The primary role of this book is to introduce the reader to, and hopefully stimulate interest in, the ecology of temporary aquatic habi­ tats. The book assumes that the reader will have, already, some gen­ eral knowledge of ecology but this is not essential. Temporary waters exhibit amplitudes in both physical and chemical parameters which are much greater than those found in most waterbodies. The organisms that live in these types of habitats have, therefore, to be very well adapted to these conditions if they are to survive. Survival depends largely on exceptional physiological tolerance or effective immigration and emigration abilities. Examples of such adaptations are given throughout the book and it is hoped that these will aid the reader in gaining an insight into the structure and function of plant and animal communities of these unusual habi­ tats. The final chapter suggests field and laboratory projects that should be useful to students in school and university studies.

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1: Introduction to Temporary Waters.- 1.1 What are temporary waters?.- 1.2 Classification of temporary waters.- 1.3 Importance of temporary waters.- 2: The Physical Factors that Govern the Formation of Temporary Waters.- 2.1 The runoff cycle.- 2.2 Components of subsurface water.- 2.3 Basin and channel formation.- 3: Abiotic Features of Temporary Waters.- 3.1 Water balance.- 3.2 Water temperature.- 3.3 Turbidity.- 3.4 Dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide.- 3.5 Other chemical parameters.- 4: The Biota.- 4.1 The temporary water community - global scale.- 4.2 The temporary water community - local scale - case histories.- 4.3 Other inhabitants of temporary waters.- 4.4 Comparison of permanent and temporary water faunas.- 4.5 Community dynamics and trophic relationships.- 4.6 Community structure - biotic versus abiotic control.- 5: Special Adaptations.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Variability in life cycles.- 5.3 Phenotypic and genotypic variation.- 5.4 Physiological adaptations.- 5.5 Physiology of desiccation.- 6: Colonization Patterns.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Adaptive "strategies" of colonizing animals.- 6.3 Active colonization.- 6.4 Passive colonization.- 6.5 Colonization and competition.- 6.6 Temporary waters as islands in time and space.- 7: Other Temporary Water Habitats.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Treeholes.- 7.3 Pitcher plants.- 7.4 Bromeliads.- 7.5 Inflorescences.- 7.6 Snowfields.- 7.7 Deserts.- 7.8 Dung.- 7.9 Saltwater rock pools.- 7.10 Starfish.- 8: Applied Aspects of Temporary Waters.- 8.1 Aquaculture/agriculture rotation - an ancient art.- 8.2 Floodplain fisheries.- 8.3 Habitats for vectors of disease.- 9: Temporary Waters as Study Habitats.- 9.1 Investigations of the structure and function of aquatic populations and communities.- 9.2 Investigations ofcolonization patterns, dynamics and mechanics of temporary water species.- 9.3 Investigations of the physiological adaptations of temporary water faunas.- References.