Aquatic food webs : an ecosystem approach /

This compilation of 15 well-written chapters brings into clear focus the emerging synthesis of aquatic food web ecology. It is hard to imagine a more up-to-date and thorough presentation of the field. Indeed this book could easily be the basis for a graduate seminar. Three of the four sections start with a very brief overview; the last is a concluding chapter. The figures, tables, and equations are all well presented and easy to read. Ten excellent color plates in the middle of the book reproduce black-and-white figures scattered through the various chapters. The index is generous and sufficiently detailed to be very useful. Research papers comprise most of the literature; all are consigned to the back of the book but remain organized by chapter. Conflating these into a single unit would have been better. This book will be challenging for beginning graduate students and very difficult for undergraduates. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Advanced, highly motivated undergraduates. Highly recommended. Graduate students studying ecology and research ecologists. R. L. Wallace Ripon College