A survey to assess community characteristics, density, population demography of dominant species, and the presence of rare or endangered species of mussels (Family: Unionidae) was conducted in selected reaches of the Quiver River and Bogue Phalia, Mississippi, in 1994 and 1995 for the U.S. Army Engineer District, Vicksburg. Results are being used to assess the economic value of mussels in the project area and to determine the environmental effects of proposed maintenance dredging. The project area included a section of the Quiver River between its confluence with the Big Sunflower River immediately north of Highway 82 in Sunflower County to the Leflore-Tallahatchie county line. In the Bogue Phalia, the study area consisted of a reach between Highway 82 and Rosedale, west-central Bolivar County. Twenty-two species of native freshwater mussels were collected in the Quiver River; 26 sites were sampled using qualitative methods, and a total of 2,238 mussels were collected. The dominant mussel was Amblema p. plicata, which comprised over 67 percent of the mussel fauna. Plectomerus dombeyanus comprised 20 percent of the mussels. Overall species diversity (0.67 to 0.90) was low, mainly because of the dominance of A. p. plicata. Evidence of recent recruitment was low; approximately 7 percent of the species and 0.15 percent of the individuals collected were less than 30 mm total shell length. Overall mean density ranged from less than 8.6 individuals/square meter at River Mile (RM) 6.4 to 92.3 individuals/square meter at RM 19.7.

Often too little attention is given to the sampling before and after actual instrumental measurement. This leads to errors, despite increasingly sensitive analytical systems. This is one of the first books to pay proper attention to representative sampling. It offers an overview of the most common techniques used today for taking environmental samples. The techniques are clearly presented, yield accurate and reproducible results and can be used to sample - air - water - soils and sediments - plants and animals. A comprehensive handbook, this volume provides an excellent starting point for researchers in the rapidly expanding field of environmental analysis.

Protecting the global environment is a single-minded goal for all of us. Environmental engineers take this goal to task, meeting the needs of society with technical innovations. Revised, expanded, and fully updated to meet the needs of today's engineer working in industry or the public sector, the Environmental Engineers' Handbook, Second Edition is a single source of current information. It covers in depth the interrelated factors and principles that affect our environment and how we have dealt with them in the past, are dealing with them today, and how we will deal with them in the future. This stellar reference addresses the ongoing global transition in cleaning up the remains of abandoned technology, the prevention of pollution created by existing technology, and the design of future zero emission technology. Béla G. Lipták speaks on Post-Oil Energy Technology on the AT&T Tech Channel.