thumb|right|250px|[[Lake Hawea,
New Zealand]]
Limnology (, ; from Greek: Λίμνη
limne, "lake"; and λόγος,
logos, "knowledge") is often regarded as a division of
ecology or
environmental science. It is, however, defined as "the study of inland waters". This comprises the
biological,
chemical,
physical,
geological, and other attributes of all inland waters (running and standing waters, both fresh and saline, natural or man-made). This includes the study of
lakes and
ponds,
rivers,
springs,
streams and
wetlands. A more recent sub-discipline of limnology, termed
landscape limnology, studies, manages, and conserves these aquatic ecosystems using a landscape perspective.
Limnology is closely related to
aquatic ecology and
hydrobiology, which study aquatic organisms in particular regard to their hydrological environment.
History
The term limnology was coined by
François-Alphonse Forel (1841-1912) who established the field with his studies of
Lake Geneva. Interest in the discipline rapidly expanded, and in 1922
August Thienemann (a German zoologist) and
Einar Naumann (a Swedish botanist) co-founded the
International Society of Limnology (SIL, for originally
Societas Internationalis Limnologiae). Forel's original definition of limnology, "the
oceanography of lakes", was expanded to encompass the study of all inland waters.
Prominent early American limnologists included
G. Evelyn Hutchinson,
Ed Deevey,
E. A. Birge, and
C. Juday.
Organizations
- Australian Society for Limnology
- European Society of Limnology and Oceanography
- The Japanese Society of Limnology
Journals
- Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology
- Journal of Ecology and Fisheries
See also
