Ebook: Freshwater life: a field guide to the plants and animals of southern Africa

Machine generated contents note: How to use this book -- The life-giving properties of water -- Conditions in southern Africa -- Types of rivers and wetlands -- Adaptations to life in fresh water -- Physical and. chemical characteristics of fresh waters -- Human activity in aquatic ecosystems -- The effects of human activities on our health -- Habitat destruction -- Restoration of rivers and wetlands -- Conservation of biodiversity and freshwater ecosystems -- Ecosystem services provided by freshwater systems -- Management of water and aquatic ecosystems in South Africa -- Classifying plants and animals -- ANIMAL AND PLANT GROUPS -- 1.Mammals -- Class Mammalia / Gary Bronner -- 2.Birds -- Class Aves / Peter Ryan -- 3.Reptiles -- Class Reptilia / Graham Alexander -- 4.Amphibians -- Class Amphibia / Vincent Carruthers -- 5.Fishes -- Class Osteichthyes / Paul Skelton -- 6.Molluscs -- Phylum Mollusca / Nelson Miranda;Note continued: 22.Ostracods (seed shrimps) -- Class Ostracoda / Koen Martens -- 23.Bryozoans (moss animals) -- Phylum Bryozoa / Beth Okamura -- 24.Lesser-known invertebrates -- Phyla Porifera, Cnidaria, Nematoda, Nemertea, Nematomorpha, Gastrotricha, Tardigrada, Rotifera, Platyhelminthes and Annelida / Jenny Day -- 25.Flowering plants (angiosperms) -- Class Magnoliopsida / Carin van Ginkel -- 26.Mosses, liverworts and hornworts -- Subkingdom Embryophyta / Terry Hedderson -- 27.Ferns -- Phylum Pterophyta / Carin van Ginkel -- 28.Protists -- Kingdom Protista / Jenny Day -- 29.Prokaryotes -- Domains Archaea and Bacteria / Sanet Janse van Vuuren -- WATER ACTIVITIES -- Dealing with aquatic samples -- Saving and caring for water -- Assessing the health of an ecosystem -- Making your own wetland -- Photographing freshwater organisms.;Note continued: 7.Springtails -- Subclass Collembola / Charlene Janion-Scheepers -- 8.Mayflies -- Order Ephemeroptera / Helen M. Barber-James -- 9.Damselflies and dragonflies -- Order Odonata / Warwick Tarboton -- 10.Stoneflies -- Order Plecoptera / Mike Picker -- 11.Earwigs, crickets and grasshoppers -- Orders Dermaptera and Orthoptera / Fabian Haas -- 12.Bugs -- Order Hemiptera / Patrick Reavell -- 13.Dobsonflies, fishflies and alderflies -- Order Megaloptera / Duncan Stevens -- 14.Water beetles -- Order Coleoptera / Riaan Stals -- 15.Flies -- Order Diptera / Greg W. Courtney -- 16.Caddisflies -- Order Trichoptera / Ferdy de Moor -- 17.Arachnids -- Class Arachnida / Jenny Day -- 18.Crabs, prawns and crayfish -- Order Decapoda / Savel Daniels -- 19.Amphipods and isopods -- Superorder Peracarida / Charles Griffiths -- 20.Branchiopods (gill-footed shrimps) -- Class Branchiopoda / Jenny Day -- 21.Copepods and their allies -- Subclass Copepoda / Cecile Reed;"Freshwater life - the first illustrated field guide of its kind for the wider southern African region - describes a vast range of plant and animal groups in a single volume. A ground-breaking concept that encompasses diverse groups from the large and conspicuous vertebrates to the diverse microscopic taxa, the book facilitates identification and describes the ecology of more than 1,000 freshwater organisms. Species have been selected on the basis of how likely they are to be encountered, and each account is accompanied by photographs and a distribution map. A comprehensive introduction details the ecology and significance of freshwater systems. This indispensable, easy-to-use guide will prove invaluable to outdoor enthusiasts, students and conservationists"-- Publisher.