BOOK REVIEWS

HYNES, H. B. N. 1960. The Biology of Polluted Waters. Liverpool University Press.

xiv + 202 pp. Price 2S shillings ( $3.50 ) .

for a given period of time at each station. Where

one investigator does the sampling at all stations the
results are comparable, but a standardization of the
technique is needed to make the results of different
investigators comparable. Species lists by them-
selves are of relatively little value; the over-all com-
position of the community must be known. Hynes
presents a number of excellent examples from his
own investigations of mild levels of pollution
entirely undetectable by chemical means, and of
gradual biological recovery of a stream from pollu-
tion with improvement in the methods of waste
treatment.
Lakes are considered from the standpoint of the
eutrophication which occurs naturally in them and
which is accelerated by the addition of even well-
treated effluents. Unlike streams, the pollutional
effects in lakes are irreversible at the present state
of our knowledge.
The greatest problem in the disposal of organic
materials is the tremendous wastage involved. Fifty
percent or more of the salts of nitrogen and phos-
phorus eliminated or excreted by man occur in the
stabilized effluent of sewage disposal plants. The
recovery of this material by chemical or biological
means should be of major concern to human ecolo-
gists. An interesting suggestion is that even the
heat of cooling water might be utilized for heating
greenhouses to grow truck crops fertilized by nutri-
ents from a nearby sewage disposal plant.
The book is timely, exceedingly well written, and
authoritative. The sanitary engineer or chemist
will be bothered by the names of organisms, many
of which have no common names, but he can assign
mental x’s and y’s to them. These are parts of the
necessary specific language of biologists and can-
not be dispensed with completely. However, the
general concepts in the presentation can be appre-
ciated and understood by the non-biologist without
the necessity of having a specific organism in mind
for each name mentioned. A generous supply of
to polluted situations. The more elaborate system excellent line drawings in the book helps bridge the
currently being used by Patrick and her co-workers gap.
is regarded as being too complicated and requiring A book of this type has long been overdue. It
the services of too many specialists. Independently should help greatly to bring more biology and biolo-
Hynes reached the same general conclusion as the gists into the whole area of pollution and pollution
group at Cincinnati (Tarzwell, Gaufin, Katz, and abatement. We can hope that Hynes with his talents
Doudoroff) that changes in the abundance of the for writing and organization will tackle the even
dominant stream organisms, especially the larger more difficult task of producing a comprehensive
invertebrates, provide a readily obtainable and book on stream limnology.
realistic assessment of the effects of pollution. The DAVID G. FREY
chief difficulty here is the sampling technique, Indiana University
which involves intensive collecting with a hand net Bloomington, Indiana