An Ecosystem approach to aquatic ecology : Mirror Lake and its environments /

Likens is eminently qualified to edit this volume. The author of numerous articles concerning ecosystem ecology, he was one of the original investigators of the now classic Hubbard Brook (New Hampshire) ecosystem study, of which the object of the present study, Mirror Lake, is a part. Although it focuses on a particular lake as the title implies, the book represents more than the limnological history of a single lake. It represents a classic approach to a comprehensive ecosystem study, and together with D.W. Schindler's studies of the Experimental Lakes Area in Canada, e.g., Light Measurements in the Experimental Lakes Area, 1969-73 and Phytoplankton Production in the Experimental Lakes Area, 1969-72, by R.A. Reid, D.W. Schindler, and R.V. Schmidt (Winnipeg, 1975), it should serve as a model for other studies. For this reason, the book should be on the shelf of every liberal arts and science library, and should be required reading for every student of ecology. However, one should not expect to find new or revolutionary approaches to ecosystem study here; rather, one finds good, solid, comprehensive science. Both undergraduate and graduate students of ecology will find this work well worth reading.-T.L. Hufford, The George Washington University