DelongM.D., JardineT.D., BenkeA.C., and CushingE.C.2023. Rivers of North America. Second edition, Academic Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. <scp>ISBN</scp>: 9780128188477. 1106 p

The 2nd edition of Rivers of North America builds on the strengths of its predecessor by keeping a similar chapter format and most of the authors who contributed to the 1st edition. Chapters are in the same order as they were almost 20 years ago in Benke and Cushing (2005), but an important difference is the absence of “focus” and “additional” river categories. In this new edition, five to nine rivers per region are described with an equal amount of detail and relevance. Intentionally or not, many of the rivers assessed with great detail in this 2nd edition were only briefly described in a paragraph as “additional” rivers in the previous edition. Overall, with these decisions, the editors provided a great deal of continuity and a chance for many contributing authors to expand their examination of “additional” rivers. In the book, river descriptions are organized into 22 chapters, with each chapter representing a geographic region across North America. In some cases, a region represents a single major river basin such as the Colorado River, and in others, a region represents an area with similar environmental and physiographic conditions such as the southern plains of the United States (Chapter 7). The distribution of rivers among different chapters/regions reminded me how large rivers flowing through very different geographies can originate from the same headwater systems. For example, in Chapter 7, the authors describe the headwaters of the Arkansas and Canadian Rivers, and they succinctly connect the origin of these two iconic low-gradient rivers described in the 1st edition to the feet of the southern Rockies, just a few miles east of the Colorado River headwaters. It is amusing to spend some time identifying these adjacent headwaters, and a great lesson of how much streams change as they become rivers. Throughout the book, one can find a tailored description of human impacts on river ecosystems for each region, with frequent mention of their increasing relevance. The chapter on the Missouri River basin (Chapter 10) selected two personal favorites, the Milk and Madison Rivers, that reflect the variety of running waters forming the Missouri headwaters. I was pleasantly surprised to find multiple references to what the Lewis and Clark expedition documented for the Milk and Madison Rivers in the early 19th century, such as observations of abundant timber (i.e., large woody debris) in the channel of the Milk River that was essential for settlers, reminding us of the key role the rivers played in the history of colonization of North America. At a time in which human impacts on nature are frequently in our minds, reminders of the rivers' impacts on human societies are particularly insightful and readers may reflect on the ways in which the Milk and Madison Rivers support contemporary society, just as they supported precolonial, Native communities in the Missouri headwaters. The book provides a large number of descriptive statistics of physical, chemical, and biological features of each river in a very consistent manner within and among chapters that ease comparison and assessment for the reader. Those looking for a heuristic regional comparison of monthly runoff, channel fragmentation, or species density, to name a few, will certainly find the information they need in this book. For freshwater fish diversity and its regional patterns, the concluding chapter provides a more complete assessment. A distinctive upgrade of this new edition is the quality and detail of the watershed maps. These illustrations enhance the reader's understanding of the river's form and character with their clarity and accuracy. Each river is presented with a color map of its watershed displaying the scale, relief, and the watershed's location within the physiographic region. Along with several updated photographs, watershed maps in each chapter help to more vividly capture the complexity and beauty of North America's rivers. The book draws attention to the diverse types of streams and rivers within and among regions. This is a perspective not well developed in more standard textbooks. Hence, this book might help the reader understand their own region better in part by seeing it contrasted with something different, be it nearby or more distant. Other aspects of the book may still have significant room for improvement. Notably, the book has improved gender representation compared to its 1st edition—a quarter of the book's chapters are led by female authors versus none in the original edition. However, more can and should be done to ensure as much representation as possible of different identities among the long list of contributing authors. Another important aspect to consider is equitable access to this book. In the foreword, Sweeney pertinently suggests this is a book that should be in public libraries and schools. I could not agree more. But the book is retailed for anywhere between $150 and $200, available as an e-book or in printed copies, and that will surely not facilitate access to the book by underrepresented groups. I challenge members of the global freshwater science community, and societies more specifically, to think of strategies to make this book as accessible as possible to everyone. Overall, Rivers of North America is a timely and essential contribution to freshwater science. I believe this book is a fine-tuned instrument to inspire freshwater scientists to find the relevant questions and the right place to test their hypotheses. The book is a must-read for anyone invested in the future of North American rivers; a future that is relatively optimistic as suggested in the book's concluding remarks. Most of the human pressures on river systems described in the 1st edition still remain, others will appear. As is elegantly put in the book's concluding section, with dedication and restoration, the Rivers of North America can be in better condition than now by the end of the century.

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.