Diatoms: Biology and Morphology of the Genera [Paperback]

F. E. Round (Author), R. M. Crawford (Author), D. G. Mann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521714699 | ISBN-13: 978-0521714693 | Publication Date: December 10, 2007 | Edition: 1

Illustrated descriptions of over 250 genera of diatoms are presented for the first time in this wide-ranging volume. The introduction describes the diatom cell in detail, the structure of the wall (often extremely beautiful designs), the cell contents and aspects of life cycle and cell division. The generic atlas section is the first account of diatom systematics since 1928, and each generic description is accompanied by scanning electron micrographs to show the characteristic structure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...impressive in heft, magnificent in its production, encyclopedic in its coverage and elegant in its illustrations." Nature

"...fills an enormous gap in our knowledge of the taxonomy of an environmentally significant group of autotrophic protists...The book is filled with picture perfect photomicrographics made through light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, as well as finely executed illustrations." American Scientist

"...an excellent reference on an important group of aquatic organisms." Journal of the North American Benthological Society

"An impressive encyclopedic treatise by three British experts on the biology and morphology of the diatoms....This outstanding volume, the first to summarize the genera of diatoms in more than 60 years, will be worth its weight in gold to professionals and graduate students...." Choice

"The book is magnificent and is needed." L. M. Van Valen, Evolutionary Theory & Review

"...the most important book on the subject to come off of the presses in a long time....a must for every serious diatom worker." Robert B. McLaughlin, Microscope

Book Description

This book presents a wide-ranging introduction to the diatoms together with an illustrated description of over 250 genera. Diatoms are important as perhaps the commonest group of autotrophic plants on earth and are abundant in all waters and on soils and moist surfaces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 760 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (December 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521714699
• ISBN-13: 978-0521714693
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Classic Review of Diatom Genera, January 17, 2008

By 

David B Richman (Mesilla Park, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diatoms: Biology and Morphology of the Genera (Paperback)

The classic work "Diatoms: Biology and Morphology of the Genera" by Round, Crawford and Mann has been usually beyond the means of the average diatom hobbyist. At over $300 for the hardbound edition (which also had a rather bad binding) this monumental tome was usually wanted, but might strain the budget of even professionals or students working in the field. Now the publisher, Cambridge University Press, has come out with a softbound version that is within the reach of most microscope hobbyists, as well as those who study algae professionally.

And what a magnificent volume it is, with hundreds of black and white light and scanning electron microscope photographs and detailed discussions of all the known diatom genera. The introduction is thorough and the book is in short a great reference for the study of these fascinating life forms.

The authors do make one (probably necessary) compromise with quality in that they do not provide metric scales with their photographs. They offer a justification for this and indeed it would have been time-consuming to place scales on all the photos. However, these scales are useful, if perhaps less so with genera than species, to at least give the reader an idea of the size involved.

The average reader might say "who cares about microscopic algae"?, but they would be overlooking the very great contribution diatoms and other "algae" make to the earth's primary production and oxygen supply. Also, the diatom's opaline skeletons (which are mostly shown in this book) are quite beautiful, as are the living organisms.

If you have any interest in the tiny things that make life on earth possible, this book will open your eyes to their complexity and beauty. If you should own a microscope, there are worse things you could do with it (such as leave it in storage!) than to spend some time examining these wonderful organisms.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excelente recopilación, June 1, 2008

By 

Antonio Guillén Oterino (La Rioja (Spain)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diatoms: Biology and Morphology of the Genera (Paperback)

Excelente monografía sobre la morfología, modo de vida y clasificación de las diatomeas, con numerosas imágenes en blanco y negro, realizadas a través del microscopio óptico y de microscopio electrónico de barrido-

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diatoms, February 9, 2008

By 

B. E. Soukup - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diatoms: Biology and Morphology of the Genera (Paperback)

This book has thousands of great and very detailed Electron microscope photos and the information is easy to understand and follow as well as connect with the pictures. Expertly written and presented information.