Despite being among the most widespread and common fish in the UK there is still a lack of knowledge about the small freshwater fish species that inhabit our rivers and waterways. Often neglected but endlessly charming, these small fish are, for many, their first childhood encounter with the underwater world and inspire a lifelong interest and enduring fascination. As threats to biodiversity grow and conservation efforts intensify, it is important to remember that fishes are wildlife and t...

Common Ground explores the shifting relationship between human society and the landscapes that bear it. Examining the changing understandings of the natural world and its management and exploitation, environmental activist Mark Everard presents solutions in the nature of ecosystem services.Notwithstanding our total dependence on the Earth's natural resources, the relationship between humanity and the land has shifted significantly and frequently throughout our tenure, brief as it i...

The burbot has a unique ecology as the only member of the order of cod-like fishes found in freshwater. It is the second most widely distributed freshwater fish in the Northern Hemisphere, variously threatened, extinct or thriving across different parts of this wide Palaearctic range. Burbot were driven to extinction from Britain most probably in the 1970s, the last recorded specimen caught in 1969 in Cambridgeshire. Particularly over the past decade, a large body of work has addressed pot...

The fresh waters of the British Isles are diverse, ranging from torrential hill streams to powerful rivers and wide, meandering lowland channels. Canals and drainage channels, ranging in size from ditches to the large Fenland drains of eastern England also hold fish, as do reservoirs, lakes, ponds and other still water bodies. The fish themselves are correspondingly varied. This pocket-sized book provides information about the 54 native, invasive and naturalised species found in the UK tod...

This illustrated guide describes the many ways that coarse fish species depend upon the diversity of habitats in river systems and considers how this dependence changes throughout the stages of their lives - from spawning and eggs, through to the juvenile and adult stages- and with changing seasons and river conditions. This knowledge is important if we are to understand the many population bottlenecks and the variety of coarse fish species that have resulted from historic changes to our r...

In this book Mark Everard argues that governments and citizens too often take the air we breathe for granted. Air and the wider atmosphere are vital in protecting us from radiation, maintaining climate and weather patterns, dispersing water, seeds and pollen, and serving as an alternative source of energy.Breathing Space overturns conventional thinking on the atmosphere, and is the first book to properly integrate air into the wider environmental discourse. Outlining the s...

The Hydropolitics of Dams charts the troubled waters of 'heavy engineering' approaches to ecosystem management, exploring the history, benefits and problems of large dams. It then explores diverse ecosystem-based approaches to management of human interactions with the water cycle, concluding that a synthesis of approaches is needed in future. The book also addresses political, economic and legal dimensions of water management. Featuring case studies from China, India and South Africa, this...

Revised and fully updated, this textbook provides a detailed yet accessible introduction to the key aspects of ecosystem services.Ecosystem services is one of the most powerful guiding principles for ecology, biodiversity conservation and the management of natural resources. It provides the basis of assessing the multiple values and services that ecosystems can provide to humankind, including diverse issues such as carbon sequestration, flood control, crop pollination and aesthetic...

This book is dedicated to the spiky little freshwater ruffian known better as the ruffe, pope, 'tommy ruffe' and other local names.A fascinating little fish, the ruffe is long overdue a book all of its own. Much loved by many anglers, ruffe can also be problematic when introduced beyond their native range.Scientist, author and broadcaster Dr Mark Everard details fascinating aspects of the biology, angling and wider contributions to society of the ruffe.

The crucian is a freshwater fish species that has seen a renaissance of interest in angling and conservation communities in Britain. Despite its wide northern European and western Asian distribution, the species is under threat due to multiple causes including the decimation of the small pond habitats upon which it depends. As a small pond specialist, the crucian serves a particularly important role as a charismatic focus encouraging support for the protection and restoration of this highl...

Nature is all around us, in the beautiful but also in the unappealing and functional, and from the awe-inspiring to the mundane. It is vital that we learn to see the agency of the natural world in all things that make our lives possible, comfortable and profitable. The Ecology of Everyday Things pulls back the veil of our familiarity on a range of ‘everyday things’ that surround us, and which we perhaps take too much for granted. This key into the magic world of the everyday can e...

This book is a celebration of the humble gudgeon, the angler's favourite 'tiddler'.This much-loved little fish is long overdue a little book all of its own.Scientist, author and broadcaster Dr Mark Everard tells tales about the biology of the gudgeon, gudgeon fishing, and the diverse social quirks and values of this most popular of little fishes.