Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification (Aquatic Ecology) - Hardcover

Wehr, John D.

9780127415505: Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification (Aquatic Ecology)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0127415505 ISBN 13: 9780127415505

Publisher: Academic Press, 2002

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

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Review:

"Freshwater phycologists and aquatic microscopists will welcome this book as the first comprehensive, single-volume treatment of the freshwater algae in over half a century...The Editors and their Contributors have done an outstanding job in synthesizing this mass of data, and there is no doubt that this work will be a standard reference, to be followed by up-dated editions."
-MODERN MICROSCOPY JOURNAL (2005)

"This is an excellent book that provides extensive taxonomic information that has previously been difficult to access by any but taxonomic specialists. ...Any student, researcher, or environmental management professional who routinely works with freshwater ecology should have access to this authoritative and thorough book."
―Walter Doods, Kansas State University (August 2002)

"This will be a welcome addition to the shelf of phycological researchers and teachers. The coverage is comprehensive both taxonomically in the range of ecological topics. For those of us specializing in freshwater algae, whether it be identifying them or studying their ecology, this kind of text will be an invaluable reference work."
―Richard M. McCourt, Associate Curator of Botany, The Academy of Natural Sciences (2002)

"...finally after half a century we freshwater phycologists have a single, comprehensive volume that updates G.M. Smith's Freshwater Algae of the United States. It is truly impressive work...Students, water management types and experienced phycologists will all feel the need to dig out heir plankton nets and scum scrapers, resurrect their hip boots and make some wet mounts just to get a chance to use this book."
―James Wee, Loyola University (2002)

About the Author:

Dr. James H. Thorp has been a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS, USA) and a Senior Scientist in the Kansas Biological Survey since 2001. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Prof. Thorp was a Distinguished Professor and Dean at Clarkson University, Department Chair and Professor at the University of Louisville, Associate Professor and Director of the Calder Ecology Center of Fordham University, Visiting Associate Professor at Cornell, and Research Ecologist at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. He received his Baccalaureate from the University of Kansas (KU) and both Masters and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State. Those degrees focused on zoology, ecology, and marine biology, with an emphasis on the ecology of freshwater and marine invertebrates. Dr. Thorp is currently on the editorial board of two journals (River Research and Applications and River Systems) and is a former President of the International Society for River Science. He teaches freshwater, marine, and general ecological courses at KU, and his Masters and doctoral graduate students work on various aspects of the ecology of organisms, communities, and ecosystems in rivers, reservoirs, and wetlands. Prof. Thorp’s research interests and background are highly diverse and span the gamut from organismal biology to community, ecosystem, and macrosystem ecology. He works on both fundamental and applied research topics using descriptive, experimental, and modeling approaches in the field and lab. While his research emphasizes aquatic invertebrates, he also studies fish ecology, especially as related to food webs. He has published more than one hundred refereed journal articles, books, and chapters, including three single-volume editions of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates (edited by J.H. Thorp and A.P. Covich) and the first volume (Ecology and General Biology) in the current fourth edition.

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