A Critical Review Of The Effects Of Turbidity On Aquatic Organisms In Large Rivers

This literature review of the effects of turbidity and suspended material in aquatic environments covers the following subjects: definitions, units of measure, and methods of measurement; origins; and effects in aquatic environments. Turbidity, regardless of the multiplicity of definitions, units of measure, and methods of measurement, is an expression of the optical properties of water that cause light to be scattered and absorbed rather than transmitted in a straight line. Turbidity is not the same as siltation, although the terms have been used synonymously in the past. The various units of measure include the Jackson Turbidity UNIT (JTU), Formazin Turbidity Unit (FTU), and Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU). The methods of measuring percent transmission or the weight per volume concentration of suspended particulates are based on either gravimetric or optical techniques.

Estuaries are among the most biologically productive ecosystems on the planet--critical to the life cycles of fish, other aquatic animals, and the creatures which feed on them. Estuarine Ecology, Second Edition, covers the physical and chemical aspects of estuaries, the biology and ecology of key organisms, the flow of organic matter through estuaries, and human interactions, such as the environmental impact of fisheries on estuaries and the effects of global climate change on these important ecosystems. Authored by a team of world experts from the estuarine science community, this long-awaited, full-color edition includes new chapters covering phytoplankton, seagrasses, coastal marshes, mangroves, benthic algae, Integrated Coastal Zone Management techniques, and the effects of global climate change. It also features an entriely new section on estuarine ecosystem processes, trophic webs, ecosystem metabolism, and the interactions between estuaries and other ecosystems such as wetlands and marshes