As pressures on Australia's inland waters intensify from population growth, expanding resource development and climate change, there is an urgent need to manage and protect these special areas. Understanding their ecology underpins their wise management and conservation.

"Australian Freshwater Ecology "vividly describes the physical, chemical and biological features of wetlands, lakes, streams, rivers and groundwaters in Australia. It presents the principles of aquatic ecology linked to practical management and conservation, and explains the causes, mechanisms, effects and management of serious environmental problems such as altered water regimes, eutrophication, salinization, acidification andsedimentation of inland waters.Key features: contributions from a diverse, highly qualified team of aquatic ecologists whose expertisespans the ecology and management of standing and running waters in Australiasections covering groundwaters, biodiversity, temporary and tropical waters, climatechange, invasive species and freshwater conservationnumerous Australian case-studies and guest 'text-boxes' showing management in practiceconcise descriptions of ecological processes and conceptual models illustrated withoriginal, high- quality diagrams and photographs

Readable and logically structured, this text supports undergraduate and postgraduate courses in aquatic ecology and management. It is a valuable reference for consultants, restoration ecologists, water resource managers, science teachers, and other professionals with an interest in the ecology of surface and groundwaters.

Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology and Caves A Comprehensive Resource Covering All Aspects of Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology, and Caves This essential book covers all physical, chemical, and geological aspects of karst science. It reviews current knowledge on hydrogeology, geomorphology and caves in karst, based on the vast existing literature and investigations carried out by the authors worldwide. The different topics are profusely illustrated with color figures and images from all continents and climates, showing the scientific and aesthetic appeal of karst environments. The book covers in a systematic way the significant features of karst rocks, the chemistry and kinetics of their dissolution, the rate and distribution of karst denudation, the unique hydrogeology of karst terrains, the landforms endemic to karst, the morphology of caves and their diverse sedimentary records, and the multiple processes that lead to the formation of underground voids. Overall, the work reflects the increasing recognition of karst as a fundamental part of the Earth's dynamic systems, and helps readers understand this multidisciplinary field from a holistic and nuts-and-bolts perspective. Some of the ideas discussed within the book include: How karst is gaining importance for human development, because of its valuable resources (groundwater) and associated environmental problems (impacts and hazards) The enormous technological developments achieved in recent years Recent major breakthroughs in the field and their influence on other scientific disciplines The central role played by karst science for understanding and mitigating global environmental issues (global warming, depletion of resources, human-induced hazards) For all scientists working in karst, and for students and lecturers of karst-related programs, this book serves as a valuable all-in-one source. It is also a valuable resource for professional hydrogeologists, the petroleum industry, environmental geologists, and of course speleologists, the last true geographic explorers in the world.

Evolutionary ecology includes aspects of community structure, trophic interactions, life-history tactics, and reproductive modes, analyzed from an evolutionary perspective. Freshwater environments often impose spatial structure on populations, e.g. within large lakes or among habitat patches, facilitating genetic and phenotypic divergence. Traditionally, freshwater systems have featured prominently in ecological research and population biology.

This book brings together information on diverse freshwater taxa, with a mix of critical review, synthesis, and case studies. Using examples from bryozoans, rotifers, cladocerans, molluscs, teleosts and others, the authors cover current conceptual issues of evolutionary ecology in considerable depth.

The book can serve as a source of critically evaluated ideas, detailed case studies, and open problems in the field of evolutionary ecology. It is recommended for students and researchers in ecology, limnology, population biology, and evolutionary biology.

It presents a new approach to set fish quota based on holistic ecosystem modeling (the CoastWeb-model) and also a plan to optimize a sustainable management of the Baltic Sea including a cost-benefit analysis. This plan accounts for the production of prey and predatory fish under different environmental conditions, professional fishing, recreational fishing and fish cage farm production plus an analysis of associated economic values. Several scenarios and remedial strategies for Baltic Sea management are discussed and an "optimal" strategy motivated and presented, which challenges the HELCOM strategy that was accepted by the Baltic States in November 2007. The strategy advocated in this book would create more than 7000 new jobs, the total value of the fish production would be about 1600 million euro per year plus 1000 million euro per year related to the willingness-to-pay to combat the present conditions in the Baltic Sea. Our strategy would cost about 370 million euro whereas the HELCOM strategy would cost about 3100 million euro per year. The "optimal" strategy is based on a defined goal - that the water clarity in the Gulf of Finland should return to what it was 100 years ago.

