A. Rorsch Member of the TNO Board of Management Like all living creatures man has from the very outset influenced the environment. Initially, the traces of human activity were hardly noticeable and so were their effects on the equilibrium of the ecosystem as such. However, as soon as man learned how to use tools, he was able to influence his surroundings more drastically, and to proliferate more rapidly. As a matter of fact that is the time when things went wrong, because a process was started off which was to continue with ever-increasing speed and on an ever increasing scale. The present condition of nature as a result of the activities of mankind is generally known. Whether it is an accident with a nuclear plant or the vanishing of tropical rain forests, acid deposition or the pollution of soil, water and air, environmental disasters almost seem to be the order of the day. It is striking that with all these - more or less arbitrary - examples the provision of energy plays a role. In this respect one can add an even more important energy carrier to the list, namely: crude oil."

Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe and, with its surface of 17,891 km2 and volume of 837 km3, it ranks among the top fifteen of the world's freshwater bodies. The ecological condition of Lake Ladoga is of concern to several million people living in its surroundings. There is evidence of water quality degradation and gradual eutrophication of the lake during the past decades; on the other hand, pollution control measures have improved the situation in many of the most polluted sites near industrial effluent sources. The first international Lake Ladoga Symposium was held in St. Petersburg on 22-26 November, 1993. The symposium was attended by 160 scientists, and about half of the papers presented at the symposium have been edited for this book. The contributions are grouped under the following headings: Present state of Lake Ladoga; Hydrodynamics of Lake Ladoga and other large water bodies; Water quality and pollution; Ecological studies of Lake Ladoga biota; History of Lake Ladoga and rates of change in its environment; Research methods for large lakes. Besides providing up-to-date information on the state of the lake, the papers deal with studies of many other large lakes of the cold-temperature zone and the general problems and methods of large lake research. Furthermore, the book is a valuable source of reference to the voluminous Russian limnological literature.

Scotland is fortunate in being very richly endowed with natural fresh waters in the form of numerous lochs and rivers. These constitute on the one hand an attractive feature of the landscape and on the other a major resource for industry and recreation. Thus there are about 3800 lochs over4 ha in area and these form approximately 1.0% of the total surface area of Scotland. Com parable figures for England and Wales are 1700 lakes and 0.05% of the land surface, and in terms of volume. Loch Ness contains more water than all the lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales put together (Smith & Lyle 1979). Many of the Scottish lochs are large and clean and consequently are particularly valuable in resource terms. The decision as to which are actually the largest lochs is debatable, particularly when the main criteria of greatest surface area, length, volume and depth each gives a different water (Lochs Lomond. Awe, Ness and Morar respectively). These four then are certainly among the largest lochs in the country, but close to them in size come several other large waters, among which is Loch Shiel- which is exceeded in length only by Lochs Awe, Ness and Lomond. These five very large lochs (Frontis piece) form the group of waters selected for the comparative studies described in this volume.

Water-dwelling relatives of the earthworm were the subject of an international symposium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March 1988, where these 26 papers were presented. They were also published in Hydrobiologia volume 180 (1989). Contributors from Europe, North America, and Argentina consider a wide

This volume is a collection of papers concerning the biology of large branchiopod crustaceans: Anostraca, Conchostraca, and Notostraca. Many of the individual papers were first presented at the Third International Large Branchiopod Symposium (ILBS-3) held at the University of San Diego, CA, USA, July 15-18, 1996. Contributions on additional topics from participants at the symposium, and from colleagues not able to join us in San Diego, are also included. In addition, there is a supplement to the 1995 Checklist of the Anostraca'. The theme of the ILBS-3 was understanding and conserving large branchiopod diversity'. Researchers from around the world presented papers on a variety of topics related to conservation of large branchiopods, with contributions ranging from alpha-taxonomy and zoogeography to community structure and studies of ecology and evolution. One important issue developed in many of the papers in this volume is the need to advance our understanding of basic aspects of branchiopod biology throughout the world in order to enhance our efforts to conserve them. Although we have made important strides in understanding the biology of large branchiopods, we have, with few notable exceptions, made little progress in assuring the conservation of their diversity. We hope this volume will supply the reader with new ideas, and generate enthusiasm for research and public education efforts on behalf of branchiopod conservation.

For the first time, an effort to conduct coordinated interdisciplinary research on a vast and complex saline lake has been undertaken for the purposes of providing baseline data to guide restoration project activities. This volume compiles state-of-the-art science for the Salton Sea and will serve as the foundation for the next several generations of scientific inquiry for California's largest lake. The science presented here reveals the Salton Sea to be one of the most productive fisheries in the world, details why the Salton Sea is important to migratory and wintering birds, investigates the microbial world and reports numerous taxa new to science, and documents chemical and physical interactions which make this inland saline lake function.
This book is intended for specialists in saline lake research who are interested in all aspects of saline lake ecology.

