BOOK REVIEWS

Limnol. Oceanogr., 41(7), 1996, 1583

0 1996, by the American

Society of Limnology

and Oceanography,

Inc.

POURRIOT, R., M. MEYBECK, P. CHAMP, AND J. ARCADY-MEYER

1995. Limnologie gin&ale.

2-225-84687-l.
956 p. F630.
[EDS.].

Masson, Paris. ISBN

The goal stated in the preface of this massive book is to present

in French a thorough compendium of limnological knowledge,
especially on natural, unpolluted lakes. It does that. Following
the path of Forel, it is a comprehensive text of limnology produced by 44 authors from France and other areas where French
is a prevalent language. North Americans are represented by
the Universities
of Montreal (two authors) and Notre Dame
(one). The detailed table of contents is followed by a simplified
English version but from there on it is a French production.
The introduction gives a brief, interesting review of the development of the subject and of the content and concepts of modern
limnology.
The book is divided into three sections: physical and chemical, biological, and biogeochemical cycles. This arrangement
has the advantage of separating the discussion of general chemical principles and major ions from the elements that are strongly
affected by biological activity. Curiously, the middle section is
called Limnologie
Biologique in the table of contents, but in
the text has metamorphosed to Limnologie
Ecologique.
The first section includes the expected material on water
movements, radiation, thermal conditions and sedimentation.
The treatment of chemistry includes major ions, organic matter
and biogeochemical transformations within sediments, but most
information on nutrients is in the final biogeochemical section.
The short discussion (p. 219-226) of paleolimnology
(Enregistrement du message sedimentaire) refers to the good memory of the sediment, but the emphasis is on signals of industrial
pollution and climate, and we are given nothing about the record
of past biological conditions in lakes based on diatoms, remains
of arthropods, or littoral plants.
The section on ecological limnology, covering planktonic, littoral, and benthic communities is thorough, extensive, and detailed. It occupies about half of the text with three chapters on
fundamental processes, four on population growth and dynamics (one of them on fish), four on population structure and organization (one combining fish and benthos), four on trophic
relations, and three on the effects of predation, including evolutionary adaptive responses of the zooplankton to predation.
The third section has detailed treatments of oxygen, carbon,
nitrogen, and phosphorus, but includes more than biogeochemistry. One chapter is devoted to a reservoir, lac de Pareloup. It
is a clear exposition of the goals and methods of mathematical
modeling for purposes of managing a resource. Another chapter
is given to Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) with emphasis on the
effects of various kinds of human activity. It is a useful summary
of the history of the lake and changes imposed on it, especially
those since 1950 when its deterioration became widely known.
The chapter includes information on pollution with heavy metals and other toxic materials, and on eutrophication including
the pronounced effect of phosphorus limitation,
both by removal during sewage treatment and by the Swiss ban on phosphorus in detergents.
Thus, despite the stated intention to concentrate the book on
natural, unpolluted lakes, it does give a significant amount of

1583

attention to limnological aspects of pollution. Eutrophication,

widely regarded as a form of pollution, is listed 13 times in the
index and appears in several more places in the text where
appropriate, as in connection with the phosphorus cycle and the
effect of human activity. Unfortunately this scattered treatment
of an important topic and its literature provides no real attempt
at a systematic discussion of concepts of eutrophication
as a
process of nutrient increase. The closest to that is an explanation
of Vollenweiders loading approach (p. 76 l-763). The definition
of eutrophic in the glossary (p. 939) combines in one sentence
the two different ideas of richness of nutrients and of the resulting high primary production. Examples of eutrophication in
the text are presented along with the consequent changes in
phytoplankton
and littoral vegetation without a clear specification of the processes involved, the reasons for concern about
the effects, and the scientific value of studies of lakes that have
been fertilized with sewage effluent. In many cases of eutrophication by urban development, planktivorous and piscivorous
fish have also been introduced into lakes, causing major changes
in the zooplankton. An example of such change (Fig. 14.14) is
presented in a way that implies that the changes in fish and
zooplankton are part of the process of eutrophication. The following paragraph on biomanipulation
(p. 470) and others on
fish predation clarify their role in controlling community structure.
The final chapter gives a novel and thought-provoking
approach to a comparison of lakes and streams Elements of convergence between flowing and stagnant systems.
Limnologie g&z&ale is richly illustrated with figures, graphs,
and tables. Many are reproduced from literature that is not well
represented in existing textbooks. The coverage is worldwide,
selective, but not restricted to material from French-speaking
countries. This book should be available to all limnologists and
students of limnology, regardless of their facility with language.
W. T. Edmondson
Department of Zoology
Box 35 1800
University of Washington
Seattle 98 195- 1800

Limnol. Oceanogr., 41(7), 1996, 1583-1584

0 1996, by the American

Society

of Limnology

C., AND J. A. KITCHING.

shores. Oxford University
854966-9. 240 p. $65.00.

LITTLE,

and Oceanography,

Inc.

1996. The biology of rocky

Press, London. ISBN 0- 19-

Authors of college-levei ecology texts must confront and attempt to achieve balance amongst at least the following: the
level of quantitative development, the conceptual history of the
subject matter, whether to embrace (or not) the contributions
of evolutionary biology, and the amount of taxonomic sophistication assumed to characterize the reader. The first and last
of these are perhaps the most daunting because they essentially
predetermine the books focus and level at which the material