The Phytoplankton of Windermere (English Lake District). 2000. illus. 73 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. This publication aims to provide a factual guide to almost a century's work on the microscopic plant life of Windermere, its phytoplankton. In so doing, it also provides a summarised case study of the effects of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton populations and the results of subsequent nutrient control measures. The booklet summarises the consequences for phytoplankton production, and the subsequent changes in the phytoplankton after restoration measures were introduced in 1992. Following on from this historical account, mechanisms governing the physiological ecology of phytoplankton in Windermere are discussed and the role of phytoplankton in the broader ecosystem of Windermere. Finally, longer-term climatic cycles are considered as revealed through paleolimnological reconstructions of past plankton activity and the kinds of responses that might be anticipated of global climatic changes.