Philip W. Willink - Böcker

“A must-have field guide for fans of Second City area fish.”—Robert Ito, The New York Times Book Review • “A treasure of hardcore fish intelligence and delightful tidbits of fish history.”—Dale Bowman, Chicago Sun-TimesFish don’t heed state boundaries, and neither does this comprehensive, photo-filled guide to the diverse species of Chicago and beyond. Encompassing southern Lake Michigan, northeastern Illinois, and adjacent areas of Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the Chicago Region is home to rare habitats supporting diverse fish populations. From small creeks to large rivers and from small ponds to one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, Lake Michigan, these systems are home to some 164 fish species representing 31 families. In this essential field guide, the most complete and up-to-date reference for fishes in the Chicago Region, we meet them all—lampreys, sturgeon, paddlefish, gars, drum, darters, perches, sticklebacks, sculpins, and more. Written by leading local ecologists and featuring a pictorial family key, color photographs, detailed species distribution maps, and natural history observations unique to the region, this go-to guide belongs on the shelf—and in the boat—of every angler, naturalist, fisheries manager, and biologist.

The Upper Rio Orthon Basin of Pando, Bolivia, is a transition zone between moister lowland Amazonian forests and dryer deciduous forests. This largely unexplored region potentially harbours one of the most richly biodiverse aquatic systems within Bolivia, if not within the Amazon River basin. A multinational and multidisciplinary team of scientists surveyed the area to provide a baseline assessment of its biological and conservation value as well as the current and future threats facing the region. In just over two intensive weeks, scientists surveyed water quality, zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, crustaceans and genetics.

While the Rio Paraguay Basin is sparsely populated and poorly surveyed, and it has experienced relatively little human disturbance, it currently faces one large development project: the Hidrovia Paraguay-Parana, which proposes to dredge and channel extensive portions of the Rio Paraguay watershed, altering water flow and seasonal flooding cycles. Conservation International's rapid assessment team aided to document aquatic diversity and the state of the aquatic ecosystem in order to determine sustainable conservation and development strategies for the region.