Rivers

By Nigel Holmes and Paul Raven British Wildlife Publishing, 2014; hbk, 432pp; over 300 colour photographs, many tables and figures ISBN 978-0-95649-025-4  Subbuteo code M24190  £35.00 This is a handsome book - heavy, but well laid out, complete with lots of explanatory tables and positively fecund with colour photographs. Nigel Holmes (who sadly passed away in October this year) and Paul Raven are not only leading experts in river ecology but also wear their expertise lightly. They are not afraid to broaden their scope as they wander into history and folklore, for example, or occasionally reveal a sense of humour. Once you have read it, and gone back to check and re-read parts of it, you realise that it must stand as a classic of its kind. It bodes well for the future of the new British Wildlife series, of which it is just the third volume so far. Having read the whole book, you realise just what the authors meant when, in the introduction, they warned of the enormous complexity of their subject. Given the great advances in our knowledge of rivers in the last quarter century, they emphasise how much river conservation has changed over that same short period. Inevitably, they have had to summarise and to be selective, and in doing so they have done a remarkably fine job. The first two chapters set the scene, with a fascinating look at the history (and pre-history) of our rivers, their tributaries and associated wetland systems. I enjoyed these immensely, but struggled just a little with the next chapter, on the scientific and administrative assessment of the health of rivers, mainly because it was so heavy with acronyms! Then come the detailed chapters on the plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds of rivers and their banks, floodplains and valley sides - a necessary expansion as we are shown the reality that there is a lot more to river wildlife than just the core habitat. The invertebrate chapter is particularly intriguing; I really had little idea of the vast and hugely diverse array of species involved. There are a great many highly specialised creatures - in contrast to the bird situation, where the only true river specialist is the Dipper Cinclus cinclus. A long chapter then compares and contrasts three different and well-studied rivers: the Meon in Hampshire, the Dee in North Wales and Cheshire, and the Endrick in central Scotland. Finally, there is an assessment of how river conservation stands today, what has been achieved in the recent past and what should be done next. This final upbeat and optimistic chapter, entitled 'Caring for our rivers once again', is set against what the core of this book reveals - how rivers and everything to do with them owe their present form and status to how humans have lived alongside them, exploited them and abused them. Much has been lost, and much has been lost forever, but a lot can still be done. There are some good examples of how even small-scale alterations can make a huge difference. Inevitably, reviewers look for errors. This is such a wonderful book (and one which I unhesitatingly recommend) that it seems a pity to mention any at all, but I have to say that there is really no excuse for misnaming the important 1954 Protection of Birds Act as the 'Wild Birds Act'. And given their present distribution following the very recent colonisation of Scotland, the absence of Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus from the Endrick is hardly an 'unusual finding'. Mike Everett Buy this book from the British Birds bookshop, which is run by Subbuteo Natural History Books This means that 5% of all sales generated by British Birds subscribers, whether it is books reviewed in the journal, featured on its book page or listed on the Subbuteo website, will be paid to British Birds - and will directly support the production of the journal.