Customer Reviews

Algae

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't found many good books on algae that have come out in the past few years. This book is a great one with lots of information and pictures. It would be better if some of the pictures were in color, instead of all of them being in black and white. Some algae are indentified by color so color pictures would be helpful. It has really good information on diatoms also which is nice.

This outstanding textbook on "algae" provides a solid reference for learning more about the diverse photosynthetic forms that occur in aquatic habitats. Graham and Wilcox summarize a diverse range of topics for the major Divisions, including taxonomy, cell structure, biology, reproduction, life history, and ecology. It has an excellent section on coccolithophorids, including the steps in coccolith formation. It also includes practical uses of algae and chapters devoted to phytoplankton and seaweed ecology. The lack of color photographs may be attributed to the inclusion of numerous images taken with electron microscopes (the only way to "see" most microalgae) and probably to the fact that this book is not intended to be a field guide. However, it makes a perfect complement for learning more about and understanding phytoplankton and seaweeds that you may identify under a microscope or in the field using any of the widely available field guides.

This book is great in its organization and coverage of every major algal group in a decent amount of detail. It offers enough details of processes and always keeps the bigger picture of algae's importance in the earth's processes in sight. I am using this book in a small class completely devoted to algae where every student studies a different algal group or process, and we unanimously agree that this is a great book for the field. The only thing we found disappointing was that phosphorus cycling is not included in the biogeochemistry chapter, which is an unfortunate oversight considering the importance that nutrient plays in today's lakes and eutrophication. The pictures would be better in color because a lot of algae identification requires color. It is understandable that printing companies are trying to be more "green" in printing books that will only be used for three years before the next edition arrives, but they also take the opportunity to produce lesser quality paper and graphics without reducing the book price. Amazon is definitely the better place to buy this book - it was $70 less than in the university bookstore! The business details aside, this is an excellent book and a must for any algae researcher.

I would have never believed that algae could be so interesting. All you need is a good book and an awesome professor(HPU) obsessed with algae(e.g. diatoms)! Ha ha! I'm absolutely hooked and loving it! My only thing that I don't like is that the pictures are not in color and I really feel that in this case color is very important for visualization. :)