This important book brings together eighteen cutting-edge research papers first presented at the Second International Conference on Braided Rivers. It includes the latest research on the dynamics, deposits and ecology of these rivers.
Essential reading for geomorphologists, earth scientists, engineers and ecologists with a pure and applied interest in the study, modelling and management of braided rivers.

In this book, scientists from eleven countries summarize the results of an EU project (CLIME) that explored the effects of observed and projected changes in the climate on the dynamics of lakes in Northern, Western and Central Europe. Historical measurements from eighteen sites were used to compare the seasonal dynamics of the lakes and to assess their sensitivity to local, regional and global-scale changes in the weather. Simulations using a common set of water quality models, perturbed by six climate-change scenarios, were then used to assess the uncertainties associated with the projected changes in the climate. The book includes chapters on the phenology and modelling of lake ice, the supply and recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus, the flux of dissolved organic carbon and the growth and the seasonal succession of phytoplankton. There are also chapters on the coherent responses of lakes to changes in the circulation of the atmosphere, the development of a web-based Decision Support System and the implications of climate change for the Water Framework Directive.

The foundation of quantitative genetics theory was developed during the last century and facilitated many successful breeding programs for cultivated plants and t- restrial livestock. The results have been almost universally impressive, and today nearly all agricultural production utilises genetically improved seed and animals. The aquaculture industry can learn a great deal from these experiences, because the basic theory behind selective breeding is the same for all species. The ?rst published selection experiments in aquaculture started in 1920 s to improve disease resistance in ?sh, but it was not before the 1970 s that the ?rst family based breeding program was initiated for Atlantic salmon in Norway by AKVAFORSK. Unfortunately, the subsequent implementation of selective breeding on a wider scale in aquaculture has been slow, and despite the dramatic gains that have been demonstrated in a number of species, less than 10% of world aquaculture production is currently based on improved stocks. For the long-term sustainability of aquaculture production, there is an urgent need to develop and implement e- cient breeding programs for all species under commercial production. The ability for aquaculture to successfully meet the demands of an ever increasing human p- ulation, will rely on genetically improved stocks that utilise feed, water and land resources in an ef?cient way. Technological advances like genome sequences of aquaculture species, and advanced molecular methods means that there are new and exciting prospects for building on these well-established methods into the future.

Lakes Ladoga and Onego are the greatest lakes in Europe. With a surface area of 17891 km2 and a volume of 902 km3, the former is one of the top fifteen world s freshwater lakes and is only slightly smaller than Lake Ontario. Lake Onego s surface area is 9600 km2 and it has a volume of 292 km3. The watershed of Lake Ladoga (258000 km2) extends through Northwestern European Russia and the eastern part of Finland, including the large Lakes Ilmen and Saimaa, and together these Great European Lakes are an important link in the Caspian-Baltic-White Sea waterway system. Their ecological state affects the water quality of the Neva River, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Thus any changes affect the operational use, environmental protection and management of water resources of a wide area and concern such issues as drinking, recreation, transport and energy.

The anthropogenic impact on the Lake Onego ecosystem is mostly determined by the sewage waters of the Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga industrial centres, while the river inflow makes the most impact on Lake Ladoga. Although the anthropogenic stress on the water ecosystems of the Great European Lakes has decreased over the last 15 years, there has been some simultaneous evidence of global warming. There is not enough current data to identify the climate-induced changes in lake ecosystems, but there is proof that the main cause of lacustrine ecosystem changes is determined by anthropogenic factors.

Coupled thermohydrodynamic and ecosystem models for Lakes Ladoga and Onego have been developed to study the contemporary situation, to understand the main mechanisms of the ecosystem transformation, and to learn what may happen in future under the varying antropogenic impact and climate changes. Lake Ladoga preserves its weak mesotrophic status while Lake Onego can be characterized as oligotrophic. Economic growth during the last seven years has led to the increasing anthropogenic impact on both their ecosystems.

The Great European Lakes are attracting the increasing attention of both researchers and end-users. This book is a synthesis of multifaceted interdisciplinary studies conducted by a team of experts in limnology, geography, biology, mathematical modeling and economy. The editors, Professors Rukhovets and Filatov, are the authors of numerous articles and books and are recognized as the foremost experts in their fields. Professor Rukhovets has been Director of the Institute of Economy and Mathematics in Saint-Petersburg and head of the laboratory of mathematical modeling since 1998 while Professor Filatov is currently Director of the Northern Water Problems Institute in Petrozavodsk, Russia."

