From the mysterious depths of Lake Vostok, Antarctica, to tropical floodplain lakes, inland seas, hydro-reservoirs and the variety of waterbodies in our local environment, lakes encompass a huge diversity of shapes, sizes, depths, colours, and even salinities. Often very large and very deep, they sustain important and unique ecosystems which can be hotspots of biodiversity, and are used by humans as sources of drinking water and food, in particular, fish. What is the origin of differences among lakes, and how does that ...
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From the mysterious depths of Lake Vostok, Antarctica, to tropical floodplain lakes, inland seas, hydro-reservoirs and the variety of waterbodies in our local environment, lakes encompass a huge diversity of shapes, sizes, depths, colours, and even salinities. Often very large and very deep, they sustain important and unique ecosystems which can be hotspots of biodiversity, and are used by humans as sources of drinking water and food, in particular, fish. What is the origin of differences among lakes, and how does that affect the life within them? What are the seasons of a lake, and how do human actions alter lake ecosystems locally, and at a global scale? In this Very Short Introductions, Warwick Vincent outlines the essential features of lake environments and their biology, offering an up-to-date view of lake ecosystems. Vincent traces the origins of lake science (limnology) from the seminal work of Fran???ois Forel on Lake Geneva at the edge of the Swiss Alps, to modern approaches such as environmental sensors, satellite observations, stable isotope analysis, and DNA-based technologies which are used to probe the microbial life support systems that lead from sunlight to fish. Drawing on varied case studies he considers the intimate relationship between humans and lakes, the value of lakes as indicators of environmental change, the impact of pollution,and our urgent need to improve the protection and management of these vitally important living resources via an integrated understanding of their ecology. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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There are so many wonderful things to learn. The Very Short Introduction series of Oxford University Press offers the opportunity to study about many things in this world, both familiar and unfamiliar. I tend to know about humanistic and social studies such as philosophy, history, and literature but little about science. I saw this 2018 VSI on Lakes. I had some work experience with lakes, studied geology in college, and grew up in Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan but otherwise had only a layperson's acquaintance with the subject, Curiosity is valuable. Warwick F. Vincent, the author, is Professor of Biology at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, where he has had a long career researching lake ecosystems particularly in Canada, the Arctic, and Antarctica.
The study of lakes is called limnology. That is one simple technical term used in the book, but there are many others. Vincent offers a short well-written scientific introduction to lakes that considers their physical, chemical, and biological features, their role in the ecosystem, and the impact of human activity upon lakes and their environment. The author has a passion for his subject which he conveys to the reader and a mastery of his material.
For a lay reader, this book is highly technical. The book is indeed a "very short introduction" but it is presented at a high level. It presupposes some prior college level knowledge in the underlying sciences and possibly in limnology itself. It includes detailed terminology and chemical and mathematical formulas, for example, which are well beyond me. Some of the book was confusing. Vincent does not patronize his readers. An introduction may be short but still difficult. Other online reviewers have made a similar observation about this book, and I was gratified to have it confirmed by a review by Robert Sterner, Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota, Duluth, of July 11, 2o18 in the Bulletin for Limnology and Oceanography (free access). Sterner praises the book as a "marvelous little work" and finds that there are few works of its kind in limnology. He also points out that the book is not "limnology for dummies" but, to those without much science, will be difficult. Sterner writes: "I would not hesitate to recommend this book to any incoming graduate student who may not yet have had a limnology course and expect them to come up to speed on the core material fairly rapidly." More general readers may have to struggle.
Still, as Sterner's review suggests, there is much to learn from this VSI. Much of the discussion is of immediate interest and accessible as Vincent discusses the specifics of many lakes from around the world in clear terms. His book gives a sense of the interrelationship of different sciences in studying lakes. It includes fascinating discussions of "dead lakes", salt lakes, volcanic lakes, ice lakes and much more. There is a discussion of the impact of dams. And as the book moves from physics and chemistry to biology and the food chain, it becomes clearer and easier to follow. But I most enjoyed the discussion throughout the book of the work of Francois F. Forel, a pioneer in the study of limnology. Forel, in fact coined the term "limnology" and spent his long career in studying Lake Geneva on the border between Switzerland and France. He published a treatise on Lake Geneva in 1892 which is still highly regarded in the discipline. Vincent uses Forel's study extensively throughout and each of his chapters opens with an epigraph from Forel. It was inspiring to see the use made in contemporary, highly sophisticated science, of this work from more than a century ago. I enjoyed learning about Forel and his early work on limnology.
While some of this book was beyond my understanding, it was still valuable to read. I learned something about an important subject I had known little or nothing about. And I was fascinated and inspired in places. This book fulfilled its purpose as a Very Short Introduction. It taught me something new about our world.
