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This set of exercises has been created expressly for students and teachers of conservation biology and wildlife management who want to have an impact beyond the classroom. The book presents a set of 27 exercises spanning a wide range of conservation issues: genetic analysis, population biology and management, taxonomy, ecosystem management, land use planning, the public policy process and more. All exercises discuss how to take what has been learned and apply it to practical, real-world issues. Accompanied by a detailed instructor's manual and a student website with software and support materials, the book is ideal for use in the field, lab, or classroom.
Preface. Acknowledgments. Photocopying. Introduction 1. Natural Resource Management and Conservation Biology: Understanding the niche of a diverse discipline. 2. Conservation Values: Assessing public attitudes. 3. Regional Biodiversity: Exploring species and ecosystems in your own backyard. Populations 4. Population Viability Analysis: Management strategies for a small population of bandicoots. 5. Life Table Analysis: Estimating the vital statistics of a population. 6. Harvesting Populations: Sea turtles versus shrimp. 7. Ecological Monitoring: Designing effective programs to track populations. 8. Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Ecological traps and population persistence. 9. Dispersal: Movements in an altered landscape. 10. Population Genetics: Diversity within versus among populations. 11. Genetic Drift: Loss of alleles in small populations. Species 12. Taxonomy and Conservation: An analysis of beetle communities. 13. Natural History Study: From field observation to habitat model. 14. Designing a Zoo: Ex situ centers for conservation, research, and education. 15. Exotic Species: Documenting the invasion of alien plants. 16. Plant Reintroductions: Reestablishing extirpated populations. Ecosystems 17. Gap Analysis: Using GIS to identify priority areas for protection. 18. Island Biogeography: How park size and isolation affect the number of species protected. 19. Forest Harvesting: Balancing timber production and parrot habitat. 20. Edge Effects: Designing a nest predation experiment. 21. Ecological Surveys: The basis for natural area management. 22. Restoration Ecology: A chance to recoup? 23. Land Use Planning: Working with your local government. Policy 24. Overpopulation and Overconsumption: The key treats to biodiversity.25. Adversarial Proceedings: Conservation issues in an administrative court hearing. 26. An International Debate: Commercial fishing in Galapagos National Park. 27. Conservation Policy: Shaping your government. Literature cited.
James Gibbs is Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Malcolm J. Hunter Jr is the Libra Professor of Conservation Biology and Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, Orono. He is also the former President of the Society for Conservation Biology. Eleanor J. Sterling is Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University.
Much of this book is presented in term of timely and realistic questions or problems that many conservation biologists and wildlife managers face. Readers are given manageable data and the appropriate tools to address those questions. (The Quarterly Review of Biology, March 2009)
