Description
Book SynopsisTruly high altitude aquatic ecosystems are found primarily at lower latitudes: vast regions in the tropical part of the Andes, the Himalayas and Tibet, considerable areas in East Africa, and minor zones of Oceania. However, despite their abundance in these regions, their biology and ecology has never been summarized in detail. A current synthesis of the topic is therefore timely. High altitude waters are ideal systems with which to address a broad range of key and topical themes in ecology, both at the regional and global scales. From specific functional adaptations of aquatic species to harsh environmental conditions through to global diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients and extinction risks of mountain populations due to vanishing glaciers, ecological patterns and processes found in high altitude waters are both diverse and singular. Although poorly considered in classical textbooks of ecology and limnology, high altitude waters have much to offer existing (aquatic) ecologi
Trade ReviewThis book is useful and thought provoking for those dedicated to the beauty of or intellectual challenge provided by high altitude lakes and for students and researchers of any ecosystem at the edge of aquatic extremes in temperature, pH, or salinity. * Conservation Biology *
Table of Contents1: The high altitude environment 2: The waterscape at high altitudes 3: Living conditions in high altitude waters 4: Organisms and diversity patterns at high altitudes 5: Strategies and adaptations to the aquatic life at high altitude 6: Community dynamics in highland watersheds 7: Energy flow and species interactions at the edge 8: High altitude waters in the face of climate change 9: A growing human footprint in the highlands 10: Conserving sustainable ecosystem services
