Iwan Jones

The imperative need for nationally coordinated bioassessment of rivers and streams

Declining water quality and ecological condition is a typical trend for rivers and streams worldwide as human demands for water resources increase. Managing these natural resources sustainably is a key responsibility of governments. Effective water management policies require information derived from long-term monitoring and evaluation. Biological monitoring and assessment are critical for management because bioassessment integrates the biological, physical and chemical features of a waterbody. Investment in nationally coordinated riverine bioassessment in Australia has almost ceased and the foci of management questions are on more localised assessments. However, rivers often span political and administrative boundaries, and their condition may be best protected and managed under national policies, supported by a coordinated national bioassessment framework. We argue that a nationally coordinated program for the bioassessment of riverine health is an essential element of sustainable management of a nation’s water resources. We outline new techniques and research needed to streamline current arrangements to meet present-day and emerging challenges for coordinating and integrating local, regional and national bioassessment activities. This paper draws on international experience in riverine bioassessment to identify attributes of successful broad-scale bioassessment programs and strategies needed to modernise freshwater bioassessment in Australia and re-establish national broad-scale focus.

B. R. Moss: Ecology of freshwaters—a view for the twenty-first century (4th edn.)

I feel very privileged to have been asked to review the fourth edition ‘‘The Ecology of Freshwaters’’ as I feel I have grown up with this classic text, and seeing the book develop into its current greatly improved format gave me great pleasure. I first encountered this book in its first edition as an undergraduate, and it was influential in the way my interests developed. Written in a very readable style I, like many other students, was drawn into the subject by the author’s evident enthusiasm. The text has grown, and changed considerably from the first edition and is now linked to a companion website where figures and tables can be viewed and/or downloaded for teaching purposes. The restructuring of the text and internet link are considerable improvements. As a text book, some students have found that the style of previous editions made it difficult to dip in to and extract snippets of information; whilst this is one of the attractions of the book (one is actively encouraged to explore the subject), the cut and run approach is easier to do in the restructured, more finely grained division of contents and much updated text. In addition, there is a section on further reading at the end of each chapter, acknowledging that this book is just the start and guiding keen students to more detailed sources. Compared to previous versions the text of this new edition has much more focus on pressing issues of management (climate change and sustainable management of water resources) with colourful examples drawn from the author’s experiences around the world. Whilst the general structure of the book has remained much the same as the third edition, the chapters are more finely divided and better indexed, and the content of the chapters has been updated and considerably improved. The opening chapter has been changed from one exploring issues at a specific site (the Pantanal in the third edition, the Pongolo Floodplain in the second) to a far improved one describing the importance of water and the issues facing its sustainable use by an increasing world population. The substantially improved opening sets the tone for the whole book; this is a modern text book dealing with modern issues. The following chapters on physical, chemical and hydrological aspects of water are clear and accessible, and backed up by a new chapter on the Light Thrown Upon Waters (Chap. 5). The clear separation of these chapters provides the reader with a good grounding for the ensuing chapters and allows students easy access to understanding these factors that influence all freshwaters. The biological component of the book starts with a chapter dedicated to the Evolution and Diversity of Freshwater Organisms, drawing together and building on examples that were previously scattered throughout the book, and again providing a much better background for understanding the ensuing chapters than was available in the earlier I. Jones (&) River Communities Group, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, The River Laboratory, Wareham BH20 6BB, UK e-mail: j.i.jones@qmul.ac.uk