Book Review

Ecology of Atlantic Salmon and Brown Trout: Habitatas a Template for Life Histories

Bror Jonsson & Nina Jonsson (2011) Springer, 680pp.ISBN 978-94-007-1188-4, price £153 (hardback).

Atlantic salmon and brown trout are high-value fishspecies, revered by anglers and commercial fishermenalike. These fish have complex life cycles that overlapand equally diverge, providing a challenge to fisheriesresearchers worldwide. The authors Jonsson and Jonssonhave devoted lifetime studies to the understanding ofthese two species, and this volume attempts to bringtogether this expertise with extensive information in theliterature from other eminent ichthyologists.

The book commences with a chapter introducing theconcept of habitat as a template for life histories andprovides a short summary of the life histories of bothspecies; the chapter is completed with an overview of thepurpose and organisation of the book. Each subsequentindividual chapter starts with a short overview of thechapter contents, progressing through relevant informa-tion before finishing with critical summary points andreferences. I found this approach extremely helpful insummarising the contents of each chapter and focussingon the key issues, something that interested students andnaturalists will find extremely beneficial especially ifthey are new to the subject area.

Chapter two details the species diversity of salmonidsbefore subsequent chapters provide comprehensive cov-erage of habitat use, development and growth, smoltingprocesses, migration, maturation and spawning, recruit-ment and mortality. The book then shifts focus to coverkey issues including climatic effects, fish farming andpopulation enhancement and restoration, with the finalchapter providing general conclusions and recommen-dations for further research. Each topic is covered indetail, coupling the research work carried out by theauthors with the extensive literature base that the authorscross-reference throughout. The approach to dealingwith both species in the same chapter works well;information on each species is provided under separatespecies headings, but equally where information over-laps, these are included under the same heading. This

allows the reader to gain an understanding of theindividual species, and also how the two species overlapin specific areas; the authors also cross-reference to othersalmonids worldwide. The authors have the crucialability to detail complex information in a clear andconcise manner. The findings in each chapter aresupported by relevant figures and tables which arecross-referenced and interpreted in the text clearly. Thisclarity and attention to detail are the standout factors ofthis book, and the comprehensive reference list for eachchapter provides a tremendous academic resource forreaders.

The authors preface indicates the book is targetedtowards masters and PhD students in fish ecology,fishery managers, fellow researchers, interested natural-ists, sports fishers and fish breeders. This is an ambitiousaim that requires the authors achieving a balancebetween presenting complex science for the researchcommunity, whilst conveying information in a way thatwill make it accessible to more non-specialist readers; theauthors should be commended for meeting this balancein this book. A further challenge for this book will be toreach the target audience of students and non-specialists,as the price of the book may be out of reach to some. Thebook should, however, be included in the fisheriessection of any university library.

Overall, it is clear that the authors have invested atremendous amount of work and dedication in theproduction of this book. Many authors have writtenseparate books on Atlantic salmon and brown trout, butthis volume compares and contrasts the two species,providing a comprehensive reference guide. I wouldwholeheartedly recommend this book to fisheries pro-fessionals worldwide whether they work on salmonidsor not and also to students⁄non-specialists who wish tolearn more about the incredible life histories of Atlanticsalmon and brown trout. This is a book I will bereturning to time and again as a source reference in myresearch.

Jonathan Harvey

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02798.x

Freshwater Biology (2012)

� 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1