free from any of the overtones that often constrain professional fisheries meetings. The present volume is the result. This volume aims to be useful as an appraisal of the state of the art by a mixed collection of insiders and outsiders. Most interestingly, I think, it aims (especially in the four group reports) to identify some of the major areas of unresolved controversy and some of the major questions yet unanswered. I see the book as essentially a tentative statement - often by several dissonant voices - about directions in which we may be heading; the book is emphatically not a canonical utterance on how to do things. It is intended to stimulate, not to codify. Following the usual Dahlem Workshop format, the discussions were organized under four themes. Although crisp demarcation is not possible, the first two themes broadly deal with biological aspects of the dynamics of single populations and the dynamics of systems with many species. The later two themes take up questions of management under uncertainty and multispecies management. In all this, the word "fish" is interpreted broadly to include such taxonomically varied beasts as whales, shrimp, crabs, shellfish, and squid, along with fish in a strictly zoological sense.

Fire in California's Ecosystems describes fire in detail-both as an integral natural process in the California landscape and as a growing threat to urban and suburban developments in the state. Written by many of the foremost authorities on the subject, this comprehensive volume is an ideal authoritative reference tool and the foremost synthesis of knowledge on the science, ecology, and management of fire in California. Part One introduces the basics of fire ecology, including overviews of historical fires, vegetation, climate, weather, fire as a physical and ecological process, and fire regimes, and reviews the interactions between fire and the physical, plant, and animal components of the environment. Part Two explores the history and ecology of fire in each of California's nine bioregions. Part Three examines fire management in California during Native American and post-Euro-American settlement and also current issues related to fire policy such as fuel management, watershed management, air quality, invasive plant species, at-risk species, climate change, social dynamics, and the future of fire management. This edition includes critical scientific and management updates and four new chapters on fire weather, fire regimes, climate change, and social dynamics.