"Rivers and Floodplains" is concerned with the origin, geometry, water flow, sediment transport, erosion and deposition associated with modern alluvial rivers and floodplains, how they vary in time and space, and how this information is used to interpret deposits of ancient rivers and floodplains. There is specific reference to the types and lifestyles of organisms associated with fluvial environments, human interactions with rivers and floodplains, associated environmental and engineering concerns, as well as the economic aspects of fluvial deposits, particularly the modeling of fluvial hydrocarbon reservoirs and aquifers. Methods of studying rivers and floodplains and their deposits are also discussed. Although basic principles are emphasized, many examples are detailed.

Particular emphasis is placed on how an understanding of the nature of modern rivers and floodplains is required before any problems concerning rivers and floodplains, past or present, can be addressed rationally.

"Rivers and Floodplains" is designed as a core text for senior undergraduate and graduate students studying modern or ancient fluvial environments, particularly in earth sciences, environmental sciences and physical geography, but also in civil and agricultural engineering. College teachers, researchers, and practising professionals will also find the book an invaluable reference.
Presents a process-based approach, which is relevant to modern curricula.
Discusses methods of studying rivers and floodplains and their deposits.
Provides many detailed examples throughout the text.
Emphasises the basic principles of this subject.
As the first synthesis of this entire field, it will be a must-have for all students studying modern or ancient fluvial environments.
Teachers, researchers and practising professionals will find this an invaluable reference tool.

"Rivers and Floodplains" will also be of interest to geologists, geographers and engineers.

Marine hard bottoms feature some of the most spectacular and diverse biological communities on this planet. These not only contain a rich treasure of genetic, taxonomic and functional information but also deliver irreplaceable ecosystem services. At the same time, they are highly vulnerable and increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures. This volume has collected contributions by 50 scientists from numerous biogeographic regions, dealing with characteristics of hard bottom communities. Distributional patterns in space and time are described, followed by analyses of the intrinsic and extrinsic dynamics producing these patterns. A strong emphasis is placed on the ongoing changes occurring in the structure and diversity of these communities in response to spiralling environmental impacts, and on state-of-the-art countermeasures aiming to preserve these ecological treasures. Finally, various values of diversity are assessed, hopefully as an incentive for enhanced conservation efforts.

Estuaries are eternally enriched. Their positions at the foot of watersheds and their convenience as receiving bodies for the wastes of cites, towns and farms results in continuous addition of nutrients - those elements and compounds which are essential for organic production. Such materials must be added to these complex bodies of water to sustain production, since there is a net loss of water and its contents to the oceans. Enrichment from land and the ocean and the subsequent cycling of the original chemicals or their derivatives contribute to the extraordinarily high values of estuaries for human purposes. Many estuaries are able to assimilate large quantities of nutrients despite the great fluctuations which occur with variations in the flow from tributaries. The nutrients can be stored, incorporated in standing crops of plants, released, cycled and exported - and the system frequently achieves high production of plants and and animals without creation of any undesirable results of enrichment. Excessive enrichment with the same elements and compounds can, however, be highly detrimental to estuaries and their uses. Coastal cities are usually located on the estuaries which provided a harbor for the- and which now receive partially treated sewage and other wastes from the expanding population and industrial activity. Conversion of woodlands to agricultural use and the extensive application of fertilizers have resulted in the flow of large quantities of nutrients down the hill or slopes and eventually into the estuary.

Within recent years man has become increasingly aware of the disastrous environmental changes that he has introduced, and therefore society is now more concerned about understanding the adaptations organisms have evolved in order to survive and flourish in their environment. Because much of the information pertaining to this subject is scattered in various journals or special symposia proceedings, our purpose in writing this book is to bring together in a college-and graduate-student text the principal concepts of the environmental physiology of the animals that inhabit one of the major realms of the earth, the sea. Our book is not meant to be a definitive treatise on the physiological adap tation of the animals that inhabit the marine environment. Instead, we have tried to highlight some of the physiological mechanisms through which these animals have been able to meet the challenges of their environment. We have not written this book for anyone particular scientific discipline; rather, we hope that it will have an interdisciplinary appeal. It is meant to be both a reference text and a text for teaching senior undergraduate and graduate courses in marine biology, physiological ecology of marine animals, and envi ronmental physiology of marine animals."

