This concise yet comprehensive introduction to the biology of standing waters (lakes and ponds) combines traditional limnology with current ecological and evolutionary theory. It integrates the effects of abiotic constraints and biotic interactions at both the population and community level, allowing the reader to understand how the distribution and success of different organisms in this freshwater habitat can be explained and predicted. The book is focused on temperate lakes and ponds, drawing on examples from polar and tropical systems to provide a broader context. The Biology of Lakes and Ponds, now in its second edition, will be a valuable text for university tuition. However, its lucid explanations and descriptions of adaptation, dominance, dispersal, and succession of organisms, as well as the effects of abiotic factors, predation, and competition, ensure its relevance and use to a broad audience of biologists and naturalists with an interest in freshwater ecology.