A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America

Popular interest in the observation and study of freshwater invertebrates is increasing. A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America meets the needs of this growing audience of teachers, amateur naturalists, environmentalists, anglers, and others interested in aquatic biology by providing substantive information in non-technical language for about 100 of the most common groups of invertebrates found in the inland waters of North America. Section I of the book provides background on the biology and ecology of freshwater environments and explains why and how this group of organisms can be studied, simply and without complex equipment, in the field and the laboratory. Section II describes nearly 100 of the most common groups of invertebrates, usually at the taxonomic level of order or family. For each group, a whole-body color illustration is provided along with brief text pointing out the most important features to use to identify members of the group. Section III contains expanded descriptions of the life histories, behavior, and ecology of the various invertebrate groups, and identifies their important ecological contributions and relationships to humans. This guide has several strengths: it is broad in scope, geographically and taxonomically; it is written at a substantive yet easily accessible level that will appeal to both general readers and those with more advanced interest in the subject; and it contains numerous high-quality illustrations, including more than 100 specially commissioned color plates by the well-known scientific illustrator Amy Bartlett Wright, which will greatly facilitate the easy and rapid identification of specimens.