Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters
Average Rating: out of 4 Reviews
Price: $89.95
Sale: $59.45
Manufacturer: Springer
EAN (European Article Number): 9781402055829
Number of Items: 1
Binding: Paperback
Author: J. David Allan::MarĂa M. Castillo
Publisher: Springer
Edition: 2nd
Dewey Decimal Number: 577.64
Publication Date: 2007-09-14
Reading Level: 436
Description:
Stream Ecology by Allan and Castillo is extensively revised and updated from the successful first edition to include major developments over the past decade. Although the subject matter is relatively advanced, this book has been written with the express goal of being accessible to students with only modest backgrounds in ecology and aquatic sciences. The First Edition was widely praised for its readability, and that emphasis is retained. The second edition opens with a new introductory chapter that sets the stage for what follows. The treatment of geomorphology and hydrology are greatly expanded from the first edition, and have been split into two, more substantial chapters. Basal energy resources, trophic roles and food web interactions are retained but thoroughly updated, particularly to include recent advances in microbial ecology and the synergies between producers and decomposers. The discussion of species interactions has been re-organized so that modern topics receive more emphasis, including trophic cascades, subsidies and food web structure. Chapters on organic matter dynamics and nutrient cycling have been substantially re-written to reflect the enormous growth in knowledge of stream metabolism and nutrient processes, the core of ecosystem functioning. The closing chapter on human impacts summarizes the status of river ecosystems and principal threats, and new material that describes advances in river management including the science of environmental flows, the successes and failures of river restoration, and the potential for ecosystem-based catchment management.
Customer Reviews
Review Summary: This text has few pictures but...
Date: 2008-10-26
Details: The composition and content of this text make up for a lack of illustrations, which are black and white photos or graphs.
Review Summary: Accessible to Scientists - Not Fishermen
Date: 2008-10-25
Details: My interest in this book followed from a desire to obtain information that might help me outwit wild and wily trout by any and every means possible. And sure enough, this book contains a wealth of information. The only problem is that much of it is incomprehensible to the lay reader as opposed to the scientific community.
For instance, here's what I encountered as I researched what and how fish eat (feeding ecology of riverine fishes): "Herbivorous fishes with scraping mouthparts such as the stoneroller Campostoma anomalum clearly have little in common with ooze feeders such as the blunt-nose minnow Pimephales notatus. Some benthic invertebrate feeders utilize prey primarily from soft bottoms (the suckermouth minnow Phenacobius mirabilis), others from stony bottoms (the greenside darter Etheostoma blennioides)."
OK...
On the other hand, for biologists and advanced students of ecology the book presents a comprehensive exposition of technical information. And the rest of us, who may not be equipped to cut through the scientific jargon, will still take away a sense of the intricacy and complexity of the living systems of streams and rivers.
Review Summary: Disappointing
Date: 2007-11-17
Details: since this is the best text on the subject. Cluttered and difficult, reads more like a literature review than a textbook. There is no glossary and the index isn't very good. The figures are hard to interpret without reading the text. The drawings are poor quality. On the other hand, it is packed with information. Anything you want to know about stream ecology is in here, its just difficult to access.
Review Summary: Great book, and reference
Date: 2007-01-11
Details: Use this to go back to over and over again. Also helps to explain for all levels of understanding.