From a general point of view the importance of striving to minimize envir- mental disturbances on the continental shelf cannot be overemphasized. Coastal areas are sites of population centers, navigation and recreation activities, and - source development, all of which contribute to environmental stress on the shelf. Proper management of the shelf for optimum use requires a thorough understanding of shelf processes. Complex problems, such as the influence of hydrodynamics on sediment dispersal, element differentiation and migration, physiochemical changes at the sediment water interface, the relationship - tween the pollutants and sediments, and the type of substrate with regard to benthic community and/or man-made structures require a multidisciplinary approach to their solution. The present study interrelates meteorologic, hyd- graphic, sedimentologic, and geochemical parameters to derme specific envir- ments on the Alaskan Shelf. These observations are then related to geologic principles in an effort to elucidate the sedimentary processes and elemental migration on the shelf. Attempts have also been made to relate the sediment texture to the geochem- try of the sediments. Obviously the chemistry is complicated as a result of b- genic contributions and variable provenance; however, to some extent elemental differentiation accompanies textural differentiation in sediments. The distribution of elements in various phases of crustal (source) rocks is gen- ally interpreted on the basis of crystallographic concepts, especially the concept of isomorphism.

Estuaries exist along the edge of the oceans and seas, and are char acterized by the dilution of sea water by inflowing fresher waters. The motion and interaction of these two types of water (fresh and salt water) determine the salinity distribution within the estuary and that, in turn, affects the organisms residing there. The purpose of this vol ume is to review the status of our understanding of estuarine circu lation and how the circulation patterns affect living and nonliving resources in estuaries. For many years, the primary paradigm for estuarine circulation was the two-layered net or nontidal gravitational circulation pattern first proposed by Dr. Donald Pritchard in his studies of the James River estuary. During the last decade or so, research has focused on the many variations about this theme and the factors that control the transport processes. Many of these aspects are covered in the initial papers in this volume. Water movement, of course, is of interest be cause it transports marine organisms, sediments, and pollutants. Es tuarine circulation has a significant effect on estuarine food chains, and on the distribution and abundance of organisms, such as the American oyster, that are freely transported by the currents during larval stages. The intent is to bring together many of these topics in a single volume. This volume is dedicated to Dr. Donald W."

A knowledge, which is as accurate as possible of microbial ecology is indispensible for ecosystem research and environmental protection. This is particularly true for coastal waters, whereby brackish water areas occupy a special position. After several years of preliminary studies on the composition and distribution of the micro flora -algae, fungi, and bacteria -a comprehensive investigation on the primary production, bacterial development and microbial uptake and decom position of substances in the Kie1 Bight was carried out, during which ten scientists from the Institut fUr Meereskunde ofKiel University participated. Here forthe first time numerous hydrographical, chemical and microbiological parameters could be measured on the same water samples. The aim of this joint project was to gain an insight into the manifold functions of the microorganisms in the uptake and degradation of organic substances and in the connections between pollution, production, and remineralization. The results ofthe investigations led not only to new knowledge of the role ofthe microorganisms in the brackish water ecosystem, but also to a revision of earlier conceptions, especially on the influence of wastes on the micro flora and its role in the self-purification of coastal waters. Such a time-limited investigation, however, cannot clarify all the questions on the complex relationships between the microorganisms and their biotope. Therefore, the present volume should also be understood as a stimulus for new and further-reaching research on the microbial ecology of coastal waters. Thereby the most important methods are described, as well as the practical experience obtained."

Water plays an important part in today's environmental concerns. Since the publication of the first edition there have been rapid developments in the application of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology to stream management. In particular, growth has occurred in the areas of stream rehabilitation and the evaluation of environmental flow needs. The concept of stream health has been adopted as a way of assessing stream resources and setting management goals.

"Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists Second Edition" documents recent research and practice in these areas. Chapters provide information on sampling, field techniques, stream analysis, the hydrodynamics of moving water, channel form, sediment transport and commonly used statistical methods such as flow duration and flood frequency analysis. Methods are presented from engineering hydrology, fluvial geomorphology and hydraulics with examples of their biological implications. This book demonstrates how these fields are linked and utilised in modern, scientific river management. "Emphasis on applications, from collecting and analysing field measurements to using data and tools in stream management." "Updated to include new sections on environmental flows, rehabilitation, measuring stream health and stream classification." "Critical reviews of the successes and failures of implementation." "Revised and updated windows-based software." This book is essential reading for 2nd/3rd year undergraduates and postgraduates of hydrology, stream ecology and fisheries science in Departments of Physical Geography, Biology, Environmental Science, Landscape Ecology, Environmental Engineering and Limnology. It would be valuable reading forprofessionals working in stream ecology, fisheries science and habitat management, environmental consultants and engineers.

