Coastal Plankton:
A Photo Guide for European Seas by Otto Larink and Wilfried Westheide, 2006, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, ISBN 3-89937-062-7. Paperback Euro 30.00.
I
suppose that any publication made in association with the ‘Alfred Wegener
Institute for Polar and Marine Research’ has a certain guarantee of
pedigree, and this book is no exception. On approaching the end of their careers
as zoologists, the authors realised that they were both in possession of a
‘mine’ of first-class microphotographs of European plankton, collected
over a number of years whilst leading field courses in marine biology. Together
with the publishers, they have produced an excellent paperback in 21 x 24
cm format, with a robust cover, where the quality of the microphotos in both
colour and sharpness of detail has been superbly retained on 60 colour plates.
Following a brief introduction covering phyto- and zooplankton diversity, pelagic larvae, food chains and food webs, trophic relationships and sampling and processing, each taxon is introduced in some detail and the associated microphotographs are comprehensively annotated. The colour plates contain a total of some 600 micro- and 40 macrophotographs; 117 microphotographs illustrate characteristic species of phytoplankton, 70 cover protozoans and over 300 are dedicated to larval and other development stages. A further 90 show holoplanktonic adults of zooplankton. In addition to an extensive list of reference literature and a detailed index, there is a very useful selection of internet-addresses of databases containing information on marine plankton.
The book is written in good English and so it avoids the irritations often associated with mediocre translations. The authors modestly point out that identification down to species level is not the true objective of the book, nevertheless, the student has to start somewhere. The publishers claim: ‘The book, therefore, is excellently suited to be used in university courses for students of zoology and marine biology as well as for their teachers, but it is certainly also a comprehensible guide for any amateur microscopist and interested layperson.’ I can endorse this statement.
Michael Molloy
Other Book Reviews on our website:
TEKTITES - Witnesses of cosmic catastrophes
The Official Guide to the Jurassic Coast
Mantle Plumes and Their Record in Earth History
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Last modified on Monday, March 20, 2006 at 12:31