Applied Freshwater Biology

Details about Applied Freshwater Biology:

Through rivers, wetlands, streams, and lakes, the flow of water sustains life. In addition to the myriad lifeforms that freshwater ecosystems support, including our own, they also provide opportunities for recreation and personal reflection. Unfortunately, our freshwaters have become seriously impacted and degraded by various stressors, including pollution, forestry, agriculture, urbanization, exploitation of species, and more.

In this comprehensive book, Richardson lays out the origins and nature of the most prominent environmental stressors to freshwater systems. The first two chapters provide a review of freshwater biology and hydrology. Each of the next 12 chapters focuses on a particular class of stressors, interactions they may have with other stressors, and a range of solutions currently available to mitigate the problems they cause. The last two chapters pull together key concepts to focus on the restoration of freshwater ecosystems and the importance of long-term monitoring.

This work is ideally suited for students in upper and graduate-level college courses focused on freshwater ecology, biology, environmental sciences, and environmental engineering, as well as practitioners in these respective fields. Today, more than ever, we need trained individuals who understand how to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems for both human and non-human use, and this book provides the essential information required to get there.