Rivers and streams around the world that once flowed wild and unchecked are rapidly disappearing into dams or being channelized between concrete banks. This valuable sourcebook, now available to a wide audience in a paperback edition, is an important comparative documentation of what is being lost: naturally flowing river and stream ecosystems. No other single volume brings together so much critical information on rivers and streams worldwide. Each chapter is packed with a wealth of raw data on waterways including the prominent rivers of North America, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The volume evaluates the usefulness of the River Continuum Concept and ecosystem-level measurements for evaluating the structure and function of rivers and streams. The new introductory chapter examines the relevance of other useful concepts including Nutrient Spiraling, Patch Dynamics, the Flood Pulse Concept, the Network Dynamics Hypothesis, and the Hyporheic Corridor Concept.

Colbert E. Cushing, formerly at the Ecosystems Department of Batelle Pacific NW Laboratories, is affiliated with Streamside Programs in Estes Park, Colorado. His books include Streams: Their Ecology and Life (2001, coauthored with J.D. Allan). Kenneth W. Cummins is Co-director of the Institute for River Ecosystems and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University. His books include An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America (third edition, 1996, coedited with R.W. Merritt). G. Wayne Minshall is Professor Emeritus of Ecology at Idaho State University. Among his books is Stream Ecology (1995, coedited with J.R. Barnes).