| Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The abiotic frame and adaptations to cope with abiotic constraints Introduction Staying afloat Turbulence Temperature Light Abiotic factors affected by the catchment area Water colour Carbon pH Nutrients Oxygen Habitat permanence Practical experiments and observations Chapter 3 The Organisms: the actors within the abiotic frame Introduction Viruses Prokaryotic organisms Eukaryotic organisms Protozoa Primary producers Metazoa -- animals with differentiated cells Practical experiments and observations Chapter 4 Biotics: competition, herbivory, predation, parasitism, and symbiosis Introduction Competition Predation and herbivory Parasitism Symbiosis Practical experiments and observations Chapter 5 Food web interactions in freshwater ecosystems Introduction The evolution of an ecosystem approach Cascading trophic interactions Microbial components Interaction strength in freshwater food chains Succession Impact of organisms on the abiotic frame Practical experiments and observations Chapter 6 Environment and conservation Introduction Eutrophication Acidification Solar ultraviolet radiation Exotic species References Further reading Glossary Index |