What sight is more beautiful than a high-energy beach facing lines of rolling white breakers? What battleground is more ferocious than where waves and sand meet? What environment could be more exciting to study than this sandy interface between sea and land? And yet how much do we know about sandy beaches? Open sandy beaches are amongst the most neglected fields of scientific study in the coastal environment. This situation exists despite their great extent along most temperate and tropical coastlines and their value as recreational areas and buffer zones against the sea. The traditional oceanographer does not venture into the surf zone while the terrestrial ecologist stops short at the high water mark. Only a few coastal engineers have grappled with the problem of sand and sediment movement as it influences their construction of harbours and pipelines. The marine biologist on the other hand has regarded estuaries, coral reefs and rocky shores, obviously teeming with life, as more fruitful areas for study than the apparently poor animal life on sandy beaches. Sandy beaches have therefore tended to become a scientific no man's land. Over the last decade this situation has begun to improve. Recent work on high-energy beaches has revealed that they may in fact be rich and productive and fertile areas for study. It has even been suggested that beaches and their adjacent surf zones may constitute viable marine ecosystems.

This book is based on the premise that the study of ecological communities should be a composite analysis of system properties (community structure, community energetics) and population properties (life history patterns, adaptive strategies) backed by a thorough understanding of the physical chemical environment. Too frequently community ecology takes a much narrower focus. This may partly be the result of perceived antagonisms between schools of thought in ecology. Despite their rather separate origins, the multiple theoretical and methodological tools that now exist must be applied synthetically to real communities if the progress of the past two decades is to continue into the next two. This book has a case history format, which increases the opportunity for detailed analysis, although I have attempted to maintain the general per spective of a community ecologist and to draw extensively from the literature whenever it seems profitable to do so. The case history data are for Lake Lanao, a large tropical lake. The main zooplankton data base used in the analysis is entirely original and unpublished, although the detailed support ing data on the physical-chemical environment and the phytoplankton com munity have been presented in numerous journal articles and are thus abstracted or used selectively to meet the needs of zooplankton community analysis."

Groundwater constitute the most important reservoir of available clean water. Due to its overexploitation, some anthropogenic mismanagement on the surface and the overloading of the cleanup potential of subsurface, many of the groundwater systems used for water supply are in jeopardy. The problem is very severe in dry-lands, but also in urban, industrial, agricultural and traffic areas.This book first discusses the recharge fluxes relating both to the quantity and quality of groundwater. In order to face the threats to the water supply and to be able to maintain a sustainable water management policy, detailed knowledge is needed in between others on the surface to subsurface transformation link in the water cycle. Secondly, the presentation and comparison of both the traditional and modern approach to determine groundwater recharge is discussed.

For many years the reduction of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea has been a hot issue for mass-media, science, political parties and environmental action groups with manifold implications related to fisheries (will the Baltic cod survive?), sustainable coastal development (have billions of Euros been wasted on nitrogen reductions?), ecotoxicology (can we safely eat Baltic fish?). This book takes a holistic process-based ecosystem perspective on the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, with a focus on the factors regulating how the system would respond to changes in nutrient loading. This includes a very special process for the Baltic Sea: land uplift. After being depressed by the glacial ice, the land is now slowly rising adding vast amounts of previously deposited nutrients and clay particles to the system. 110,000 to 140,000 tons of phosphorus per year are added to the system from land uplift, in comparison to the 30,000 tons of phosphorus per year from rivers. The added clay particles function in ways similar to which clay particles of benthonite function in the wine industry: namely as a clarifier. Paradoxically, in spite of the fact that so many nutrients are added to the system from land uplift, the Baltic Sea would have an even higher nutrient concentration than at present, had it not been for the impact of the clay particles from land uplift. These results motivate a major revision of the outlook and understanding of the structure and function of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. The book also presents a remedial strategy aimed at combating eutrophication in the Baltic Sea which challenges the accepted remedial strategy.

