Out from the ooze

Ever since I read the classic publication by Lindeman [1xThe trophic–dynamic aspect of ecology. Lindeman, R.L. Ecology. 1942; 23: 399–418CrossrefSee all References[1], in which he depicted an aquatic food web with ooze at the center of the complex web, I have wanted to use the word ‘ooze’ in a scientific publication. So, there it is. And, a review of this book is certainly a good place to use it. Not as a derogatory word regarding the contents of this book, but quite the contrary. Aquatic Food Webs provides a nice overview of the recent past, present and future of the study of aquatic food webs, and provides what I hope will be the nascent beginning of a new synthesis of disparate approaches to food-web studies (both aquatic and terrestrial) that have diverged following the publication of Lindeman's seminal paper.If we take G.E. Hutchinson as one of the proverbial fathers (or grandfather and great-grandfather nowadays) of modern ecology, both through his teachings and work, we can see that he sired two lineages of thought, both of which are quite valid, but whose distinctions have become more and more divergent over the years. So much so, in fact, that one would hardly recognize the two lineages as being siblings. One of these lineages followed Lindeman's lead, and viewed the food web in a ‘network’ context, whereas the other followed MacArthur, and viewed food webs as a group of independent interacting organisms. The former group has focused on subjects such as network analysis, ecosystem dynamics and stability. The latter group has focused more on topics such as interaction strength, coexistence and trophic cascades. These fields have become so different that the two groups, who purportedly study the same processes, often cannot even communicate with one another. However, in recent years, several advances, conceptual, analytical and practical, have enabled researchers who focus on these different sides of the same coin to begin to communicate once again. Aquatic Food Webs does a very nice job of bringing together many of those viewpoints into a single volume. Although the list of editors might be considered to be from the ‘network’ side of food webs, they have done a good job of bringing in multiple viewpoints, including a forward and afterword by those (Loreau and Leibold, respectively) who might be considered to be from the ‘interaction’ side of food-web study.Aquatic Food Webs is divided into sections covering food-web structure and function, food-web theory, and stability and diversity. Although the editors obviously tried to integrate different viewpoints, there is still a heavy hand towards the ‘network’ side of food webs, and considerably less on the ‘interaction’ side. For example, probably some of the best and most extensive research on freshwater food webs in North America comes from the Wisconsin group (Carpenter, Kitchell, and colleagues; e.g. [2xSee all References[2]), who are decidedly on the ‘interaction’ side of food webs (but see [3xEcological community description using food webs, species abundance and body size. Cohen, J.E. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc. U. S. A. 2003; 100: 1781–1786Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (288)See all References[3]). However, there is no chapter from this group (or related groups of researchers). There also seems to be a bias in the systems represented in the chapters, with only one chapter devoted specifically to each of freshwater lake and stream systems, whereas there were five specifically devoted to marine systems (the rest were more synthetic across ecosystems). I also found the information in the chapters a bit uneven. Several chapters were quite interesting, presenting new ideas and data and, most importantly, heading towards a conceptual link between the ‘network’ and ‘interaction’ fields. Others were a bit more descriptive, without a lot of new information. The concluding section was short and a bit disappointing, representing a rather narrow viewpoint. I would really liked to have seen a more synthetic set of concluding chapters, comparing the approaches both within aquatic ecosystems, as well as among ecosystem types, and providing a roadmap for future studies.In sum, Aquatic Food Webs is a nice but somewhat eclectic treatment of aquatic food webs, particularly exploring them as a set of interacting networks, but trending towards their integration with studies that focus more on interactions. Graduate students and professionals interested in communities and ecosystems, particularly those who work on food webs or in aquatic systems, will be well served to take a look at this book.