The Zoogeography of North American Freshwater Fishes is a timely, authoritative monograph which serves a twofold purpose. First, it discusses the distribution of North American freshwater fish throughout the continent. It then attempts to explain these observed distribution patterns and develops a theory for the dispersal and evolution of these fishes through historical drainage alterations, plate tectonics, and Pleistoscene glaciation. The Zoogeography of North American Freshwater Fishes is a comprehensive treatment of the freshwater biogeography of North America, with implications for other disciplines. It stresses the intimate relationship between geological changes in the landscape on fish dispersal and evolution. For biologists, geologists, and geographers actively involved in biogeography, this book serves as a valuable-and practical-reference.
Nearly a decade ago I began planning this book with the goal of summarizing the existing body of knowledge on ecology of freshwater fishes in a way similar to that of H. B. N. Hynes' comprehensive treatise Ecology of Running Waters for streams. The time seemed appropriate, as there had been several recent volumes that synthesized much information on a range of topics important in fish ecology, from biogeographic to local scales. For example, the "Fish Atlas" (Lee et aI. , 1980) had provided range maps and basic entry to the original literature for all freshwater fishes in North America, and in 1986 Hocutt and Wiley's Zoogeography of North American Fishes provided a detailed synthesis of virtually everything known about distributional ecology of fishes on that continent. Tim Berra (1981) had summarized in convenient map form the worldwide distribution of all freshwater fish families, and Joe Nelson's 1976 and 1984 editions of Fishes of the World had appeared. To complement these "big picture" views of fish distributions, the volume on Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Freshwater Fishes, edited by David Heins and myself (Matthews and Heins, 1987), had provided an opportunity for more than 30 individuals or groups to summarize their work on stream fishes (albeit mostly for warmwater systems).
"The second volume of the definitive reference Freshwater Fishes of North America, encompassing families Characidae to Poeciliiadae, is the result of decades of analysis by leading fish experts from universities and reserch laboratories across North America" -- Page 4 de la couverture du volume 2.
In the 20 years since publication of the first edition, the number of freshwater fish species has risen by almost 150. This second edition incorporates all of these new species, plus all-new maps and a collection of new and revised plates.
The North American freshwater fish fauna is the most diverse and thoroughly researched temperate fish fauna in the world. Ecology of North American Freshwater Fishes is the only textbook to provide advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers with an up-to-date and integrated view of the ecological and evolutionary concepts, principles, and processes involved in the formation and maintenance of this fauna. Ecology of North American Freshwater Fishes provides readers with a broad understanding of why specific species and assemblages occur in particular places. Additionally, the text explores how individuals and species interact with each other and with their environments, how such interactions have been altered by anthropogenic impacts, and the relative success of efforts to restore damaged ecosystems. This book is designed for use in courses related to aquatic and fish ecology, fish biology, ichthyology, and related advanced ecology and conservation courses, and is divided into five sections for ease of use. Chapter summaries, supplemental reading lists, online sources, extensive figures, and color photography are included to guide readers through the material and facilitate student learning. Part 1: Faunal origins, evolution, and diversity Presents a broad pictureÑboth spatially and temporallyÑof the derivation of the fauna, including global and regional geological and climatological processes and their effects on North American fishes. Part 2: Formation, maintenance, and persistence of local populations and assemblages Focuses on how local fish populations and assemblages are formed and how they persist, or not, through time. Part 3: Form and function Deals with the relationship of body form and life history patterns as they are related to ecological functions. Part 4: Interactions among individuals and species Discusses the numerous interactions among individuals and species through communication, competition, predation, mutualism, and facilitation. Part 5: Issues in conservation Focuses on several primary conservation issues such as flow alterations and the increasing biotic homogenization of faunas.
This comprehensive atlas brings together for the first time in a single reference work a vast amount of information on the distribution and characteristics of all the major freshwater fish families of the world. Distribution maps are given for each family, along with discussions of size, evolution, life habits, social and ecological significance, and other data pertinent to the families. Line drawings are included to aid in the identification of fishes, and the text is supplemented with a glossary, pronunciation guides, and suggestions for further reading. Designed for professionals and neophytes alike, this compendium will serve as a valuable guide for ichthyologists, biogeographers, aquarists, and fish hobbyists. -- from back cover.
