Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction -- 1. The Physical Nature of River Ecosystems -- 2. Nutrients and River Ecosystems -- 3. Lotic Primary Producers: Phytoplankton and Periphyton -- 4. Lotic Primary Producers: Macroalgae and Macrophytes -- 5. Stream and River Invertebrate Communities -- 6. Feeding the River: Unifying Concepts -- 7. Riverine Fishes and Other Vertebrate Communities -- 8. Blackwater Streams and Rivers -- 9. The Ecology of Tidal Creeks -- 10. Altering the Natural Flow: Dams and River Fragmentation -- 11. Reservoir Limnology -- 12. Industrial Pollution of Streams and Rivers -- 13. Human Wastewater Treatment and Industrial Livestock Production Wastes -- 14. Species Loss and Impacts of Invasive Species -- 15. Ecology and Pollution of Urban Streams -- 16. Protecting and Restoring Streams and Rivers -- 17. Floods, Hurricanes, and Climate Change

Rivers have been vitally important to human populations worldwide for millennia as zhighwaysy for inland travel, and as sources of water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, manufacturing, irrigation, and power generation, as well as repositories for human, animal, and industrial wastes. This accessible textbook takes a broad approach to river ecology, covering the basics but going beyond by including topics that are often overlooked such as blackwater streams and rivers, tidal creek ecosystems, and reservoir limnology. Since most running water (lotic) systems have been altered or impacted by human activities, there is significant emphasis on anthropogenic impacts, including sedimentation, nutrient pollution and related eutrophication issues as well as the effects of dams and river fragmentation, power plant operations, chemical contamination, wastewater treatment discharges, industrial scale livestock production, invasive species, and rural and urban storm water runoff on river ecosystems. Advances in stream and river restoration are also discussed. -- Provided by publisher