779

Book reviews
In his concluding remarks to the volume Strickler
stresses the importance of scale effects in the hydrosphere. He refers to Hutchinsons division of the hydrosphere into the three realms to be described by
equations for molecular movements, viscous and inertial forces. Although he did not have this in mind,
there is a strong analogy between the realms of the
hydrosphere and this book. The volume covers the
whole range of processes involved in trophic interactions, from the suborganismic level via organismic interactions and food-web dynamics to trophic levels
integrating whole groups of organisms and to a purely
statistical view, which only deals with size distributions
of particles. Moreover, the articles differ very much
with respect to their level of generalization. The book
contains literature surveys, hypothesis testing, and
original experimental data.
The first part contains three excellent reviews of
problems associated with phytoplankton.
Kilham and
Kilham report on nutrient competition
and the importance of relative supply rates of nutrients, and
McCarthy and Altabet stress the role of patchiness.
Lehman provides the connection to the zooplankton
part by considering the effects of grazing and nutrient
release by zooplankton. These three articles complement each other and together form a concise review of
the trophic processes involved in the regulation of algal
growth and mortality. Such a coordinated overview is
never again attained in the volume.
The second (and largest) part of the book is devoted
to the feeding behavior of zooplankton, especially to
the mechanisms of selective feeding. Two thorough
studies provide original data on particle selection and
feeding rates in marine copepods (Paffenhofer) and rotifers (Gilbert and Bogdan). The development of highspeed microcinematography
has recently provided some
insight into the primary mechanisms of particle collection by copepods. A large body of literature on this
topic is reviewed by Koehl in a concise and clear-cut
chapter summarizing the basic ideas about feeding at
low Reynolds numbers. The reader who is able to understand Koehls paper will probably not depend on
Stricklers introduction to life in a viscous environment
written in an elementary textbook style. Anyway, I
learned from this chapter not to disgrace my little boy
if he stirs the honey with fork and knife. Its not bad
behavior but a good demonstration
of the conditions
of feeding in sticky water and of a selective force in
copepod evolution. The feeding mechanisms of cladocerans, probably the most important grazers in freshwater, are not considered, except for some anecdotal
comments in Stricklers concluding remarks. On the
other hand, the article by Goulden and Henry on lipid
energy reserves in Cladocera is the only one that deals
with the utilization of the ingested food.
Part three contains two articles on feeding behavior
of fish. Although different in their approach, they both
try to explain the selectivity of fish predation on zooplankton. Wright and OBrien successfully try to describe the feeding behavior of a single fish and to generate a component analysis model. Their main focus
is the impact of fish on the zooplankton community.
On the other hand, Liem is more interested in the
functional morphology of the feeding and extensively
reviews the diversity and plasticity of feeding modes.

A separate chapter on invertebrate predation is missing. However, its significance is considered in the papers in part four entitled community.
Invertebrate
predators play an important role in the paper by Kerfoot and DeMott who apply the concept of keystone
predators to fish in lake communities.
In a blend of
their own results from field experiments and literature
data, they discuss the consequences of the simultaneous control of herbivores and invertebrate predators
to the dynamics of food webs. Meyers illustrates that
food webs may vary considerably in a spatial and temporal fashion. He presents an example of habitat shifts
and changing dietary overlap of grazers by diel horizontal and vertical migrations.
The last two articles stand a little isolated. Sprules
and Knoechel use a purely statistical approach. They
conclude from the comparison of biomass distributions in 37 lakes that functional properties of freshwater pelagic communities can be better characterized
by an analysis of the size structure than by a taxonomic
one. Finally Hecky compares trophic efficiencies in African lakes which are very different with respect to their
trophic structure but have similar fish yields.
This book certainly does not attempt to provide a
balanced review and to cover the whole field of trophic
interactions. It reflects the subjective views of the contributors. The time between the symposium and the
publication was rather long. In the meantime some of
the authors developed further the ideas presented in
the book or published new results that are not included
here. But nevertheless this highly diverse volume is an
interesting collection of recent ideas in plankton ecology. Although it does not provide a unifying concept,
it documents different approaches, provides a valuable
source of references, stimulates discussions, and outlines recent trends.

Winfried Lampert
Max-Planck-Institut
fur Limnologie
Postfach 165
2320 Pliin, Federal Republic of Germany

Limnol.

Oceanogr.,

32(3),

1987, 779-780

C. S. 1984. The ecology of freshwater

phytoplankton.
Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge and New York. 384 p. $62.50.

