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Please note that the 2021 second edition is an unmodified reissue of the out-of-print 2011 second edition. The only difference is that the contents of the 2011 DVD-ROM are now available online.
Building on the success of the first edition and featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, this expanded and thoroughly revised second edition provides an indispensable guide to the freshwater and terrestrial algae of the British Isles. It is an up-to-date account of and identification tool for more than 2,400 algal species (excluding diatoms), highlighting their wider distribution around the world. Detailed descriptions are fully illustrated with clear line drawings and photographs including 190 full-page plates, eight of which are full colour.
In addition, user-friendly keys enable the accurate identification of specimens to the level of genus and species. This edition includes expanded information on ecology and the implications of recent molecular research, along with coverage of 200 extra species. Additional online content includes an updated colour photo catalogue, highly illustrated articles and video clips, making this the comprehensive reference tool for both researchers and professionals in the field.
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Distribution and ecology
- History of freshwater algal studies in the British Isles
- Field methods
- Laboratory methods
- Water framework directive
- Access to live algal cultures from the British Isles
- Classification
- Phylum Cyanophyta (Blue-Green Algae/Cyanobacteria)
- Phylum Rhodophyta (Red Algae)
- Phylum Euglenophyta (Euglenoids)
- Phylum Cryptophyta (Cryptomonads)
- Phylum Pyrrophyta (Dinoflagellates)
- Phylum Raphidophyta
- Phylum Haptophyta (Prymnesiophyta)
- Phylum Chrysophyta (Golden Algae)
- Phylum Xanthophyta (Yellow-Green Algae)
- Phylum Eustigmatophyta
- Phylum Bacillariophyta (Diatoms)
- Phylum Phaeophyta (Brown Algae)
- Phylum Prasinophyta
- Phylum Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
- Phylum Glaucophyta
Glossary
Standard form of authors of algal names
Sources of illustrations or material
References
Taxonomic index
Subject index
David M. John is Adjunct Professor at the Martin Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway and Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum in London. His main research interests are in the taxonomy, ecology and biogeography of freshwater and tropical marine algae.
Brian A. Whitton is Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Durham. He is currently studying probable increases in organic phosphate in upland streams and rivers and its impact on algae, as well as being involved in providing training on algal identification for water management organisations.
Alan J. Brook is Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Buckingham. He has held a number of positions at institutions in the UK, Sudan and the USA, and has spent his research career studying freshwater algae, with particular interest in desmids.
"[This text] has now become the reference book of choice in Europe for identification of algae other than diatoms. This new edition is an authoritative update of the first [...] published nine years ago, with many new advances incorporated, more contributors and an interesting and eclectic DVD to accompany the main text. Algal systematics has benefited from molecular and electron microscope studies to the extent that some structural features are now seen to be misleading, but microscopic identification will remain the prime tool for ecologists and water managers in the foreseeable future. This new flora will retain its predecessor's preeminence, with every section updated and those on green algae, especially desmids, and on cyanobacteria, extensively revised. The figures are clear and photographs are provided, on the DVD, of many species. [...] a work of great credit to its editors and authors."
– Brian Moss, Professor Emeritus, University of Liverpool
"For a start, it looks good. Quality production, beautiful cover, lots of pictures, coloured and line drawings. The introductory chapters of the book are a breath of fresh air, with field methods and diagrams of home-made apparatus for collecting and concentrating algae. Lab methods for observing, counting and preserving samples are all very useful. I'm impressed by the practicality of the text. This book is a great deal better (hugely better) than anything else I've been trying to use for general algal determination. The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles will be sitting right beside my microscope."
– Michelle T. Casanova, Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter
"An invaluable reference for freshwater workers worldwide, and an important acquisition for all professional and academic institutions with programs covering any aspect of freshwater biology. Highly recommended."
– C. W. Schneider, Choice