Fisheries science in North America is changing in response to a changing climate, new technologies, an ecosystem approach to management and new thinking about the processes affecting stock and recruitment. Authors of the 34 chapters review the science in their particular fields and use their experience to develop informed opinions about the future. Everyone associated with fish, fisheries and fisheries management will find material that will stimulate their thinking about the future. Readers will be impressed with the potential for new discoveries, but disturbed by how much needs to be done in fisheries science if we are to sustain North American fisheries in our changing climate. Officials that manage or fund fisheries science will appreciate the urgency for the new information needed for the stewardship of fish populations and their ecosystems. Research organizations may want to keep some extra copies for a future look back into the thoughts of a wide range of fisheries professionals. Fisheries science has been full of surprises with some of the surprises having major economic impacts. It is important to minimize these impacts as the demand for seafood increases and the complexities of fisheries management increase.

The state of the Northeast Atlantic fisheries in recent years has highlighted - plementation as the Achilles heel of modern fisheries management: discards and unreported or misreported landings are in many cases recognised to effectively subvert sound conservation goals. Social science literature on fisheries mana- ment has tended to regard the implementation of resource conservation policies mainly as a question of effective enforcement. This literature regards surveillance and penalty as the key mechanism through which fishermen keep to catch restr- tions and loyally report their catches. This book emerged because several years of research on fishermen's compliance had made us uneasy about this rather narrow approach to the problem of implementation. This uneasiness motivated us to widen the approach to the question of implementing conservation policies in the fisheries. Taking Norway as an example, its fishing fleet consists of some 7,000 vessels spread along a coastline of more than 20,000 km, populated by less than 5 million people. The idea of ensuring desirable behaviour through surveillance and - forcement alone is almost absurd in such a context, as the task is impossible by any reasonable means. The Norwegian implementation system has thus had to rely heavily on the incentives provided by the rules and legitimacy created through a century of state/industry collaboration. Different coastal states face very different conditions in terms of solving typical implementation problems such as discards and misreporting.

The aim of this book is to discuss practically useful (operational) bioindicators for sustainable coastal management, criteria for coastal area sensitivity to eutrophication and an approach set a "biological value" of coastal areas. These bioindicators should meet defined criteria for practical usefulness, e.g., they should be simple to understand and apply to managers and scientists with different educational backgrounds. Central aspects for this book concern effect-load-sensitivity analyses. One and the same nutrient loading may cause different effects in coastal areas of different sensitivity. Remedial measures should be carried out in a cost-effective manner and this book discusses methods and criteria for this. Remedial strategies should generally focus on phosphorus rather than nitrogen because the effects of nitrogen reductions can rarely be predicted well and nitrogen reductions may favour the bloom of harmful cyanobacteria. Three case-studies exemplify the practical use of the bioindicators and concepts discussed in the book. The first concerns how local emissions of nutrients affect the receiving waters when all important nutrient fluxes are accounted for. The second concerns how to find reference values for "good" ecological status to set targets for remedial actions. The third gives a reconstruction of eutrophication. If the development during the last 100 years can be understood, key prerequisites to turn the development would be at hand.

This book should attract considerable interest from researchers in marine ecology, consultants and administrators interested in management and studies of coastal systems.

The southwestern Amazon basin, centering on the Territory of Rondoenia and the State of Acre, is symbolically if not exactly geographically, the Wild Wild West of Brazil's northern rainforest fron tier. In Brazil the name Rondoenia evokes exaggerated images of lawlessness, land feuding, and indigent peasants in search of a homestead. Despite the problems and the perception, the region has pushed ahead, in the view of the govern ment, with large-scale deforestation and the establishment of cattle ranches and agricultural farms raising manioc, rice, bananas, and other cash crops. The mining industry has been launched with the exploitation oftin stone, and the recent gold rush has attracted thousands of miners that are sifting alluvial deposits along the rivers for the precious ore. In an energy-short world, the region boasts of its large hydroelectric potential waiting development in the rivers falling off the Brazilian Shield and draining into the Rio Madeira. Planners are optimistic that Rondoenia's resources, once developed, will more than justify, at least in this corner of the rainforest frontier, the Economic Conquest ofthe Amazon. Sandwiched between the economic take-off and the dream, however, are the biological resources - the plants and animals - that must serve as sources of energy and food until human dominated ecosystems replace naturaiones. These resources are, ofnecessity, being heavily attacked to support the shaky economy of the region, but they are very poorly understood in terms of potential productivity and proper management.