The Riverine Ecosystem Synthesis: Toward Conceptual Cohesiveness in River Science - Softcover

Thorp, James H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0124054609 ISBN 13: 9780124054608

Publisher: Academic Press, 2014

Synopsis

This book presents the most comprehensive model yet for describing the structure and functioning of running freshwater ecosystems. Riverine Ecosystems Synthesis (RES) is a result of combining several theories published in recent decades, dealing with aquatic and terrestrial systems. New analyses are fused with a variety of new perspectives on how river network ecosystems are structured and function, and how they change along longitudinal, lateral, and temporal dimensions. Among these novel perspectives is a dramatically new view of the role of hydrogeomorphic forces in forming functional process zones from headwaters to the mouths of great rivers. Designed as a useful tool for aquatic scientists worldwide whether they work on small streams or great rivers and in forested or semi-arid regions, this book will provide a means for scientists to understand the fundamental and applied aspects of rivers in general and includes a practical guide and protocols for analyzing individual rivers. Specific examples of rivers in at least four continents (Africa, Australia, Europe and North America) serve to illustrate the power and utility of the RES concept.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr. James H. Thorp has been a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS, USA) and a Senior Scientist in the Kansas Biological Survey since 2001. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Prof. Thorp was a Distinguished Professor and Dean at Clarkson University, Department Chair and Professor at the University of Louisville, Associate Professor and Director of the Calder Ecology Center of Fordham University, Visiting Associate Professor at Cornell, and Research Ecologist at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. He received his Baccalaureate from the University of Kansas (KU) and both Masters and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State. Those degrees focused on zoology, ecology, and marine biology, with an emphasis on the ecology of freshwater and marine invertebrates. Dr. Thorp is currently on the editorial board of two journals (River Research and Applications and River Systems) and is a former President of the International Society for River Science. He teaches freshwater, marine, and general ecological courses at KU, and his Masters and doctoral graduate students work on various aspects of the ecology of organisms, communities, and ecosystems in rivers, reservoirs, and wetlands. Prof. Thorp’s research interests and background are highly diverse and span the gamut from organismal biology to community, ecosystem, and macrosystem ecology. He works on both fundamental and applied research topics using descriptive, experimental, and modeling approaches in the field and lab. While his research emphasizes aquatic invertebrates, he also studies fish ecology, especially as related to food webs. He has published more than one hundred refereed journal articles, books, and chapters, including three single-volume editions of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates (edited by J.H. Thorp and A.P. Covich) and the first volume (Ecology and General Biology) in the current fourth edition.

Review:

"The book provides a good overview for all those interested in the development of river science with critical reviews of current theories. It is more than simply an overview however, in that it presents a well- argued, detailed synthesis of these theories inviting comments and further developments from academics. A useful resource for any undergraduate or postgraduate student studying river systems, along with academic researchers and practitioners, the RES outlines the developments in river science that will no doubt shape future research for many years to come."--River Research and Applications

About this edition

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0124054609
• ISBN 13: 9780124054608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232