Volume
1 in this series reported the scientific results from our survey of the
freshwater gastropods of United States Atlantic drainages, Georgia to the New
York line. In the preface to that
volume, I mentioned that during the 30 years over which the FWGNA Project has
developed, I developed the habit of sending regular emails to an expanding list
of collaborators, a practice which ultimately evolved into an internet blog. Those emails and blog posts have sometimes contained
important supplementary information on the biology of the fascinating organisms
toward which the FWGNA Project has been directed, as well as historical
background, context, and rationale for various methodological and taxonomic
decisions made in Volume 1.
The first 14 essays published here in Volume 2 explore topics in the Lymnaeidae, essays 16 – 21 the Ancylidae/Planorbidae, and essays 22 – 29 the Physidae, with topics of a more general nature sprinkled throughout. Each essay opens with its date of publication, which is important to notice, because single themes can span multiple years, and my own thoughts have often evolved over time.