An international symposium entitled "Ocean, River and Lakes: Energy and Substance Transfers at Interfaces" was held in Nantes, France in October 1996. It was the third International Joint Conference on Limnology and Oceanography which brings together specialists of both environments. Considered to be necessary in Europe, this confrontation of two different aspects of common subjects could produce innovative approaches. The main purpose concerns scientific researches relative to the interfaces between various aquatic environment compartments. The principal treated topics are bioavailability and mobility of substances, influence of biotic and abiotic factors on transfers, and fluxes at the interfaces. It is particularly interesting to note the contribution of limnologists and oceanographers on the impact of nutrients and pollutants, and flux quantification of river basin inputs. As well as scientists, this book is also of interest to all engineers and consultants involved in teaching and working in aquatic management, restoration and enhancement.

Origin and Aims of this essay It was not by choice but by the misfortunes or fortunes of the last war, that I became involved with rivers. In December 1946 I obtained a lecturing post at the then Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum and the Principal of the college brought me to confluence of the two Niles and urged me to 'do something' on the biology of the river. I was very reluctant, my experience was limited to lakes in Poland up to 1939, and I did not know anything about work on rivers. The 'equipment' was a rowing boat, hired, and a 'home made' plankton net. This limited our first exploratory steps to the immediate vicinity of Khartoum. In both the White and Blue Nile we discovered the presence of a pure plankton. This was contrary to opinions expressed in the limited scientific literature available at Khartoum which stimulated our doubts and the search for the origin of this phenomenon. And so, early in our work, we became aware of the longitudinal sequence of events in running water, a fundamental feature of river ecology. of work were daunting; In the Nile, as in other long rivers, the difficulties the water courses stretch for thousands of kilometers south and north of our base, our work had to be done in time free from lecturing duties, no research grants were available.

Leonard C. Beadle In contrast to the more sta bie oceans, inland waters are, on the geological time scale, short-lived and are subject to great fluctuations in chemical composition and physical features. Very few lakes and rivers have existed continuously for more than a million years, and the life of the majority is to be measured in thousands or less. Earth movements, erosion and long-term climatic changes in the past have caused many of them to appear and disappear. No wonder then that most freshwater organism are especially adapted to great changes and many even to temporary extinction of their environment. Recent studies of residual sediments from existing and extinct lakes in tropical Africa have told us much about their age and the past history of their faunas and floras, from which we may deduce something about the climate and the conditions in the water in the past. The forces that have formed and moulded the African Great Lakes have been catastrophic in their violence and effects. They are not yet finished, but the present rate of change is, in human terms, too slow for direct observation of the ecological effects. The large man-made lakes are providing very good opportunities for studying the chemi cal and biological consequences of the initial filling but, once filled, they are artificially protected against major fluctuations.

Members of the gastropod family Littorinidae are common throughout the world. They form a very abundant component of many intertidal and shallow subtidal ecosystems and, by their grazing, often play a central role in shaping these communities. They also display a wide range of life history strategies and many are polymorphic, making them attractive model organisms for ecologists, evolutionary biologists and physiologists alike. Areas of particular interest include ecological interactions with other animals and with algae, the effects of pollutants and the use of littorinids as sentinel species for monitoring pollution, the effects of parasites on growth and ecology, taxonomy, and the study of genotypic/phenotypic responses to environmental factors. There is still much to be done, and the Littorinids are proving to be an ideal group on which to work. The text is primarily targeted at the research level, but should also provide useful information for advanced first-degree students conducting research projects.

stable or falling water levels, and permit differen tiation between gradual and sudden transgression The level of Lake Ontario was long assumed to of the shoreline. Vegetational succession reflects have risen at an exponentially decreasing rate shoreline transgression and increasing water solely in response to differential isostatic rebound depth as upland species are replaced by emergent of the St. Lawrence outlet since the Admiralty aquatic marsh species. If transgression continues, Phase (or Early Lake Ontario) 11 500 years B. P. these are in turn replaced by floating and sub (Muller & Prest, 1985). Recent work indicates merged aquatic species, commonly found in water that the Holocene water level history of Lake to 4 m depth in Ontario lakes, below which there Ontario is more complex than the simple rebound is a sharp decline in species richness and biomass model suggests. Sutton et al. (1972) and (Crowder et al., 1977). This depth varies with Anderson & Lewis (1982, 1985) indicate that physical limnological conditions in each basin. periods of accelerated water level rise followed by Because aquatic pollen and plant macrofossils are temporary stabilization occurred around 5000 to locally deposited, an abundance of emergent 4000 B. P. The accelerated water level rise, called aquatic fossils reflects sedimentation in the littoral the 'Nipissing Flood', was attributed to the cap zone, the part of the basin shallow enough to ture of Upper Great Lakes drainage. support rooted vegetation."

