Reviews
"[A] very good text, especially in terms of the biotic ecological processes that it covers. In many ways, this textbook provides a really refreshing blend of ecological concepts as they apply to aquatic ecology, in addition to the basic knowledge of freshwater ecosystem organisms that a student would need to apply the concepts. We think that it is a successful, innovative and, for the most part, modern view of the study of inland waters. As seems to be the case with many current texts, this one makes full use of a variety of presentation methods: boxes, biographies, methods boxes and sidebars (which, incidentally, are not on the side). Some are more successful than others. Each chapter also ends with summary points to guide students but, more interestingly, with a series of questions. We found that most of these questions were quite useful and thought-provoking. As in much of ecology, they were often open to a variety of answers and we felt that they would be useful for promoting discussion amongst students. The authors are both primarily stream ecologists and one can often sense greater enthusiasm from them when lotic processes and organisms are discussed. Certain concepts (e.g. disturbance, fish and invertebrate ecology) are explored in greater detail, probably reflecting the authors' backgrounds and interests. However, that said, the discussion of lentic environments is not short-changed and this text would serve any general undergraduate limnology course very well. In fact, in some ways this bias has enabled the authors to provide a refreshing and balanced look at the field , as many older texts have a lake-centric focus." - Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, March 2011, "[A] very good text, especially in terms of the biotic ecological processes that it covers. In many ways, this textbook provides a really refreshing blend of ecological concepts as they apply to aquatic ecology, in addition to the basic knowledge of freshwater ecosystem organisms that a student would need to apply the concepts... We think that it is a successful, innovative and, for the most part, modern view of the study of inland waters. As seems to be the case with many current texts, this one makes full use of a variety of presentation methods: boxes, biographies, methods boxes and sidebars (which, incidentally, are not on the side). Some are more successful than others. Each chapter also ends with summary points to guide students but, more interestingly, with a series of questions. We found that most of these questions were quite useful and thought-provoking. As in much of ecology, they were often open to a variety of answers and we felt that they would be useful for promoting discussion amongst students. The authors are both primarily stream ecologists and one can often sense greater enthusiasm from them when lotic processes and organisms are discussed. Certain concepts (e.g. disturbance, fish and invertebrate ecology) are explored in greater detail, probably reflecting the authors' backgrounds and interests. However, that said, the discussion of lentic environments is not short-changed and this text would serve any general undergraduate limnology course very well. In fact, in some ways this bias has enabled the authors to provide a refreshing and balanced look at the field , as many older texts have a lake-centric focus." - Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, March 2011
