This practical manual of freshwater ecology and conservation provides a state-of-the-art review of the approaches and techniques used to measure, monitor, and conserve freshwater ecosystems. It offers a single, comprehensive, and accessible synthesis of the vast amount of literature for freshwater ecology and conservation that is currently dispersed in manuals, toolkits, journals, handbooks, 'grey' literature, and websites. Successful conservation outcomes are ultimately built on a sound ecological framework in which every species must be assessed and understood at the individual, community, catchment and landscape level of interaction. For example, freshwater ecologists need to understand hydrochemical storages and fluxes, the physical systems influencing freshwaters at the catchment and landscape scale, and the spatial and temporal processes that maintain species assemblages and their dynamics. A thorough understanding of all these varied processes, and the techniques for studying them, is essential for the effective conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems.

Table of Contents:
Part I Overall considerations 1: G. Randy Milton and C. Max Finlayson: Diversity of freshwater ecosystems and global distributions 2: Rebecca E. Tharme, David Tickner, Jocelyne M.R. Hughes, John Conallin, and Lauren Zielinsky: Approaches to freshwater ecology and conservation 3: Leon A. Barmuta: Sampling strategies and protocols for freshwater ecology and conservation Part II Measuring the component parts 4: Matthew McCartney: Water quantity and hydrology 5: Nic Pacini, Libor Pechar, and David M. Harper: Chemical determinands of freshwater ecosystem functioning 6: Curt Lamberth and Jocelyne Hughes: Physical variables in freshwater ecosystems 7: David C. Sigee: Microorganisms 1: Phytoplankton, attached algae, and biofilms 8: Julia Reiss: Microorganisms 2: Viruses, prokaryotes, fungi, protozoans, and microscopic metazoans 9: Jocelyne Hughes, Beverley R. Clarkson, Ana T. Castro-Castellon, and Laura L. Hess: Wetland plants and aquatic macrophytes 10: Stephen E.W. Green, Rosie D. Salazar, Gillian Gilbert, Andrew S. Buxton, Danielle L. Gilroy, Thierry Oberdorff, and Lauren A. Harrington: Freshwater vertebrates: An overview of survey design and key methodological considerations 11: Richard Marchant and Catherine M. Yule: Aquatic macroinvertebrates Part III Ecosystem dynamics, conservation, and management 12: David M. Harper and Nic Pacini: Freshwater populations, interactions, and networks 13: Peter A. Gell, Marie-Elodie Perga, and C. Max Finlayson: Changes over time 14: Aaike De Wever, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber, Vanessa Bremerich, and Joerg Freyhof: Secondary data: Taking advantage of existing data and improving data availability for supporting freshwater ecology research and biodiversity conservation 15: C. Max Finlayson, R. S. de Groot, Francine M. R. Hughes, and Caroline A. Sullivan: Freshwater ecosystem services and functions 16: Julie A. Coetzee, Martin P. Hill, Andreas Hussner, Ana L. Nunes, and Olaf L. F. Weyl: Invasive aquatic species 17: Jamie Pittock, C. Max Finlayson, and Simon Linke: Freshwater ecosystem security and climate change 18: Carl Sayer, Helen Bennion, Angela Gurnell, Emma Goodyer, Donovan Kotze, and Richard Lindsay: Restoration of freshwaters: Principles and practice 19: Caroline A. Sullivan, C. Max Finlayson, Elizabeth Heagney, Marie Chantale Pelletier, Mike Acreman, and Jocelyne M.R. Hughes: Wetland landscapes and catchment management