecological, geomorphological, and hydrological processes that operate along rivers. He also discusses the role of the riparian zone in controlling species distribution and abundance and highlights the intelligent management of these valuable ecological resources. Finally, Malanson explores the potential for linking hydrological, geomorphological and ecological simulation models. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Outstanding Text, Authoritative and Comprehensive
Malanson's book deals with the interweaving of principles of biogeographywith those of landscape ecology, using riparian landscapes as his studysetting.He skillfully illustrates the importance of such landscapes fromboth a physical and a sociocultural perspective.His work is based onextensive scientific research on rivers and their edges, in Iowa, Montana,and Utah.He is The Authority on this topic. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume comprises the proceedings of an International Symposium convened by the British Ecological Society and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. The contributors identify similarities and differences between freshwater and marine ecosystems, and examine the extent to which the scale of approach influences the patterns observed and the underlying processes implied. The authorship is truly international and the coverage ranges over the whole spectrum of aquatic systems, from small temporary pockets of water held on plant stems, to the deep oceans. The temporal scales addressed range from short term behaviour to evolutionary biology, biogeographic patterns and palaeoecology . This book is the first comprehensive attempt to address interactions between pattern and process at different spatio-temporal scales in aquatic ecosystems ... Read more

Product Description

It is a well-known fact that eutrophication of coastal waters causes significant changes in the species composition of the primary producers. Usually a shift from an ecosystem dominated by sea grasses or large brown algae to an ecosystem dominated by fast-growing green algae or phytoplankton is observed. While this shift has been documented in a number of research papers and books, the consequences of this shift are less well known. This book focuses on the consequences of such changes for nutrient cycling.

The aim is to investigate how different types of primary producers influence nutrient cycling in coastal marine waters, and how nutrient cycling changes qualitatively and quantitatively as a consequence of the changes in the primary producer community caused by eutrophication. The various chapters address specific ecological processes such as grazing, decomposition, burial and export of biomass from the ecosystem. The book is intended for researchers and professionals working in the field of coastal marine ecology and estuarine ecology and for advanced students in this field.

Product Description
Aquatic hyphomycetes were discovered 50 years ago by C.T. Ingold. They remained a relatively obscure group until their role as intermediaries between deciduous leaves and stream invertebrates was established some 20 years ago. This book, for the first time, provides a comprehensive summary and critical evaluation of the biology and ecology of these organisms. A special effort was made to evaluate the potential and actual insight that have been or will be derived from work in related disciplines such as the ecology of other fungal groups, stream ecology, or population ecology. The topics treated include the basic life history of the fungi and the potential role of wood, a discussion of how the fungi have adjusted to life in running water, their interactions with invertebrates, the attachment and germination of their spores, what is known about sexual reproduction, how water chemistry may influence their distribution and activity, how they react to human degradation of their environment, and a summary of the research done on the Indian subcontinent. The volume is of special interest to mycologists and stream ecologists and should facilitate the entry of new workers into this exciting area. ... Read more

Product Description
This book represents the only collective international effort that provides individuals and agencies with a broad perspective of ecotonal communities at the land-water interface, and the value of those ecotones in maintaining the long-term vitality of aquatic environments in this rapidly changing world. The text focuses on the natural features and the management potential of ecotones occurring at the aquatic-terrestrial interface of continental waters. ... Read more

Product Description
Contributed articles. ... Read more

Product Description
The limnological study of Toolik Lake began in the Summer of1975. This research was an outgrowth of the arctic IBP project whichhad focused mainly on small Arctic pond ecosystems on the AlaskanArctic coastal plain. It was thought desirable to study larger, deeperlakes which contained fish to further generalizations developed duringthe IBP study.
Initial research on Toolik Lake and the surrounding lakes and pondsfocused on process studies such as annual primary productivity of thelake or the vertical migration patterns of the resident zooplankton.In 1983 the philosophy of the research changed with the funding of amore integrated programme. The fundamental question posed was whetherArctic lake and stream ecosystems are regulated from the bottom up bynutrient availability or from the top down by the density and activityof top predators.
In 1987 the Toolik Lake area was designated an LTER (Long-TermEcological Research) site, one of 18 such sites throughout the UnitedStates, Puerto Rico and the Antarctic. The research theme for theArctic LTER also focuses on the regulation of Arctic ecosystems,whether regulation comes from the top down or bottom up. The ArcticLTER also incorporates a terrestrial component as well as a lake andstream component.
... Read more

Product Description
Aquatic microbial ecology, a growing interdisciplinary field, has become increasingly compartmentalized in recent years. The aim of this volume is to propose a framework for biochemical and molecular approaches, which are employed ever more widely in studies of aquatic microbial communities and ecosystem functioning. The book presents state of the art applications of modern molecular research techniques to a range of topics in ectoenzymes microbial carbon metabolism bacterial population dynamics RNA chemotaxonomy of microbial communities plasmids and adaptation to environmental conditions. Written for limnologists, marine biologists, and all researchers interested in environmental microbiology and molecular aspects of ecology, this volume will provide a stimulating introduction to this emerging field. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is concerned with new applications of molecular biology techniques to aquatic microbiology and demonstrates the potential to solve some intractable problems. It deals in depth with topics ranging from the ability of molecular techniques to characterize assemblages of microorganisms which cannot be cultured, to novel ways to measure rates of production. In addition to the chapters which emphasize the molecular approach, a number of contributions, written by eminent aquatic microbiologists, highlight important processes that are making rapid progress. ... Read more

Product Description
Wetlands perform a host of ecological and hydrological functions that benefit mankind. Some of the most important functions of wetlands are their roles in water supply, water purification, recycling of nutrients, recharging of ground water, maintaining stream flow and flood control etc. wetlands are considered to be the best habitats for fish, wildlife, fodder, fuel, and offer recreation to the society. In spite of its great ecological significance, in recent times, the wetlands are neglected and their habitats degraded due to indiscriminate exploitation of its resource in many parts of India, Particularly in the NE Region. Now the management and conservation of the wetlands and sustainable utilization of their resources has become on e of the greatest challenges of 21st century.The present book is a synthesis of an intensive research made by several professors, scientists and ecologists over decades on the wetlands of the NE region. Over 26 articles on various aspects of wetlands viz. ecology, limnology, hydrology, microbiology, biology, biodiversity, conservation, community participation, traditional utilization of resource etc. are included. These research articles will play a key role in opening new vista play a key role in opening new vista in the field of welted research and conservation. The book would be immensely useful to everyone dealing of with ecology and conservation of wetlands such as wetland managers, conservationists, scientists, researchers, teachers, decision-makers, students and local communities as well. ... Read more