- Email: [email protected]
Inland waters of Southern Africa: An ecological perspective
294 G. WIEGLEB Ruhr-Universiti~tBochum Spezielle Botanik Postfach 102178 D.4630 Bochum 1 GERMANY
REFERENCE Cook, C.D.K., Gut, B.J., Rix, E.M., Scheller,J. and Seitz, M., 1974.WaterPlantsof the World: A Manualfor the Identificationof the Genera of FreshwaterMacrophytes.Junk, The Hague, 561 pp.
INLANDWATERSOF SOUTHERNAFRICA Inland Waters o f Southern Africa: An Ecological Perspective. ( Monogr. Biol., vol. 64) B.R. Allanson, R.C. Hart, J.H. O'Keefe and R.D. Robarts (Editors), Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1990, 458 pp., Dfl. 300, £100, US$159, ISBN 07923-0266-4. In recent years there has been an increasing awareness that the biological gradients southwards from the equator are not the same as those from the equator to the northern temperate regions. This applies particularly to the diversity and endemism of both plants and animals. One of the initial barriers to this awareness, particularly in limnologieal terms, has been that most work has been done in temperate Europe and North America. This has led to a feeling that all the answers lie in those areas. This book serves as a useful correction to that view. For readers of this journal the most directly relevant and interesting part will be Chapter I l, which deals with the primary producers. This is a nicely balanced account of both the macrophytes and the phytoplankton. There is a detailed account of phytoplankton production in turbid reservoirs, which includes a contrast between those reservoirs made turbid by inorganic suspensoids and those in which the turbidity is ofbiogenic origins. Among the latter Hartbeesport Dam has received particular attention, and there is a good analysis of an intensive 7 year study of this hypertrophic reservoir in which the chlorophyll concentration can reach 6 g m -3. When compared with other freshwaters in the warmer parts of the world, Hartbeesport Dam ranks as the most highly productive freshwater system studied. Although the chapter on primary production is the most relevant to an aquatic botanist, it would be a mistake to ignore the rest of the book. For
295 anyone with an interest in comparative limnology this is a valuable resource. The book is logically organised, with an introductory section on the subcontinent, dealing with geomorphology, climate and regional limnology. An interesting feature is the proposal to divide the subcontinent into regions in which the zonal sequence runs from east to west, with a separate zone for the Drakensberg and Lesotho. At first sight this seems counterintuitive, but it makes sense in relation to geomorphology and climate. Part two is a good introduction to the rivers and includes a review of river research in southern Africa since 1900. Part three deals with natural and man-made lakes. This is the largest and to my mind the most valuable part of the book. It proceeds from su~pensoids, [~ydrodynamics and chemical conditions, through the excellent chapter on primary producers to bacteria and then to an equally excellent chapter on planktonic and benthic invertebrates, followed by a brief chapter on the fish. The book ends with a well written and thoughtful "synthesis and implications'. There is a detailed bibliography of over 700 references, ranging from the classical papers of Sars, from the early part of this century, up to papers published in 1989, with a high proportion published in the 1980s. As a whole the book is a well integrated ecological account of present day knowledge of the inland waters of southern Africa. It is a valuable contribution which will be consulted by all who are interested in the region or ~:ncomparative limnology, and more people would buy it if it was not so expensive. J. GREEN
Centrefor Research in Aquatic Biology University of London Mile End Road London E14NS UK
WETLANDSAND SHALLOWWATERS Wetlands and Shallow Continental Water Bodies. Vol. 1. Natural and H u m a n Relationships. B.C. Patten (Editor), SPB, The Hague, 1990, 759 pp., Dfl.