Water is Life. Freshwater is one of the most valuable commodities on our planet, and this resource should be managed in a sustainable way. Yet, we are less than careful in the way we use water and many of our non-marine, aquatic habitats are threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Eutrophication, for example, could well turn into one of the major social as well as economic problems of the 21st century.

Reduction of water quality also has a profound effect on the biota that depend on these water bodies, such as micro-organisms, plants and animals. Freshwater Biodiversity is a much underestimated component of global biodiversity, both in its diversity and in its potential to act as models for fundamental research in evolutionary biology and ecosystem studies. Freshwater organisms also reflect quality of water bodies and can thus be used to monitor changes in ecosystem health. The present book deals with all of these aspects of Aquatic Biodiversity. It comprises a unique collection of primary research papers spanning a wide range of topics in aquatic biodiversity studies, and including a first global assessment of specific diversity of freshwater animals. The book also presents a section on the interaction between scientists and science policy managers. A target opinion paper lists priorities in aquatic biodiversity research for the next decade and several reactions from distinguished scientists discuss the relevance of these items from different points of view: fundamental ecology, taxonomy and systematics, needs of developing countries, present-day biodiversity policy at European and at global scales. It is believed that such a platform for the interaction between science and sciencepolicy is an absolute necessity for the efficient use of research budgets in the future.

This book tells a story of a large lake affected by agricultural and urban activities that have led to severe eutrophication problems with nuisance blue-green algal blooms. Although it is a case study of Lake Ringsjoen (southern Sweden), the background, problems and measures are applicable to many lakes throughout the world. From a limnological point of view, the Lake Ringsjoen story began more than 100 years ago, and during the last 20 years the sampling program has been intense, providing a unique data set on how a lake responds to human activities. However, the Lake Ringsjoen story is not only a case study, but also a historical record of the development of ecological theory and its application. Hence, the lake has been subject both to an extensive nutrient reduction programme and a biomanipulation by means of fish reduction. Here we aim at combining the unique limnological data set with the eutrophication process, the nutrient reduction programme and the biomanipulation in order to apply our empirical knowledge to future lake management measures.

This is the second volume in the NATO ASI series dealing with the topic of hydrogen in solids. The first (V. B76, Metal Hydrides) appeared five years ago and focussed primarily on crystalline phases of hydrided metallic systems. In the intervening period, the amorphous solid state has become an area of intense research activity, encompassing both metallic and non-metallic, e.g. semiconducting, systems. At the same time the problem of storage of hydrogen, which motivated the first ASI, continues to be important. In the case of metallic systems, there were early indications that metallic glasses and disordered alloys may be more corrosion resistant, less susceptible to embrittlement by hydrogen and have a higher hydrogen mobility than ordered metals or intermetallics. All of these properties are desirable for hydrogen storage. Subsequent research has shown that thermodynamic instability is a severe problem in many amorphous metal hydrides. The present ASI has provided an appropriate forum to focus on these issues.

Who was Nicolas Rashevsky? To answer that question, this book draws on Rashevsky's unexplored personal archival papers and shares interviews with his family, students and friends, as well as discussions with biologists and mathematical biologists, to flesh out and complete the picture. "Most modern-day biologists have never heard of Rashevsky. Why?" In what constitutes the first detailed biography of theoretical physicist Nicolas Rashevsky (1899-1972), spanning key aspects of his long scientific career, the book captures Rashevsky's ways of thinking about the place mathematical biology should have in biology and his personal struggle for the acceptance of his views. It brings to light the tension between mathematicians, theoretical physicists and biologists when it comes to the introduction of physico-mathematical tools into biology. Rashevsky's successes and failures in his efforts to establish mathematical biology as a subfield of biology provide an important test case for understanding the role of theory (in particular mathematics) in understanding the natural world. With the biological sciences moving towards new vistas of inter- and multi-disciplinary collaborations and research programs, the book will appeal to a wide readership ranging from historians, sociologists, and ethnographers of American science and culture to students and general readers with an interest in the history of the life sciences, mathematical biology and the social construction of science.

Lake Baikal is the oldest, largest and deepest lake in the world. Its unique animal life and the beauty of the surrounding landscapes are renowned.
The book discusses the sustainable development of the lake and its use as a model for the rest of the world. It consolidates existing data on the current state of the environment and economy of the region, develops a system of indicators of sustainable developments, makes recommendations on additional components to the existing monitoring system and considers a legal framework and instrument for its implementation.

