Ecology and Conservation of Fishes

Written as a stand-alone textbook for students and a useful reference for professionals in government and private agencies, academic institutions, and consultants, Ecology and Conservation of Fishes provides broad, comprehensive, and systematic coverage of all aquatic systems from the mountains to the oceans. The book begins with overview discussions on the ecology, evolution, and diversity of fishes. It moves on to address freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems and identifies factors that affect the distribution and abundance of fishes. It then examines the adaptations of fishes as a response to constraints posed in ecosystems. The book concludes with four chapters on applied ecology to discuss the critical issues of management, conservation, biodiversity crises, and climate change.

Major marine fisheries have collapsed, and there are worldwide declines in freshwater fish populations. Fishery scientists and managers must become more effective at understanding and dealing with resource issues. If not, fish species, communities, and entire ecosystems will continue to decline as habitats change and species are lost. Ecology and Conservation of Fishes has taken a historical and functional approach to explain how we got where we are, providing old and new with a better foundation as ecologists and conservationists, and most importantly, it awakens senses of purpose and need. Past management practices are reviewed, present programs considered, and the need for incorporating principles of applied ecology in future practices is emphasized.

Author: Harold M. Tyus
Publisher: CRC Press
Published: 10/19/2011
Pages: 574
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.50lbs
Size: 10.10h x 7.00w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781439858547

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2012

About the Author

Harold M. Tyus is Emeritus Research Scientist at the Center for Limnology, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, where he taught Ecology of Fishes in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Policy and Management at the University of Denver, where he teaches and serves as a faculty advisor. Dr. Tyus received his academic training in the Department of Zoology at North Carolina State University, with the aid of a National Science Foundation fellowship and a scholarship from the National Wildlife Federation. He also was affiliated with the North Carolina Cooperative Fishery Unit, earning an MS studying sunfish phylogenetics and a Ph.D. studying population dynamics and migrations of river herring. His minor concentration was in water resources management.

Dr. Tyus is a retired researcher and manager for the U.S. Government, serving 23 years with the Army Corps of Engineers and Fish and Wildlife Service. During that time he was involved with environmental impact assessment and studied a wide variety of aquatic habitats, fishes, and human-induced changes in waters of the United States, from east coast oceans, estuaries and wetlands to southwestern desert rivers. He has written and edited numerous scientific papers on fishes and government documents on fish ecology and conservation, including listing and recovery plans for Endangered Species.

He was a member of the Colorado River Fishes Recovery Team for 12 years, and he has been a consultant and science advisor for industry and government. His professional affiliations include the Desert Fishes Council, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and the Society for Conservation Biology. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists and a life member of the American Fisheries Society, which has certified him as a Fishery Scientist and Fisheries Professional.