Written from an ecosystem perspective, this user-friendly and thorough text discusses events that happen below the waterline of lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The text links them back to the attributers of the drainage basins, the overlying atmosphere and climate, which have a major impact on inland waters and their biota. It also contains a large number of easy-to-comprehend figures and tables that reinforce the written material and provide evidence for statements made.

Table of Contents

1. Inland Waters and Their Catchments: An Introduction and Setting.
Introduction. The Setting. Organization of the Text.

2. The Development of Limnology.
Limnology and Its Roots. Limnology Between World War I and World War II. The Development of Ideas: Europe. The Development of Ideas: North America. Limnology after World War II. Scales and Patterns: A Conceptual Exploration.

3. Water: A Unique and Important Substance.
Introduction. Characteristics of Water.

4. Water Resources, Water Pollution and Lakes.
Introduction. Water Resources. Lakes, Rivers, Wetlands, and Their Global Distribution. A Look at “Typical” Lakes and Streams.

5. Hydrology and Climate.
Introduction. Water Movement in Catchments. Humans and the Hydrologic Cycle. Global Patterns in Precipitation and Runoff. Runoff and the Presence of Waterbodies. Water Inputs and Outputs. The Aral Sea. The Caspian Sea.

6. Origin and Age of Lakes.
Introduction. Glacial Lakes. Tectonic Lakes. Coastal Lakes. Riverine Lakes. Volcanic Lakes. Solution or Karst Lakes. Manmade Lakes or Reservoirs.

7. Lake and Catchment Morphometry.
Introduction. The Bathymetric. Lake Surface Area. Lake Depth. Lake Shape. Underwater and Catchment Slopes.

8. Rivers and the Export of Materials from Drainage Basins and the Atmosphere.
Introduction. Flowing Water Systems. Rivers and Their Ecotones. Rivers, Their Banks, and Human. Drainage-Basin Export of Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Atmospheric Deposition of Nutrients. Nutrient Export, Catchment Size, Lake Morphometry, and the Biota: A Conceptualization. Organic Carbon Export from Drainage Basins.

9. Aquatic Systems and Their Catchments.
Catchment Size. Catchment Form. Catchment Soils and Vegetation. Water Residence Time. Nutrient Concentrations, Trophic State, and WRT. Retention of Dissolved and Particulate Materials by Lakes and Reservoirs. Sediment Loading to Aquatic Systems.

10. Light.
Introduction. Detectors. Light Above and Below the Surface. Absorption, Transmission, and Scattering of Light in Water. Ultraviolet Radiation and Its Effects. Light Attenuation. Light Attenuation and Photosynthesis. Light Attenuation and Lake Stratification. The Secchi Disc and Its Utility. Limitations of the Secchi Disc. Light and Primary Production. Underwater Vision.

11. Temperature Cycles, Lake Stratification and Heat Budgets.
Introduction. Types of Stratification and Mixing. Morphometry and Stratification. Seasonal Temperature Cycles and Stratification. Stability of Stratification. Stability of Temperate vs Tropical Lakes. Thermocline Depth. Thermocline Shape. Meromictic Lakes. Development of Meromixis. Heat Budgets. Climatic Change and Aquatic Systems.

12. Water Movements.
Introduction. Laminar vs Turbulent Flow. Surface Gravity Waves. Turbulent Flow and Measures. Coefficient of Vertical Eddy. Coefficient of Horizontal Eddy Diffusion. Horizontal Currents. Long-term Surface Current Patterns. Langmuir Currents. Standing Surface Waves. Internal or Thermocline Seiches. Internal Seiches, Hypolimnetic Currents, and Sediment Resuspension. Turbulent Mixing and the Biota.

13. Salinity and Major Ion Composition of Lakes and Rivers.
Introduction. Salinity and Its Origins. Total Salinity and Its Determination. Major Ion Composition. Human Activity, Climate, and Ion and Cycling. Saline Lakes and Their Distribution. Ionic Composition of Inland Saline Lakes and Wetlands. The Salinity Spectrum and the Biota.

14. Inorganic Carbon and pH.
Introduction. Carbon Dioxide in Water. pH and Its Range in Aquatic Systems. Alkalinity of Inland Waters. pH, Extreme Environmental Conditions, and Species Richness. Carbonates: Precipitation and Solubilization.

15. Dissolved Oxygen.
Introduction. Solubility of Oxygen in Water. Sources and Sinks of Oxygen. Photosynthesis, Respiration, and DOC. Dissolved Oxygen Consumption and Lake Productivity. Oxygen Depletion in Ice-covered Waters. Dissolved Oxygen and the Biota.

16. Oxidation-Reduction Potential.
Introduction. Redox Reactions and Nutrient Cycling.

17. Concentrations and Cycling of Phosphorus.
Introduction. The Classical Model of Phosphorus Cycling. The Modern Model and Aerobic Phosphorus Release. The Mass-Balance Equation and Phosphorus Cycling. Sediment Phosphorus Release and Phytoplankton Production. Phosphorus Control, Internal Loading, and Lake Management. The Empirical Modeling of Phosphorus. The Dynamic Modeling of Phosphorus.