The shift away from the management of individual resources to the broader perspective of ecosystems is no longer confined to academia and think tanks where it first began; the ecosystem paradigm also is beginning to take root in government policy and programs.
This volume provides innovative and timely approaches for improving and sustaining socioeconomic benefits from LMEs. The authors describe methodologies and actions for moving forward in halting the downward resource sustainability spiral and advancing toward the recovery of depleted fish stocks, restoration of degraded habitats, and reduction and control of pollution within the framework of an ecosystem-based approach for the governance of LMEs.
* First book to ever publish that focuses on the human dimension of large marine ecosystem management
* Offers set of guidelines for possible interrelationship management programs
* Addresses taxing issues and problems pertaining to the world's marine ecosystems
* Provides a matrix of the interdependence of economic, social, cultural and governance elements

Contents - Acknowledgements - Foreword - Illustrations - Chapter 1. About this book - Chapter 2. The handling of fish at sea - Chapter 3. The handling and distribution of fish on land - Chapter 4. The smoking of fish - Chapter 5. Salt curing - Chapter 6. Drying - Chapter 7. Freezing and cold storage - Chapter 8. Thawing - Chapter 9. Canning - Chapter 10. Fish meal and oil - Chapter 11. Retailing - Chapter 12. Fish as living animals - Chapter 13. What fish are made of - Chapter 14. Fish and physics - Chapter 15. Fish spoilage - Chapter 16. Instruments - Chapter 17. How to find out more - Index -

This book offers a unique collection of inter- and multidisciplinary studies on river systems. Rivers have been the prime source of sustenance since the advent of civilization and river systems often form the basis for agriculture, transport, water, and land for domestic, commercial, and industrial activities, fostering economic prosperity. A river basin is a basic geographical and climatological unit within which the vagaries of natural processes act and manifest themselves at different spatio-temporal scales. Even if compared side-by-side, no two river basins respond to natural processes in the same way and thus, it has long been recognized that each river basin is unique. Hence, any developmental activity or conservation effort has to be designed and implemented to match each unique river basin. With the burgeoning population and increasing dependency on natural resources, understanding and maintaining river systems has become increasingly important. This book provides a varied reference work on and unprecedented guidelines for conducting and implementing research on river basins, and for managing their ecological development.

Echinoderms are an ancient and diverse group of marine animals with a rich fossil record. They occur abundantly in all modern oceans and at all depths, where they contribute importantly to patterns in biodiversity and to the structure and functioning of marine systems. It is therefore vital to understand how they will respond to a rapidly changing ocean climate and other anthropogenic stressors, informed by both the dynamics of the fossil record and responses of extant species. The theme of the 13th International Echinoderm Conference (Hobart, Tasmania, 5-9 January 2009) was the response of echinoderms to global change. Echinoderms in a Changing World contains a selection of plenary and contributed papers, and a comprehensive presentation of abstracts of all oral papers and posters. The collection will be useful to all students of echinoderm biology, ecology and palaeontology, from undergraduate level to professional researchers.

If present trends continue, most climatologists agree that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will have doubled by the year 2050. This increase in CO 2 will have a major effect on the global climate and substantially alter the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of lakes throughout the world. In recent years, it has become clear that year-to-year changes in the weather have a major effect on the seasonal dynamics of lakes. Many water quality problems that were once regarded as "local" phenomena are now known to be influenced by changes in the weather that operate on a regional or even global scale. For example, blooms of toxic blue-green algae can be induced by prolonged reductions in the intensity of wind-mixing as well as increased supplies of nutrients. Long-term studies in the English Lake District have shown that many of these variations are quasi-cyclical in nature and can be related to long-term changes in the distribution of atmospheric pressure over the Atlantic Ocean. It is not yet clear what effect these changes have on the dynamics of European lakes but much of the historical data required to extend these analyses to continental Europe is already available. In the early 1970s the International Biological Programme served as a particularly effective focus for comparative limnological research in eastern as well as western Europe.

Lake Titicaca, because of its area and volume and its situation at high attitude within the tropics, is a unique hydrological site in the world. It should be noted that it stands at the transition point between two very distinct geographical regions: the desert fringe of the Pacific coast to the west and the great Amazonian forest extending to the Atlantic coast to the east. Many scientists have been attracted to the lake in the past because of its unusual limnological features. In this book the editors have compiled an exhaustive review of current knowledge from the existing literature and from the results of more recent observations. It is certain that this book will become the essential reference work for scientists wanting to make progress in revealing the lake's secrets. It can be stated unequivocally that this work constitutes a complete review of the present state of knowledge on Lake Titicaca and that it provides the latest results of research on this habitat.