The discipline of stream ecology has grown exponentially along with most other areas of science in the last three decades. The field has changed from a fish management-dominated poor-sister of limnology to a discipline with theoretical constructs and ecological insights as rich as those in any area of ecology. A focus on energy transformations, nutrient turnover and the storage and processing of organic substrates has greatly enhanced the development of current paradigms. For example, the data base on microbial-biochemical invertebrate interactions in streams is now very extensive. A survey of the stream ecology literature reveals the central role played by H.B. Noel Hynes, whom I believe to be the world's premier lotic ecologist. Professor Hynes produced the major text in the field ("The Ecology of Running Waters") which has served both as an integrative review and as a bridge between the fish-water quality orientation of the fifties and sixties to the process oriented, nutritional resource-watershed perspectives of the seventies. It should also be noted that Professor Hynes' book, "The Biology of Polluted Waters", served as a basic reference for the earlier period and he has published over 150 research papers, the great majority in stream ecology, spanning four decades.

Stream Ecosystems in a Changing Environment synthesizes the current understanding of stream ecosystem ecology, emphasizing nutrient cycling and carbon dynamics, and providing a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change. Each chapter includes a section focusing on anticipated and ongoing dynamics in stream ecosystems in a changing environment, along with hypotheses regarding controls on stream ecosystem functioning. The book, with its innovative sections, provides a bridge between papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and the findings of researchers in new areas of study. - Presents a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change - Provides a synthesis of the latest findings on stream ecosystems ecology in one concise volume - Includes thought exercises and discussion activities throughout, providing valuable tools for learning - Offers conceptual models and hypotheses to stimulate conversation and advance research

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.

Originally published: Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970.

A summary of state-of-the-art research on how the river environment impacts biodiversity, species invasions, population dynamics, and the spread of waterborne disease. Blending laboratory, field and theoretical studies, it is the go-to reference for graduate students and researchers in river ecology, hydrology, and epidemiology.

This book contains the Proceedings of the Symposium on Perspectives in Southern Hemisphere Limnology which was held from 3-13 July 1984 in Wilderness, South Africa. It can be asked why this Symposium was necessary at a time when conferences, symposia and other gatherings of learned people abound. Limnologists in the Southern Hemisphere have for some time been pointing out that limnological theory and inland water management practices have been developed almost exclusively in Northern Hemisphere temperate latitudes. Most of the land masses of the Southern Hemisphere fall within lower latitudes, 0 from 20-40 S, where the climate tends to be dry, with low cloud cover and with high levels of incident radiation and high water temperatures. Wide extremes are experienced in both rainfall and runoff, which occur mainly in summer. Sedimentary geological structures give rise to dispersive soils and highly turbid waters. Physiological, behavioural or developmental adaptations in the floral and faunal components are necessary to cope with desiccation and low visibility.

A hugely important text for advanced undergraduates as well as graduates with an interest in stream and river ecology, this second, updated edition is designed to serve as a textbook as well as a working reference for specialists in stream ecology and related fields. The book presents vital new findings on human impacts, and new work in pollution control, flow management, restoration and conservation planning that point to practical solutions. All told, the book is expanded in length by some twenty-five percent, and includes hundreds of figures, most of them new.