The Secret Life of a Lake - 9781938313004

As you canoe over the placid surface of your favorite lake, have you ever wondered what lies beneath you? What kind of creatures lurk there? What do they look like and why, and how do they interact? This book is fully illustrated, and written for curious lake enthusiasts who want to know more about their lakes. By letting readers in on a lake's "secret life," and sharing some fascinating stories of a lake's inhabitants, the author hopes to provide a deeper understanding of these complex and dynamic ecosystems. Perhaps some readers might even become more motivated to participate in a lake's maintenance and preservation.From the author: I have tried to create a book somewhere between the mostly descriptive genre (limited to describing a lake's inhabitants) and the more rigorous scientific monograph. I wanted to write not only about who lives in our lakes, but why they look the way they do and how they interact with other creatures and their physical environment. Ultimately, my purpose was to help the curious lake enthusiast better understand the dynamics within these marvelous aquatic systems.For instance, why do algae have such bizarre shapes? How do small aquatic animals defend themselves against larger predators? How has evolution shaped these organisms? How does the addition of a pollutant affect a lake, and how can we detect a problem before it has a major impact? Why do certain chemicals increase in concentration as they pass from organism to organism within a food web? What effect will invasive plants and animals have on our lakes, and when are controls feasible? Although focused on an Adirondack lake, the principles of lake ecology discussed in this book are relevant to all lakes that are covered by ice during their seasonal cycle. The more we understand these beautiful, complex ecosystems, the deeper appreciation we will have for our lakes, and the wiser our decisions will be in preserving them.