Freshwater Sponges of Tennessee - by John Copeland & Stan Kunigelis (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book provides Tennesseans and a larger professional and lay audience an introduction to freshwater sponges, their biology, natural history, and identification. Authors John Copeland and Stan Kunigelis argue that freshwater sponges, while studied less frequently than their marine sponge counterparts, are far more accessible to both professional and amateur biologists given the plethora of rivers, particularly here in Tennessee. The authors discuss the natural history of sponges, watershed health and environment, sponge anatomy, taxonomy and classification, and the specific species students, researchers, and readers are likely to find in Tennessee's river system. The book is also replete with color photos from the field and the lab alongside reproductions of microscopic slides detailing Tennessee's freshwater sponges"--

Book Synopsis

Authors John Copeland and Stan Kunigelis explore a unique but important class of animals that may be unfamiliar to many readers: freshwater sponges. Freshwater Sponges of Tennessee provides comprehensive information about sponges in Tennessee waterways, vastly updating both the scientific community and the reading public on sponge biodiversity and conservation.

Copeland and Kunigelis offer compelling reasons for studying freshwater sponges. These animals perform unique and beneficial functions within their ecosystems, have fascinating life histories, and are important components of some products useful to humans. The authors approach their subject with a nonspecialized readership in mind, providing explanations of scientific concepts, a glossary of terms, a chapter on taxonomy, and a description of lab and field procedures.

The wide accessibility of freshwater sponges in lakes and streams makes for exciting and informative field trips for students and teachers. The detailed descriptions of sponge species, maps of where they have been found, color photographs from the field, and scans of electron micrographs make Freshwater Sponges of Tennessee an excellent classroom textbook or exploratory field guide for trips to Tennessee's magnificent waterways.

About the Author

JOHN COPELAND, professor emeritus of biology at Lincoln Memorial University, has published papers on freshwater sponges, terrestrial gastropods, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

STAN KUNIGELIS, professor of physiology and director of the Imaging and Analysis Center at Lincoln Memorial University, has written numerous articles on zooplankton and estuarine health.