275.00/US$160.00, ISBN 90-5103-046-0. Wetlands and shallow waters have clearly emerged from obscurity. The plethora of books, particularly collections of scientific, parochial, and even anecdotal papers, increases progressively. Quality is not always concordant with this deluge of information. Indeed, the demands emanating from wetland exploitation and destruction have forced intense evaluations ofwetland ecosystems. The spate of reports forms a collage of excellent data amidst a flood of
REFERENCE Cook, C.D.K., Gut, B.J., Rix, E.M., Scheller,J. and Seitz, M., 1974.WaterPlantsof the World: A Manualfor the Identificationof the Genera of FreshwaterMacrophytes.Junk, The Hague, 561 pp.
INLANDWATERSOF SOUTHERNAFRICA Inland Waters o f Southern Africa: An Ecological Perspective. ( Monogr. Biol., vol. 64) B.R. Allanson, R.C. Hart, J.H. O'Keefe and R.D. Robarts (Editors), Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1990, 458 pp., Dfl. 300, £100, US$159, ISBN 07923-0266-4. In recent years there has been an increasing awareness that the biological gradients southwards from the equator are not the same as those from the equator to the northern temperate regions. This applies particularly to the diversity and endemism of both plants and animals. One of the initial barriers to this awareness, particularly in limnologieal terms, has been that most work has been done in temperate Europe and North America. This has led to a feeling that all the answers lie in those areas. This book serves as a useful correction to that view. For readers of this journal the most directly relevant and interesting part will be Chapter I l, which deals with the primary producers. This is a nicely balanced account of both the macrophytes and the phytoplankton. There is a detailed account of phytoplankton production in turbid reservoirs, which includes a contrast between those reservoirs made turbid by inorganic suspensoids and those in which the turbidity is ofbiogenic origins. Among the latter Hartbeesport Dam has received particular attention, and there is a good analysis of an intensive 7 year study of this hypertrophic reservoir in which the chlorophyll concentration can reach 6 g m -3. When compared with other freshwaters in the warmer parts of the world, Hartbeesport Dam ranks as the most highly productive freshwater system studied. Although the chapter on primary production is the most relevant to an aquatic botanist, it would be a mistake to ignore the rest of the book. For
295 anyone with an interest in comparative limnology this is a valuable resource. The book is logically organised, with an introductory section on the subcontinent, dealing with geomorphology, climate and regional limnology. An interesting feature is the proposal to divide the subcontinent into regions in which the zonal sequence runs from east to west, with a separate zone for the Drakensberg and Lesotho. At first sight this seems counterintuitive, but it makes sense in relation to geomorphology and climate. Part two is a good introduction to the rivers and includes a review of river research in southern Africa since 1900. Part three deals with natural and man-made lakes. This is the largest and to my mind the most valuable part of the book. It proceeds from su~pensoids, [~ydrodynamics and chemical conditions, through the excellent chapter on primary producers to bacteria and then to an equally excellent chapter on planktonic and benthic invertebrates, followed by a brief chapter on the fish. The book ends with a well written and thoughtful "synthesis and implications'. There is a detailed bibliography of over 700 references, ranging from the classical papers of Sars, from the early part of this century, up to papers published in 1989, with a high proportion published in the 1980s. As a whole the book is a well integrated ecological account of present day knowledge of the inland waters of southern Africa. It is a valuable contribution which will be consulted by all who are interested in the region or ~:ncomparative limnology, and more people would buy it if it was not so expensive. J. GREEN
Centrefor Research in Aquatic Biology University of London Mile End Road London E14NS UK
WETLANDSAND SHALLOWWATERS Wetlands and Shallow Continental Water Bodies. Vol. 1. Natural and H u m a n Relationships. B.C. Patten (Editor), SPB, The Hague, 1990, 759 pp., Dfl.
275.00/US$160.00, ISBN 90-5103-046-0. Wetlands and shallow waters have clearly emerged from obscurity. The plethora of books, particularly collections of scientific, parochial, and even anecdotal papers, increases progressively. Quality is not always concordant with this deluge of information. Indeed, the demands emanating from wetland exploitation and destruction have forced intense evaluations ofwetland ecosystems. The spate of reports forms a collage of excellent data amidst a flood of