A Bibliography of Irish Entomology by J. G. Ryan; J. P. O'Connor; B. P. BeirneReview by: P. B. BarnardThe Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 21, No. 8 (Oct., 1984), p. 373Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25538886 .

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Ir.Nat.J. Vol. 21 No. 8 1984 373

REVIEWS

A Bibliography of Irish Entomology, compiled by J. G. Ryan, J. P. O'Connor and B. P. Beirne. The Flyleaf Press, Glenageary, 1984 vi + 363 pp. Price 1R? 12.00

This comprehensive work includes over 5000 references to papers on all aspects of Irish insects, and the book is published in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. Presumably for reasons of economy the book is produced

with soft covers and with the so-called "perfect" binding (which is of course far from perfect) and after only a few

days' use my copy has several loose pages, which is an unfortunate beginning for such a useful reference book. After the introductory sections, the first group of references are listed under "General Papers" and this

includes not only broad entomological topics but also papers dealing with more than one group of insects. Then follow the references dealing with single orders of insects, grouped under the ordinal name, by far the largest being the Lepidoptera as would be expected. Finally there is a section on "Pests and their Control".

One peculiarity of the book is that instead of using the universally known World List abbreviations of

journals, the compilers have adopted many arbitrary abbreviations (with a key to them in the Introduction) "in

order to save space". However, some of the abbreviations are in fact slightly longer than those in the World List, whilst others are so short as to be very obscure. For example, the full titles represented by D. Ag. J. and Proc.

B.N.F.C. are not immediately obvious, whereas most of the World List abbreviations are self-explanatory. Because the bibliography ends in 1980, several recent and important papers are absent; furthermore, it is

important to note that only references to papers published in scientific journals are listed; books are not included

and proceedings of symposia are said to be absent although in fact several have been included. Most of the

important occasional serial publications have also been covered, such as the Handbk Ident. Br. Insects and the

Scient. Pubis Freshwat, biol, Ass., although in the latter series a surprising omission is Macan's (1973) 'Key to the Adults of the British Trichoptera'.

However, it is always easy to criticise such a bibliography; what is important is that a great deal of work must

have gone into its compilation, and many workers in a variety of entomological fields will find it an invaluable start

to the literature search of any unfamiliar group. The three compilers have rendered a great service to Irish

entomology, and there is no doubt that workers in several other countries will envy the appearance of this book.

P. B. BARNARD

Ecosystems of the World, Vol. 4A, Mires, Swamp, Bog, Fen and Moor. Edited by A. J. P. Gore, 440 pages. Elsevier Scientific, 1983. Price $161.75.

4 "The term mire includes all those ecosystems described in English usage by such woTds as swamp, bog, fen,

moor, muskeg and peatlandy\ So writes the late A. J. P. Gore in his invaluable introduction to Volume 4A of a 29

volume series of Ecosystems of the Wodd under the general editorship of D. W. Goodall. Gore justifies the use of

the generic term mire by suggesting that it **should help to avoid confusion in readers to whom swamp, etc., may mean different things". He then endeavours to untangle the web of meanings ascribed to these terms throughout the world. Mire classifications, based on shape, chemistry, plant species composition and vegetative structure are

reviewed and brief accounts are given of important mire areas around the world (Volume 4B provides detailed

descriptions of these). The introduction concludes with a useful list of definitions of terms commonly used in mire

studies.

The following ten chapters review specific aspects of mire ecology in varying degrees of detail as will be seen

from the chapter headings:? 2, Mires ? repositories of climatic information or self perpetuating ecosystems?

(Frenzel); 3, Hydrology (Ingram); 4, Peat (Clymo); 5, Micro-organisms in peatlands (Dickinson); 6, Further

aspects of soil chemistry under anaerobic conditions (Sikora and Keeney); 7, Root survival in flooded soils

(Crawford); 8, Primary production in wetlands (Bradbury and Grace); 9, Changes in wetland communities (Tallis); 10, The animals (Speight and Blackith); 11, Aspects of secondary production (Mason and Standen).

Clearly this is a book for specialists and, although it covers many aspects of mire ecology, it does not provide easy, general, background reading for anyone who, for example, is just entering the field. I found the chapters

covering topics outside my own spheres of interest hard going and, even after complete reading and a lot of

browsing, I will need to give much more time to several of the earlier chapters in particular.

Undoubtedly, the reviews bear the stamps of authority but it is unfortunate that some of the manuscripts were

received as long ago as 1977. Thus, many of the reference lists, though comprehensive, are not as up to date as they should be in a work of this kind.

I must admit that when I received the book my first question was 'how will it help me to improve my

understanding of the processes at work when Irish mires and other wetlands (marshes and turloughs are not

classified as mires) are drained?'. Perhaps that was unfair as the book is not intended to solve specific problems. However, with such an expensive publication it is legitimate to ask what practical use it might have! Forme, with a

primary interest in animal ecology, the book is a disappointment. Only about thirty pages are devoted to animals

and secondary production and even the chapter entitled "Changes in wetland communities", to which I turned

with some enthusiasm, is devoted entirely to plant communities. Nevertheless, it is good to be able to report that

the stimulating chapter "The animals" was penned by two authors well known to readers of this Journal.

For those with interests in the physical, chemical, hydrological, micro-biological and botanical aspects of

mires this volume contains a wealth of material. Undoubtedly, it is a book which would be useful on the shelves of

any institute where multi-disciplinary mire research is being carried out. However, I am reluctant to recommend

any institute or individual to buy the book given the very high cost (over ?110 sterling!). I would suggest that those of you with specific interests write to the authors for reprints

? and leave the publishers to flounder in their

self-made commercial mire. TONY WHILDE

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