A Review of “Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology”

Like the first edition, the revised second edition of Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology is intended for undergraduate students with varied backgrounds. In the preface to their book, Walter K. Dodds and Matt R. Whiles write, “In our experience, teaching limnology/freshwater ecology is more work than teaching other courses because of the breadth of the subject, differential preparation of the student, …” and I agree with this view. Like the first edition, this book is primarily a textbook and not a management guide; it is not meant for the reference shelf. Like all textbooks, it has both strengths and weaknesses.

An initial reading of this book left the impression that it is a collection of topics with little or no underlying organizational theme. This is both strength and weakness, allowing the instructor to provide an organizational theme on one hand, and presenting a wide array of topics that requires the instructor's organizing theme on the other. In their preface the authors explained that this was their intent—to provide chapters that “are short, self-contained units to allow the text to conform to a wide variety of organizational schemes…” The second edition of this text is indeed a broad collection of topics, and used in the right context, this can be an advantage. For those wishing to have a unifying story within the textbook, it will be viewed as a disadvantage.

The second edition improves upon the first in multiple areas, increasing coverage and depth. It will still surprise those who might expect a more “linear” subject treatment, as in most physics or chemistry texts, rather than one suitable to aquatic ecology, which integrates concepts and topics from many fields over a wide range of scales. The second edition incorporates M. R. Whiles as the second author to “broaden the perspective.” The new edition is expanded from the old one, from 569 to 829 pages with 80 updated or new figures and with expanded sections on topics from the first edition plus new chapters. One of the new chapters, “Responses to Stress, Toxic Chemicals, and Other Pollutants in Aquatic Ecosystems,” is derived and expanded from material in one chapter of the first edition. Chapter 4 of the first edition now has been expanded to 2 chapters in the second edition. And chapter 22, “Complex Community Interactions,” expanded on material that had been discussed briefly in chapter 20 of the first edition.

While the second edition attempts to enhance adequacy for teaching both freshwater ecology and limnology, it is not without problems. Some of these problems were also present in the first edition and some are new to the second. One example of the latter is the introduction of the terms diadromy, anadromy, and catadromy in chapter 10. While these are defined very briefly and made relevant to example organisms, the more complex and confusing concept of amphidromy had already been introduced pages earlier with a very limited explanation for this controversial-but-interesting life history. In both editions there are figures, such as Figure 16.1, which have no further reference in the text. Lack of reference is disturbing, and in the case of this figure, students should also be informed that the Cuyahoga fire of 1952 was only one of several such events, and that it was a later occurrence that helped galvanize the environmental movement. Some more substantial errors in figures are evident. For example, in Figure 9.6 the diatom genera seem to have been randomly shuffled among the drawings. I am certain that the authors know better, so I must therefore credit such errors to editorial deficiency. In some cases, while the figures are technically correct, the style detracts from clarity, such as in Figure 9.8, in which it may not be clear to students which of the 4 drawings at the top of the figure correspond to the 3 designations. Similarly, in Figure 9.10 the scale lines vary in both physical length and numerical value. Again, I wish the editing process had been more thoughtful.

Nevertheless, the flaws presented in this textbook provide an opportunity for creative instructors to challenge students to discover errors for themselves. In the process, students may learn that everyone is fallible while they build their personal confidence. The new edition is a good attempt to correct past deficiencies, and I am certain that students of every age will contribute to the errata list that is bound to be in progress as you read this review.

Two other aspects of this book demand additional consideration. The first edition was entitled, “Freshwater Ecology” and did not mention limnology later in the title. As an ecology text it lacked mention of some topics that general ecology texts offer as important elements. To some extent this criticism applies to the second edition, but it is tempered by the title change, adding that the second edition is also about the application of limnology. Nevertheless, the omission of topics such as mimicry or neutral theory requires the instructor to compensate with supplemental materials if teaching ecology. Competition is mentioned in terms of outcomes without supplying even a basic development of population growth models as background. Explanation of population growth with age structure is absent. Evolution is mentioned as if the student already possesses a sophisticated understanding of the basic principles, and there is no discussion of population genetics as part of explanations. Supplemental materials may be required to compensate in the classroom.

Another criticism is the brevity with which reservoirs are treated in the second edition. While reservoirs are noted to have “global importance,” they qualify for little more than 5 pages of discussion scattered through the chapters of this new edition. No reference is made to many of the books and reports written on this subject, most notably the book by Thornton et al. (1990) entitled, “Reservoir Limnology.” For those of us in regions dominated by reservoir systems, this is a serious omission. The comparison of the morphometry of Crater Lake to Milford Reservoir on page 154 is simply bizarre.

I suspect that few of us have discovered a “perfect” text or reference book, and I suppose this can be attributed to some extent to our critical nature. While this text has stylistic flaws and some important omissions, I also recognize that it cannot be all things to all aquatic ecologists. The book does contain a useful collection of topics, most of which are useful summaries that can be used in designing a course. This book will offer the instructor the challenge of providing the organizing theme and likely filling some gaps. However, for the instructor who has a well-organized theme in mind, this book can save her or him from looking further through publishers’ offerings. The flaws can be overcome, and the individual chapters do tend to stand alone, allowing a customized sequence that fits individual course needs. For those considering the book, I advise them to read the preface and table of contents carefully. And if they decide to adopt this text (as I may now that I have read it), they should be prepared for a little more work. The students will appreciate the thoughtful effort.