This book was the first to give a detailed description of the lakes of the Warm Belt of the earth. The book is composed of three parts. The first part gives the general geological, meteorological and hydrological features of the tropical and subtropical areas and permits the location of the warm lakes in the world hydrology. The second part presents the main lakes and rivers of South America, Central America, Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia and Australia with an up-to-date description of their history, hydrology, hydrodynamics, chemistry and biology. The third part is an attempt to analyse the mechanisms of water circulation in warm lakes and to determine the dominant and common features which explain the chemistry of warm lakes and the composition of their biota, such as phytoplankton, bacteria, zooplankton and fish. The last chapter of the book synthesises all these elements by presenting the typical food webs of tropical lakes. This volume will be invaluable to students of ecology, liminology and hydrobiology, particularly those doing post-graduate and research work.
