Authors John Copeland and Stan Kunigelis explore a unique but important class of animals that may be unfamiliar to many readers: freshwater sponges. Freshwater Sponges of Tennessee provides comprehensive information about sponges in Tennessee waterways, vastly updating both the scientific community and the reading public on sponge biodiversity and conservation.

Copeland and Kunigelis offer compelling reasons for studying freshwater sponges. These animals perform unique and beneficial functions within their ecosystems, have fascinating life histories, and are important components of some products useful to humans. The authors approach their subject with a nonspecialized readership in mind, providing explanations of scientific concepts, a glossary of terms, a chapter on taxonomy, and a description of lab and field procedures.

The wide accessibility of freshwater sponges in lakes and streams makes for exciting and informative field trips for students and teachers. The detailed descriptions of sponge species, maps of where they have been found, color photographs from the field, and scans of electron micrographs make Freshwater Sponges of Tennessee an excellent classroom textbook or exploratory field guide for trips to Tennessee’s magnificent waterways.