A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America

by J. Reese Voshell Jr., Amy Bartlett Wright (Illustrator)

Popular interest in the observation and study of freshwater invertebrates is increasing. This book meets the needs of this growing audience of naturalists, environmentalists, anglers, teachers, students, and others by providing substantive information in easy-to-understand, non-technical language for many groups of invertebrates commonly found in the streams, lakes, ponds, and other freshwater environments of North America. Section One provides background information on the biology and ecology of freshwater organisms and environments and explains why and how invertebrates can be studied, simply and without complex equipment, in the field and the laboratory. Section Two describes nearly 100 of the most common groups of invertebrates, and for each group a whole-body colour illustration is provided along with brief text pointing out the most important features that identify members of the group. Section Three contains in-depth descriptions of the life history, behaviour, and ecology of the various invertebrate groups, and explains their important ecological contributions and relationships to humans. The Guide is broad in scope, geographically and taxonomically, and it is written at a substantive yet easily accessible level that will appeal to both novices and those with more advanced knowledge of the subject. It also contains more than 100 specially commissioned colour illustrations by the well-known scientific illustrator Amy Bartlett Wright that will greatly facilitate the easy and rapid identification of specimens.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ecology, Reference, Natural History, Science, Field Guides

442 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Steve H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful in sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates. Good plates. Well organized. Definitely more information than I need just to tell the difference between caddisfly and mayfly larvae, but quite useful for my needs. I might consider buying it since it's something I might need for ongoing study.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned new stuff by reading the front materials and look forward to using it as a volunteer monitor of benthic macro invertebrates for my local Stream Watch organization . If one considers the audience of a field guide as the uncommonly interested lay person, then this book is ideal.

[Katelyn Shaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and organized primer about freshwater invertebrates. It is written in a way so that beginners can understand it while still supplying key scientific information. The copy of the book I read had some minor typos and grammatical slip-ups but nothing major. Overall I would recommend this book.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT DETAILES DESCRIPTION OF THESE ANUIMALS. ALSO, LIKE HOW THE VULNERABILITY SCALE MEASURES POLLUTION. i WONDER IF WE CAN PREDICT A UPCOMMING RECESSION BY SEEING MORE SHITTY ART COMING OUT

[Belle Meade School]

592.1

[MsBrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this guide. The authors do an excellent job of really highlighting (by using red colored font) the specifics of the body parts that help distinguish each family (it goes down to family level for many). The ordering of the book is well done too. For instance, corixidae is opposite of notonectidae- two hemiptera that are easily confused by the untrained eye. It's considerations such as these that make A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates often times more useful(and much more quick) than searching the Internet for hints at IDing your toughest macroinvertebrates. Of course, not every family can be included in a book that's meant to be equally useful for IDing as for learning life histories. Don't expect to find a pleidae (Hempitera) in A Guide..

On the other hand, if you're IDing a large # of mcas, it's highly likely you'll be able to ID many of them simply by perusing the book. The authors also do an excellent job of providing life histories (including tolerance values) for each individual. This really helps to provide the background necessary to assist the reader in moving beyond being simply an ID'er, to an actual aquatic entomologist.

I highly recommend keeping A Guide in your lab near your dichotomous key - or on your bed for evening reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard this book was amazing. Now I'll discover it for myself.

Yep. It's amazing! Good introductions to freshwater ecology, invert. biology, how to study them,clear illustrations with highlighted text of key ID features. Plus, more detailed natural histories that includes distinguishing features of both larvae & adult, feeding, breathing, explanation of names, habitat, movement, stress tolerance, distribution, life histories.

[Cari Brazie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Field Guide!