The Biology and Ecology of Streams and Rivers

Description

Provides a concise, current and accessible overview of running water systems. The book's unifying focus is on rivers and streams as ecosystems in which the particular identity of organisms is not the main emphasis but rather the processes in which they are involved - specifically energy flow and the cycling of materials.

• Provides a concise, current and accessible overview of the biology and ecology of running water systems
• Emphasis throughout is on rivers and streams as ecosystems and the providers of ecosystem services
• Adopts an applied approach, describing both how humans affect rivers and are affected by them
• Enlivened with 'Topic Boxes' from a diverse selection of leading river scientists describing issues of contemporary importance

About the Author(s)

Alan Hildrew, Professor of Ecology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Paul Giller, Professor of Zoology and Ecology, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Republic of Ireland

Alan Hildrew is Professor Emeritus of Ecology at Queen Mary London and Honorary Research Fellow of the Freshwater Biological Association. He was Chairman of the Council of the Freshwater Biological Association from 1999 to 2010, and its President 2010-2011. He was Editor in Chief of the journal Freshwater Biology for 32 years (1982-2014). His research focusses on the ecology of stream organisms, ecosystem processes, and related fields. His approach is based on natural history, having published taxonomic keys and life-history of invertebrates, but his long-term observations have been used to test general ecological theory and application.

Paul Giller is Professor Emeritus of Zoology and Ecology at University College Cork, Republic of Ireland. His research specialises in community ecology, freshwater biology, and biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2018.

Table of Contents

1:Streams and rivers as ecological systems
2:The habitat templet
3:The diversity of life in streams and rivers
4:Matching the habitat templet: adaptations and species traits
5:Population ecology
6:Community patterns and processes
7:Species interactions and food webs
8:Running waters as ecosystems: metabolism, energy, and carbon
9:Running waters as ecosystems: nutrients
10:New horizons