Aquatic Food Webs: An Ecosystem Approach. Edited by Belgrano A., Scharler U. M., Dunne J. and Ulanowicz R. E. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. 272 pp. ISBN 0198564821 (hardback). {pound}85.00.

Communicating editor: K.J. Flynn This well-produced and useful book is split into three sectionscontaining in total some 15 chapters authored by a range ofexperts in their respective areas. The book starts with a section on ‘structure and function’and a chapter (Elser and Hessen) concerning the importance ofstoichiometry in food webs; this is like most of the book wellwritten. However, the relative importance of such automaticlinks in multinutrient models may be called into question consideringthe contents of subsequent chapters which point out the significanceof the development of antigrazing mechanisms (which may oftenbe associated with changes in stoichiometry in phototrophs).Chapter 2 (Melián et al.) considers spatial structureand dynamics in marine food webs; this is a brief and, to mymind, the least satisfying of the chapters. Chapter 3 (Christianet al.) looks at the