The Ecology of Freshwater Phytoplankton

by C. S. Reynolds

Overview

This book deals with the lifestyles of phytoplankton, the microscopic plant life living in the open waters of lakes, ponds and rivers and makes frequent references to the phytoplankton of the sea. It reviews adaptations required of organisms to live their lives independently of solid surfaces and the different ways that these have been achieved. Chapters dealing with particular topics are arranged in approximately the order in which they become a problem to the organism: How can it stay up in the water? Can it gain sufficient light and nutrients? How fast can it grow under different conditions? And what are the results of sinking out, feeding by animals, attacks by parasitic fungi and bacteria? The final chapter assembles this information to show ways in which plankton changes with season and through much longer periods of time, contrasting the behaviours in different types of lakes. This book is important for two reasons: it is the first major book on the subject for some years and projects many recent research findings; and the approach departs from previous volumes in concentrating on needs and adaptive responses to them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521282222
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/02/1984
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Ecology
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.06(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. What is phytoplankton?; 2. Mechanisms of suspension; 3. Spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton; 4. Photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton; 5. Nutrients; 6. Growth and survival; 7. Loss process; 8. Periodicity and change in phytoplankton composition; Glossary and symbols; References; Index to lakes and rivers; Index to genera/species; General index.