Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters [Paperback]

J.D. Allan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1995

Running waters are enormously diverse, ranging from torrential mountain brooks, to large lowland rivers, to great river systems whose basins occupy subcontinents. While this diversity makes river ecosystems seem overwhelmingly complex, a central theme of this volume is that the processes acting in running waters are general, although the settings are often unique. The past two decades have seen major advances in our knowledge of the ecology of streams and rivers. New paradigms have emerged, such as the river continuum and nutrient spiraling. Community ecologists have made impressive advances in documenting the occurrence of species interactions. The importance of physical processes in rivers has attracted increased attention, particularly the areas of hydrology and geomorphology, and the inter-relationships between physical and biological factors have become better understood. And as is true for every area of ecology during the closing years of the twentieth century it has become apparent that the study of streams and rivers cannot be carried out by excluding the role of human activities, nor can we ignore the urgency of the need for conservation. These developments are brought together in Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters, designed to serve as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and as a reference book for specialists in stream ecology and related fields.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`To bring structure and function in a unifying framework is a hard but challenging aim. In the increasing vast mass of scientists motivated to write a book, I welcome any ecological contribution in which the author keeps that combination in mind. ... I not only recommend this text to students and teachers, but also to general readers for easily deepening their understanding of the field.'
Crustaceana
`... it is bound to become a popular text ... my students will be reading it ...'
Journal of Ecology
`Allan provides us with a wealth of information ... summarizing a range of material not found elsewhere. His book provides an excellent introduction to the area ...'
Limnol. Oceanogr. Journal of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
`... Allan has done an admirable job of preparing a clearly written, well-referenced, and very readable book that summarizes most of the pertinent literature in stream ecology that has been published since Hynes' (1970) book.'
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
`There is no question that David Allan has provided an unusually lucid and judicious reassessment of the state of stream ecology.'
Science
`... is intended to serve both as a text for undergraduate and postgraduate students and as a reference book for specialists. It would seem to succeed in both aims ... The text is clear and concise and is illustrated by excellent diagrams. Examples are drawn from all over the world, and the 35 pages of references testify to the author's grasp of the literature.'
J.CIWEM
`So I wish to congratulate David Allan on a difficult job very well done, and to announce to the limnological world that we now have an excellent up-to-date text on running waters.'
The North American Benthological Society
`... an easily-read, yet comprehensive, introduction to the ecology of running water systems.'
Aquaculture

From the Back Cover

Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters is designed to serve as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and as a reference source for specialists in stream ecology and related fields. The Second Edition is thoroughly updated and expanded to incorporate significant advances in our understanding of environmental factors, biological interactions, and ecosystem processes, and how these vary with hydrological, geomorphological, and landscape setting. The broad diversity of running waters – from torrential mountain brooks, to large, lowland rivers, to great river systems whose basins occupy sub-continents – makes river ecosystems appear overwhelming complex. A central theme of this book is that although the settings are often unique, the processes at work in running waters are general and increasingly well understood. Even as our scientific understanding of stream ecosystems rapidly advances, the pressures arising from diverse human activities continue to threaten the health of rivers worldwide. This book presents vital new findings concerning human impacts, and the advances in pollution control, flow management, restoration, and conservation planning that point to practical solutions. Reviews of the first edition: ".. an unusually lucid and judicious reassessment of the state of stream ecology" Science Magazine "..provides an excellent introduction to the area for advanced undergraduates and graduate students…" Limnology & Oceanography "… a valuable reference for all those interested in the ecology of running waters." Transactions of the American Fisheries Society --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0412355302
• ISBN-13: 978-0412355301
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Book, September 23, 2011

By 

Jackie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters (Paperback)

I bought this book because my class required it as a textbook. There's a substantial weight to it but it uses regular printing paper, not the smooth shiny stuff that is impossible to read under a light.

There are 14 chapters in this book that all talk about a different aspect of streams such as : human impact, streamflow, abiotic environment and trophic relationships. The double-column formatting is broken every once in a while to include a graph or image that helps explain what the textbook is saying. Each chapter also has a one page summary that helps you recall all that you read.

4/5 stars: good book chock full of information in text and pictorial form. Just wish it wasn't such a slow read. But then again, which textbook isn't?

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible to Scientists - Not Fishermen, October 25, 2008

By 

Lightman (New York) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters (Paperback)

My interest in this book followed from a desire to obtain information that might help me outwit wild and wily trout by any and every means possible. And sure enough, this book contains a wealth of information. The only problem is that much of it is incomprehensible to the lay reader as opposed to the scientific community.

For instance, here's what I encountered as I researched what and how fish eat (feeding ecology of riverine fishes): "Herbivorous fishes with scraping mouthparts such as the stoneroller Campostoma anomalum clearly have little in common with ooze feeders such as the blunt-nose minnow Pimephales notatus. Some benthic invertebrate feeders utilize prey primarily from soft bottoms (the suckermouth minnow Phenacobius mirabilis), others from stony bottoms (the greenside darter Etheostoma blennioides)."

OK...

On the other hand, for biologists and advanced students of ecology the book presents a comprehensive exposition of technical information. And the rest of us, who may not be equipped to cut through the scientific jargon, will still take away a sense of the intricacy and complexity of the living systems of streams and rivers.

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, November 16, 2007

By 

Bryan T. Hamilton (Baker, Nv United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stream Ecology: Structure and function of running waters (Paperback)

since this is the best text on the subject. Cluttered and difficult, reads more like a literature review than a textbook. There is no glossary and the index isn't very good. The figures are hard to interpret without reading the text. The drawings are poor quality. On the other hand, it is packed with information. Anything you want to know about stream ecology is in here, its just difficult to access.