Aquatic Ecosystem and Its Management

Contents: Preface. 1. Freshwater fish diversity in India: issues of conservation and management/Tapas Paria, Chinmoy Chakraborty and Chayan Roy. 2. Water quality assessment of Bhadra Reservoir of Karnataka with reference to Physico-chemical characteristics/B.R. Kiran and E.T. Puttaiah. 3. Analysis of zooplankton population in Garhwal Himalayan Lake, Deoria Tal, Uttarakhand/M.S. Rawat and Ramesh C. Sharma. 4. Phsico-chemical limnology of Yeldari Reservoir (Maharashtra) in relation to fisheries/V.B. Sakhare and P.K. Joshi. 5. Application and role of remote sensing in Coastal Zone Management/N.V. Prasad. 6. Conceptual aquatic ecosystems and M.I.S./D. Das. 7. Fluoride toxicity and management in community ecosystem/M.K. Mahapatra. 8. Impact of mercury contamination on the hydrobiology of Rushikulya Estuary of Bay of Bengal at Ganjam, Orissa/Alaka Sahu, S.K. Sahu and A.K. Panigrahi. 9. Mercury pollution in aquatic ecosystem/N. Varadarajan, Veerabasawant Reddy and S. Chandra Kumar. 10. Effects of different environmental factors on the survival rate of Moina micrura (Crustaceae : Cladocera : Moinidae)/R. Ramanibai and A.T. Sumitha. 11. Description of freshwater Copepods of Chennai and Kanchipuram districts/K. Renuga and R. Ramanibai. 12. Studies on pollution sources and the need for early steps for abatement along the coastal Karnataka/T. Ananda Rao and Doda Aswathanarayana Swamy. 13. Concentration of nine heavy metals in Sardines and Mackerels from Gopalpur Coast, Orissa/Lakshman Nayak. 14. Impact of physico-chemical factors on primary productivity of Phytoplankton in Papnash Pond, Bidar (Karnataka)/N. Shiddamallayya and Pratima Mathad. 15. Evaluation of drinking water quality status of Kanale tank with reference to physico-chemical factors, Sagara Taluk, Karnataka/R. Purushothama, B.R. Kiran, J. Narayana and E.T. Puttaiah. 16. Delineation and management of salt water contaminated zones in Venkatagiri Taluq, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh/S.V. Lingeswara Rao. 17. Phytoremediation: a plant assisted technology for treatment of industrial wastewater/Yashpal Singh, Vikas Singhal and J.P.N. Rai. 18. Potentials of freshwater predators as biocontrol agents of mosquito populations: constraints and opportunities/Ram Kumar, Sarita Kumar and Priyanesh Prasad. 19. Review of eco-dynamics of the floodplain wetland (Beel) ecosystem and strategy for enhancing the fish production/Utpal Bhaumik and T. Paria. 20. Disposal of various concentrations of different effluents from J.K. Paper Mill to the River Nagabali, Orissa/Lakshman Nayak, Suchitra Mangal, Manoj Kumar Samantara and Gourab Kumar Sethi. Author Index. Subject index. 

"The global concepts of sustainable development demand for scientific progress to be integrated with the realities of environmental management, legislation, and policy making. Aquatic ecosystem management is a key element in this endeavour for sustainability, since water quality is an important prerequisite for human health and development. The health and integrity of aquatic ecosystems should therefore, not only be regarded as important in its own right, but Water is life. Freshwater is one of the most valuable commodities on our planet, and this resource should be managed in a sustainable way. Yet, we are less than careful in the way we use water and many of our non-marine, aquatic habitats are threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Eutrophication, for example, could well turn into one of the major social as well as economic problems of the 21 century. 

Reduction of water quality also has a profound effect on the biota that depend on these water bodies, such as micro-organisms, plants and animals. Freshwater biodiversity is a much underestimated component of global biodiversity, both in its diversity and in its potential to act as models for fundamental research in evolutionary biology and ecosystem studies. Freshwater organisms also reflect quality of water bodies and can thus be used to monitor changes in ecosystem health. The present book deals with all of these aspects of aquatic biodiversity. It comprises a unique collection of primary research papers spanning a wide range of topics in aquatic biodiversity studies and including a first global assessment of specific diversity of freshwater animals. The book also presents a section on the interaction between scientists and science policy managers. A target opinion paper lists priorities in aquatic biodiversity research for the next decade and several reactions from distinguished scientists discuss the relevance of these items from different points of view: Fundamental ecology, taxonomy, and systematics, needs of developing countries, present-day biodiversity policy at European and at global scales. It is believed that such a platform for the interaction between science and science policy is an absolute necessity for the efficient use of research budgets in the future."