A dream which we have nurtured for a long time has been realized. With this
volume, the phycology of the North American Great Lakes has been brought into
the new millennium. The current volume focuses on the Upper Great Lakes, that
is, Lakes Superior and Michigan, the North Channel, Georgian Bay, and Lake Huron.
It also includes a chapter devoted to the integration, summarization, and synthesis
of major findings in all of the North American Great Lakes encompassing both
books. Furthermore, an attempt has been made in the summary/synthesis chapter
to discuss the current and future status of food-web research in the Great Lakes.
In addition to a taxonomic index, volume 2 also includes a comprehensive and
professionally prepared subject index for both the volumes. The detailed background
of the initiation and completion of the Great Lakes phycological research on
which these two books are based is provided in the preface to volume 1 (Munawar
& Munawar, 1996), reprinted and included in this book.
For the convenience and benefit of interested readers, a selected list of references
is provided below. These works provide the background and complementary physical,
chemical, biological and limnological information essential for a holistic assessment
of the structure and function of the phytoplankton of the North American Great
Lakes. We hope that our long-term effort in the production of these volumes
will enhance the understanding and knowledge of the trophic structure of the
Great Lakes, especially the often neglected but essential microbial food web,
and as well, will be beneficial to those who study, manage, and conserve the
Great Lakes.