The content is focused on benthic communities showing how they play an in important role in the river ecosystems. Provides also information on taxonomy of river-inhabiting algal groups, including phylogeny, distribution, collection, preservation and description of the most representative genera of algae in river benthic algal communities. The book also approaches the ecology of river algae not to mention the ecological factors influencing abundance, distribution and diversity of river benthic algal communities and their use as bio-indicators, providing an up-to-date information on taxonomy, ecology, methodology and uses, and a great source of research to everyone interested in freshwater algae, limnology, water quality assessment and biodiversity in river ecosystems.
Responding to the growing need for an aggressive yet conservative approach to evaluating mussel populations, Freshwater Bivalve Ecotoxicology provides a collective review of the techniques and approaches for assessing contaminant impact on freshwater ecosystems. The editors incorporate coverage of research topics and management issues from a cross-section of scientists in the field. They explore current advances in general monitoring of population responses to stressors, fundamental concepts of ecotoxicology specific to burrowing bivalves, and useful insights that offer direction and priority for resolving specific problems challenging protection and conservation efforts. This book lays the groundwork with discussions of topics such as impact assessment, toxicokinetics, biomarkers, and pollution tolerance. The authors then explore fundamental concepts surrounding responses measured in freshwater bivalves as a consequence of chemical exposures or accumulated contaminants in target organs or tissues. They highlight the difficulties encountered with the laboratory culture of these organisms for toxicity testing or other controlled experiments, and examine the use of surrogate test organisms to relate sensitivities of response and reduce pressure on already impacted fauna. The book also reviews innovative field research using in situ bivalve toxicity testing, discusses effects-oriented tissue contaminant assessment, and concludes with threefour specific laboratory or combined field/laboratory ecotoxicology studies. A summary of methods from more than 75 laboratory toxicity studies conducted with freshwater mussels, the book provides an overview of a standardized method for conducting water-only acute and chronic laboratory toxicity tests with glochidia juvenile freshwater mussels. It focuses on studies that report measured contaminant treatments, had robust experimental designs, including replication of control and contaminant treatments, and were published in the peer-reviewed literature. The resulting array of viewpoints provides a framework that can be used to establish priorities in the rehabilitation and management of freshwater ecosystems.
All those who think that bivalves are boring are in the best company. Karl von Frisch is reported to have turned the pages more quickly in texts where bivalves were treated because, according to him, they literally lack any behaviour. The fact that they can filtrate huge amounts of water, burrow into the sedi ment, actively swim, drill holes into rocks and boats or detect shadows with the aid of pretty blue eyes located on the rim of their mantle obviously left v. Frisch unimpressed. Why, then, a book on the large freshwater mussels (Naiads or Unionoida), which on first sight are much less spectacular than the marine ones? The main reason is that they are keepers of secrets which they reveal only on close and careful inspection. This is not only true for the pearls some species produce and which over centuries have contributed to the treasures of bishops and kings, but particularly for their ecology: their life cycles are linked with those of fishes, some can occur in incredible densities and some can live for more than 100 years. Thus, the presence or absence of naiads in a lake or stream has manifold implications.
Synthesizes the ecology and natural history of North American freshwater mussels for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.
This two-volume edited book highlights and reviews the potential of the fossil record to calibrate the origin and evolution of parasitism, and the techniques to understand the development of parasite-host associations and their relationships with environmental and ecological changes. The book deploys a broad and comprehensive approach, aimed at understanding the origins and developments of various parasite groups, in order to provide a wider evolutionary picture of parasitism as part of biodiversity. This is in contrast to most contributions by parasitologists in the literature that focus on circular lines of evidence, such as extrapolating from current host associations or distributions, to estimate constraints on the timing of the origin and evolution of various parasite groups. This approach is narrow and fails to provide the wider evolutionary picture of parasitism on, and as part of, biodiversity. Volume one focuses on identifying parasitism in the fossil record, and sheds light on the distribution and ecological importance of parasite-host interactions over time. In order to better understand the evolutionary history of parasites and their relationship with changes in the environment, emphasis is given to viruses, bacteria, protists and multicellular eukaryotes as parasites. Particular attention is given to fungi and metazoans such as bivalves, cnidarians, crustaceans, gastropods, helminths, insects, mites and ticks as parasites. Researchers, specifically evolutionary (paleo)biologists and parasitologists, interested in the evolutionary history of parasite-host interactions as well as students studying parasitism will find this book appealing.
Pearly mussels (Unionoidea) live in lakes, rivers, and streams around the world. These bivalves play important roles in freshwater ecosystems and were once both culturally and economically valuable as sources of food, pearls, and mother-of-pearl. Today, however, hundreds of species of these mussels are extinct or endangered. David L. Strayer provides a critical synthesis of the factors that control the distribution and abundance of pearly mussels. Using empirical analyses and models, he assesses the effects of dispersal, habitat quality, availability of fish hosts, adequate food, predators, and parasites. He also addresses conservation issues that apply to other inhabitants of fresh waters around the globe and other pressing issues in contemporary ecology.