REYNOLDS,

There are few modern books giving a well integrated

review of the ecology of freshwater phytoplankton,
so
this volume in the Cambridge studies in ecology series
is particularly welcome. It is targeted at the postgraduate student level of readership, and I am sure will be
a stimulating source book for ideas for many students
starting out on their research careers.
The author has been a consistent contributor to our
understanding of the ecology of the phytoplankton
of
the British Isles over the past 15 years or more, particularly of the English Lake District and the more
lowland waters of Cheshire and Shropshire. For many
readers this book will provide a useful review of the
recent state of British plankton ecology.
The first chapter is one of definitions, including discussion of the size, shape, structure, and composition
of phytoplanktonic
organisms. This is followed by a

780

Book reviews

chapter on mechanisms of suspension. The author has

made a number of original contributions to this problem, peculiar to planktonic organisms, and this chapter
is written with great enthusiasm and authority. The
physical aspects of suspension and turbulence are discussed, followed by consideration of morphological and
dynamic aspects of maintenance of buoyancy by the
individual algae. This is followed by chapters on the
more descriptive aspects of the spatial and temporal
distribution of phytoplankton where the principles propounded in the previous chapter are discussed in the
context of natural communities. The next two chapters
are on nutrition-one
on photosynthesis and a second
on mineral nutrients.
The final three chapters concern the dynamics of
community structure. The first two of these concern
the growth and increase in population and community
size, followed by loss processes affecting communities.
The last chapter discusses short-term (seasonal) and
long-term (floristic) changes in community structure,
including the problem of eutrophication.
The author has drawn heavily upon his own expe-

riences, with nearly two-thirds of the work referred to

being close to his own interest, and this fact gives the
book the advantages of a consistency of approach and
enthusiasm which far outweigh any disadvantages there
might be where examples chosen may not be the best
available. This has however led the book to be restricted almost entirely to limnoplankton
of temperate
regions, and I would have liked more attention to other
types of planktonic communities,
such as potamoplankton or those from tropical environments-particularly with such a broad title for the book.
The book is well printed, illustrated, and produced,
with few typographical or other errors. I found it stimulating and enjoyable to read as indeed have my postgraduate students.

Roger Tippett
Department of Zoology
The University
Glasgow G 12 8QQ
Scotland

Announcements
Joint

Oceanographic

Assembly

1988 -Call

for Papers

The Joint Oceanographic Assembly, organized by SCOR and the Mexican Organizing Committee,
will take place in Acapulco, 23-3 1 August 1988. All presentations will be in English. The scientific
program will include four General Symposia of invited papers and 12 Special Symposia: S 1 Oceanography in Mexico; S2 Physical and ecosystem models; S3 New observation methods and associated
data problems; S4 Large-scale changes from human activity; S5 Life strategies in extreme environmental conditions; S6 Small-scale processes in the surface layer; S7 Tropical coastal systems; S8
Global ocean storage and fluxes; S9 Deep-sea floor; SlO Ocean variability
and biological change;
Sl 1 Global sea level change; S12 Scientific basis for ocean resource use. Each Special Symposium
will comprise six or seven papers.
There will also be sessions on subjects relevant to the interests of the cooperating associations
(Commission for Marine Geology, International
Association for Biological Oceanography, International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, International
Association for the
Physical Sciences of the Ocean). Association presentation will be largely by poster; limited time will
be available for lectures.
Abstracts not exceeding 1 page should be submitted before 30 November 1987. The abstract
should indicate if the paper is to be considered for a specific Special Symposium or to which
Association (CMG, IABO, IAMAP, and IAPSO) it should be referred. Authors will be informed
by 31 January 1988 whether their papers have been selected. Format information
for printed
abstracts will be provided; final abstracts are due 31 March 1988.
Submission of abstracts and correspondence concerning the scientific program should be addressed
to W. S. Wooster, JOA HF-05, University of Washington, Seattle 98 195. Arrangements in Mexico,
registration, etc. are handled by Roberto Guitierrez G., JOA/CONACYT,
A.P. 20033,045 15 Mexico
D.F., Mexico.

Travel Grants to the Joint Oceanographic

Acapulco, Mexico- 23-3 1 August 1988

Assembly

The American Geophysical Union has received funds from the National Science Foundation to
assist the travel of U.S. ocean scientists to attend JOA 1988. Preference will be given to young
scientists but established researchers with interrupted research funding, administrators,
and senior
scientists may also be considered. Maximum awards will be $1,200.
Application forms are available from: JOA 88 Grant, AGU, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Deadline for applications is 1 March 1988.