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| The Behavior And Ecology Of Pacific Salmon And Trout | 
| Author: Thomas P. Quinn
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $27.50
You Save: $12.50 (31%)
New (17) from $27.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 639793
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 378
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0295984570
Dewey Decimal Number: 597.561568
EAN: 9780295984575
ASIN: 0295984570
Publication Date: April 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 An essential supplement to "Groot and Margolis" January 14, 2008
In the nearly two decades since "Pacific Salmon Life Histories" was written by Groot and Margolis, much more research on salmon has been done, and that research is well summarized in this book, with appropriate references. Quinn writes for his fellow scientists, but technical jargon is kept to a minimum, so the product is accessible to any reasonably intelligent reader.
I disagree with an earlier reviewer who faulted Quinn for not inveighing more against dams. Quinn could as well be faulted for failing to note the threat to wild salmon through disease transfer from rampant salmon aquaculture in British Columbia [e.g., M. Krkosek et al., Science v318:p1772 (2007)], but such criticisms miss the point. The job of a scientist in writing a book for fellow scientists is to summarize what research has been done and what it implies. In any case, near the end of the book, Quinn notes
"Given the high fishing rates, habitat loss and degradation, careless transfers of fish among basins, overzealous hatchery propagation, and other stressors, the remarkable thing is not that salmon are in danger but that they still persist at all....their chances of recovery are good if we would only take our collective foot off their neck."
and
"Salmon are important to many of us, in so many ways. They are our food, our recreation, our symbol and inspiration, and a critical component in the ecosystems that we value and depend on. If we dedicate ourselves to ensuring that they continue to play these roles, I believe the salmon will do the rest. If we preserve habitat they will use it, and if we restore habitat and make it accessible, they will find it."
You can tell where his heart is.
Don't ask me, Just read the book... October 31, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am currently an Undergrad at the University of Washington and had the opportunity to study under Professor Quinn in Alaska for a number of weeks this summer. While the book may not be best suited to sit down and read cover to cover, it is a very valuable reference for academics looking into topics pertaining to pacific salmonids. I can say with certainty that Tom sees writing as a process that is never finished (the art of rewriting), and science is as well. It is unrealistic to try to find a book containing every relevant detail on such a hot and emerging topic as salmon, but this book comes as close as any in recent times.
 Gorgeous and dense, yet strangely substance free July 28, 2006
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
On the face of it, this text is positioned to become the definitive reference on the state of our understanding of Pacific salmon, a rich and complex topic with huge implications for environmental policy. It is sponsored by the American Fisheries Society, the semi-official academic organization that pays attention to these things. The author is a respected academic with deep understanding of the topic. And the book itself is beautiful. As a coffee table book it deserves four stars. The writing style is accessible, and the text covers many hundreds of current research studies.
So, what's the problem? Like Oakland, there is no there there. Instead of a guided tour through the state of our understanding of salmon, we get what amounts to an unstructured core memory dump. Studies are cited, summarized, and dropped for the next pretty bauble. There is little in the way of integration of the huge knowledge base that is out there. Quinn awkwardly fluctuates between an academic and vernacluar style (in his defense, accessible writing on complex academic topics is hard to do).
But Quinn's most bizarre transitions come when he mentions a a few seminal works on Pacific Northwest salmon extinction, simultaneously genuflecting in their general direction and edging away from their implications. Quinn's conscious avoidance of the issues at the heart of the controversy over salmon extinction is the most troubling part of the text, and the main reason I think this book is unworthy of the subject. There is a reason for this. His research center at the University of Washington is largely funded by the government agencies and electric utilites responsible for salmon extinction in the Columbia river basin. Understandably, it does not behoove Quinn to take a definitive stand on these issues. But it belittles him that he does not openly acknowledge what the issues are, and clearly present the evidence we have.
In approving Columbia River development in 1937, the US Fisheries Comissioner ignored a half-millenium of evidence that dams make salmon go extinct, saying that it was a complicated issue requiring more scientific study. Seventy years later, hundreds of salmon stocks on the Columbia and Snake rivers are extinct, and all are in jeopardy. Yet Quinn apparently believes that the solution is...more scientific study. Basic questions - how big do salmon get? How many did there used to be? What is the evidence that modifying or removing dams will or will not help salmon survive? - is either buried in the detritus of multiple studies, or entirely absent.
The big problem with public policy is that you always have to make critical choices with imperfect knowledge. Inaction in dynamic systems like climate and species ecologies is a choice, and repurposing science as a passive excuse for inaction often guarantees a bad outcome. In his unwillingness to engage controversy, Quinn has, unfortunately, avoided relevance.
Peter Morrison September 11, 2005
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a great resource for people that want to learn about the ecology and behaviour of salmon.
I wish it went a little more into the effects of dams and hatcheries on salmon ecology and behavior.
The Behavior and Ecology of Pacific Salmon and Trout August 30, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is the best modern reference to the ecology of west coast salmon. Quinn makes good use of the advances of the last decade and shows good judgement in selecting topics to discuss. I'm a fisheries biologist writting a salmon book so I know the subject and the difficulty of writing in an engaging and informative manner. I recommend the book highly.
A caution: this book is not for beginners.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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