18. Nitrogen Cycling.
Introduction: The Atmosphere, the Land, and the Water. Nitrogen Transformation Processes. Nitrification. Denitrification. Nitrogen Fixation: Rates. Nitrogen Fixation Rates: Plankton vs Littoral Zone. Forms and Quantities of Nitrogen in Inland Waters.

19. Iron, Manganese and Sulfur.
Introduction. Iron Cycling. Iron and Sulfur. Iron and Organic Matter. The Manganese Cycle. Iron, Manganese, and Trace Metals.

20. Particle Sedimentation and Sediments.
Introduction. Origin and Distribution Sedimentation and Sediment Traps. Sinking Velocities and Sedimentation Rates. The Sediment Record. Dating Sediments. Profundal Sediment Characteristics.

21. The Phytoplankton.
Introduction. Species Composition and Phylogenetic Generalities. Phytoplankton Size and Activity: Small Cells vs Large Cells. Seasonal Biomass Cycles: A Conceptual Model. The Composition of Phytoplankton Cells. Algal Sedimentation and Buoyancy Control. Parasitism and Disease. Photosynthesis, Light, and Temperature. Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Growth. Primary Production in Nature. Production: Biomass (P:B) Ratios and Specific Growth Rates in Nature. Limiting Nutrients and Eutrophication. Nitrogen vs Phosphorus. Empirical Nutrient-Phytoplankton Relationships. The Maximum Phytoplankton Biomass.

22. The Bacteria.
Introduction. From Past to Present. Bacterial Size, Form, and Metabolism.Abundance, Biomass, and Distribution. Heterotrophic Bacterial Abundance and Environmental Factors. Resource Limitation vs Grazing Control of Bacterial Abundance. Heterotrophic Bacteria: Production, Losses, and System Contribution. Viruses. The Microbial Food Web. Photosynthetic Bacteria. Heterotrophic Sediment Bacteria.

23. Zooplankton.
Introduction. Zooplankton Sampling. Protozoa, Rotifers, and Crustaceans. Species Richness and Its Prediction. Seasonal Cycles. Long-term Variation in Zooplankton and the Zoobenthos Abundance. Top-down Control of Zooplankton. Biomanipulation and Lake Species Management. Chaoborus: The Phantom Midge. Zooplankton Feeding. Nutrient Cycling and Zooplankton. Resource Availability and Zooplankton Biomass. Zooplankton Production. Diel Migration and Cyclomorphosis.

24. Benthic Plants.
Introduction. Wetlands and Their Utilization. Macrophyte Distribution and Species Richness. Macrophyte Biomass and Its Determinants. Submerged Macrophyte Distribution: Light and Lake Morphometry. Submerged Macrophyte Distributions and Plant Nutrients. Submerged Macrophyte Distribution and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC): A Physiological Exploration. Plant Size, Community Structure, and Function. Attached Algae. Eutrophication and Benthic Plants. Lake Management and Macrophytes.

25. Zoobenthos.
Introduction. Taxonomic Distribution, Species Richness, and Abundance. Life-History Aspects. Lake Morphometry, Substrate Characteristics, and the Zoobenthos. Resource and Predation Control. The Zebra Mussel: A Keystone Species. The Zoobenthos and Energy Flow in Lakes.

26. Fish and Water Birds.
Introduction. Fish Species and Species Richness. Life-History Attributes and Population Dynamics of Age-0 Fish. Fish Growth: Determinants and Measurement. Fisheries and Fisheries Management. The Biology of a Temperate Zone Fish and a Tropical Fish: Perch and Tilapia. Predicting Fish Biomass, Production, and Yield. Aquaculture and Water Quality. Water Birds.

27. Acidification of Waterways. 27.
Introduction. Sources and Distributions. Acid-Sensitive Waters. Characteristics of Acid-Sensitive Waters and Catchments. Catchments and Lake Acidification: Wet and Dry Deposition. Neutralization and Buffering Processes in Catchments. Buffering Capacity of Lakes, Rivers, and Wetlands. Aluminum and Other Toxic Metals. Effects of Acidification on the Aquatic Biota. Modeling the Acidification Process. Lake Management: Recovering from Acidification. The Future.

28. Contaminants.
Introduction. Toxic Substances. Sources of Contaminants. The Fate of Contaminants. The Sediment Record. Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Contaminants and Their Distribution in Nature. Toxicity and Its Prediction. Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification. Mercury and the Mercury Cycle. Toxic Chemicals, Environmental Health, and Lake Management.

29. Reservoirs.
Introduction. Natural Lakes and Reservoirs. The River-Lake-Reservoir Continuum. Water Residence Time and Plankton Growth Rates. Reservoir Zonation: A Conceptual View. Drawdowns. Reservoir Aging and the Trophic Upsurge. Large Reservoirs and Their Impacts.

Appendix 1. International Organization for Standardization of Country Codes.
Appendix 2. Conversion Factors for Selected Elements and Reported Species.
Bibliography.
Index.