Conservation Biology

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
Part 1......Page 15
What have we got to lose?......Page 17
Diversity among living organisms......Page 19
Patterns of biodiversity......Page 21
What do we know about global patterns of diversity?......Page 22
The utility of the natural world......Page 29
The wild experience......Page 30
Further reading......Page 31
Web sites......Page 32
The ecosystem concept......Page 33
The polar environment......Page 34
The tundra ecosystem......Page 39
The boreal ecosystem......Page 41
Cool temperate ecosystems......Page 43
Warm temperate ecosystems......Page 46
Hot desert and arid ecosystems......Page 47
Tropical seasonal forest/dry forest......Page 52
Tropical rainforest......Page 55
Montane environments......Page 56
River systems......Page 58
Lakes and wetlands......Page 60
Oceans......Page 61
Summary......Page 62
Web sites......Page 63
Part 2......Page 65
The rise of human populations......Page 67
Early relationships with the environment......Page 68
Early Old World agriculture......Page 70
Desertification......Page 77
Post-industrial accelerated change......Page 79
Habitat destruction......Page 80
Use of fire for forest clearance......Page 81
Pollution......Page 83
The climate hange scenario......Page 84
Introduced species and diseases......Page 85
Patterns of species extinction......Page 86
Discussion points......Page 88
Web sites......Page 89
Deterministic versus stochastic effects of habitat loss......Page 90
Patterns of habitat destruction......Page 92
Community-level effects of fragmentation......Page 94
Edge effects......Page 96
Population-level effects of fragmentation......Page 99
Demographic effects......Page 100
Genetic effects......Page 102
Isolation of populations......Page 108
Contraction in species range......Page 113
Discussion points......Page 114
Web sites......Page 115
Chemical pollution......Page 116
Example: acid rain and lake pollution......Page 117
Example: organochlorine pesticides and biomagnification......Page 118
Introduction of exotic species......Page 122
Example: introduction of Nile perch and water hyacinth to Lake Victoria......Page 123
Accidental introductions......Page 124
Africanized bees in South and Central America......Page 125
What sorts of species are successful invaders?......Page 127
Hawaii: islands under siege......Page 128
Invasion and establishment patterns......Page 129
Example: chestnut blight......Page 130
Example: Dutch elm disease in the UK......Page 131
Genetically modified organisms......Page 134
Physical disturbance of ecosystem dynamics......Page 135
Summary......Page 136
Web sites......Page 137
Overexploitation of wild populations......Page 138
Example: the whaling industry......Page 141
Example: overfishing......Page 143
The pet trade......Page 145
Trade in animal parts......Page 146
Impact of overexploitation of non-living resources......Page 149
Summary......Page 150
Web sites......Page 151
Part 3......Page 153
Introduction......Page 155
Comparative progress in Europe and the USA......Page 156
The emergence of conservation biology as a science......Page 158
The ‘balance of nature’ paradigm......Page 159
Population dynamics......Page 160
The Rio Summit and Biodiversity Convention......Page 161
Summary......Page 162
Web sites......Page 163
Introduction......Page 164
What is a protected area?......Page 165
History of protected area designation......Page 167
Species diversity indices......Page 170
Surrogate measures of biodiversity......Page 171
Is information for one taxonomic group also good for others?......Page 172
The multi-taxa or ‘shopping basket’ approach in biodiversity assessment......Page 174
Conservation priorities must reflect both diversity and endemism......Page 175
Taxonomic distinctiveness as a component of biodiversity......Page 176
Example: prioritising forest areas for conservation in Parà, Brazil......Page 178
The representation approach......Page 179
The complementarity approach......Page 182
Habitat-based approaches......Page 183
Summary......Page 185
Web sites......Page 186
Shapes and sizes......Page 187
Design of marine reserves......Page 189
Managing protected areas......Page 190
Management aims and objectives......Page 191
Woodland management......Page 192
Coppice management......Page 193
Species conservation in coppiced woodland......Page 195
Wood-pasture and parkland management......Page 198
Grassland and heathland management......Page 199
Wetland management......Page 204
Monitoring change in protected areas......Page 207
Flagships, sentinels and umbrellas......Page 209
Discussion points......Page 211
Web Sites......Page 212
Commoness and rarity among species......Page 213
Assessing and categorising threat to species from human activity......Page 214
Managing small populations......Page 221
Minimum viable population size......Page 222
Measuring species decline......Page 224
Genetic management of small populations......Page 226
3. Population fluctuations......Page 227
Founder effects......Page 229
Genetic management of species......Page 230
How can we use information on genetic diversity in conservation?......Page 232
Detecting isolation and gene flow......Page 233
Taxonomic recognition......Page 235
General principles of population growth and sustainability......Page 236
Techniques of harvesting......Page 238
Web sites......Page 240
What is ex situ conservation and when is it necessary?......Page 241
Seed preservation......Page 242
Collecting material for ex situ plant collections......Page 243
Ex situ conservation of animals: captive breeding......Page 244
Captive breeding technology......Page 245
Cloning technology: the future of ex situ conservation?......Page 246
The significance of ex situ animal programmes for conservation......Page 247
Species reintroduction......Page 248
Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx)......Page 254
Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)......Page 255
Single species reintroductions as flagships for community conservation......Page 256
Reintroduction of the large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion)......Page 257
Direct species translocation......Page 258
Translocation examples......Page 259
Population reinforcement......Page 260
The Mauritius pink pigeon (Columba mayeri)......Page 261
Overview......Page 263
Web sites......Page 265
‘Patchiness’ in the landscape......Page 266
Landscape ecology and conservation......Page 267
Lessons from landscape ecology......Page 268
Lessons from metapopulation biology......Page 269
Integrating reserves into the wider landscape......Page 270
Wildlife corridors......Page 271
Opportunities from hanges in agricultural practice......Page 274
Conservation in the urban landscape......Page 275
Patterns of diversity in the urban landscape......Page 277
Conserving ecosystem function......Page 278
Guiding principles:......Page 279
Management at the landscape scale: the UK Natural Areas concept......Page 280
Further reading......Page 282
Web sites......Page 283
Short-term crisis conservation......Page 284
Conservation and the control of nature......Page 285
The use of phylogeography in conservation......Page 286
What are we trying to conserve?......Page 289
At what level should conservation action be focused?......Page 290
Linking genetic diversity with community diversity......Page 293
The use of systematics in conservation......Page 295
Conserving the evolutionary process......Page 296
Further reading......Page 297
Introduction......Page 298
The soil......Page 302
Development of vegetation......Page 303
Seed dispersal......Page 304
Prairie restoration in the USA......Page 305
Tropical dry forest in Costa Rica......Page 306
Wetland restoration in Broadland, UK......Page 307
Where should restoration take place?......Page 311
Agri-environment schemes......Page 312
Habitat creation......Page 313
Habitat translocations......Page 316
Discussion points......Page 317
Web sites......Page 318
Introduction......Page 319
The contrasting positions of the practitioner and the scientist......Page 320
Evidence-based conservation: lessons from medicine and public health......Page 322
Relevance of the effectiveness revolution to Conservation......Page 325
The way forward......Page 326
Formulation of action plans: an opportunity to bridge the gap......Page 327
Models for combining science and practice......Page 334
Taking action......Page 337
Further reading......Page 341
Web sites......Page 342
References......Page 343
Index......Page 355