Following the much acclaimed success of the first volume of Key Topics in Conservation Biology, this entirely new second volume addresses an innovative array of key topics in contemporary conservation biology. Written by an internationally renowned team of authors, Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2 adds to the still topical foundations laid in the first volume (published in 2007) by exploring a further 25 cutting-edge issues in modern biodiversity conservation, including controversial subjects such as setting conservation priorities, balancing the focus on species and ecosystems, and financial mechanisms to value biodiversity and pay for its conservation. Other chapters, setting the framework for conservation, address the sociology and philosophy of peoples’ relation with Nature and its impact on health, and such challenging practical issues as wildlife trade and conflict between people and carnivores. As a new development, this second volume of Key Topics includes chapters on major ecosystems, such as forests, islands and both fresh and marine waters, along with case studies of the conservation of major taxa: plants, butterflies, birds and mammals. A further selection of topics consider how to safeguard the future through monitoring, reserve planning, corridors and connectivity, together with approaches to reintroduction and re-wilding, along with managing wildlife disease. A final chapter, by the editors, synthesises thinking on the relationship between biodiversity conservation and human development. Each topic is explored by a team of top international experts, assembled to bring their own cross-cutting knowledge to a penetrating synthesis of the issues from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The interdisciplinary nature of biodiversity conservation is reflected throughout the book. Each essay examines the fundamental principles of the topic, the methodologies involved and, crucially, the human dimension. In this way, Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2, like its sister volume, Key Topics in Conservation Biology, embraces issues from cutting-edge ecological science to policy, environmental economics, governance, ethics, and the practical issues of implementation. Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2 will, like its sister volume, be a valuable resource in universities and colleges, government departments, and conservation agencies. It is aimed particularly at senior undergraduate and graduate students in conservation biology and wildlife management and wider ecological and environmental subjects, and those taking Masters degrees in any field relevant to conservation and the environment. Conservation practitioners, policy-makers, and the wider general public eager to understand more about important environmental issues will also find this book invaluable.

This important new book addresses key topics in contemporary conservation biology. Written by an internationally renowned team of authors, Key Topics in Conservation Biology explores cutting-edge issues in modern biodiversity conservation, including controversial subjects such as rarity and prioritization, conflict between people and wildlife, the human aspect of conservation, the relevance of animal welfare, and the role of nongovernment organizations. Key Topics also tackles the management of wildlife diseases, and examines the impact of bushmeat extraction and the role of hunting in the conservationist's toolbox. Other essays explore basic tools of conservation biology, such as computer modeling, conservation genetics, metapopulation processes, and the ingenious use of hi-tech equipment. Each topic is explored by three top international experts, assembled to bring their cross-cutting knowledge to a penetrating synthesis of the issues from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The interdisciplinary nature of biodiversity conservation is reflected throughout the book. Each essay examines the fundamental principles of the topic, the methodologies involved and, crucially, the human dimension. In this way, Key Topics in Conservation Biology embraces the issues from cutting-edge ecological science to policy, environmental economics, governance, ethics, and the practical issues of implementation. Key Topics in Conservation Biology will be a valuable resource in universities and colleges, government departments, and conservation agencies. It is aimed particularly at senior undergraduate and graduate students in conservation biology and wildlife management, and those taking Masters degrees in any field relevant to conservation. Conservation practitioners, policy-makers, and the wider general public eager to understand more about important environmental issues will also find this book invaluable.

Many of the encounters between farming and wildlife, especially vertebrates, involve some level of conflict which can cause disadvantage to both the wildlife and the people involved. Through a series of WildCRU case-studies, this volume investigates the sources of the problems, and ultimately of the threats to conservation, discussing a variety of remedies and mitigations, and demonstrating the benefits of evidence-based, inter-disciplinary policy.

Using more than 30 years research from the author team at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), this volume reveals how agricultural systems and wildlife interact, presenting examples from scales varying from landscape to microcosm, from populations to individuals, covering plants, invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It demonstrates the essential ecosystem services provided by agricultural land, and discusses the implications of agricultural development for natural habitats and biodiversity.

This volume reveals how agricultural systems and wildlife interact, presenting examples from scales varying from landscape to microcosm, from populations to individuals, covering plants, invertebrates, birds, and mammals.

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Extinction is a natural process. In geological time there have been several periods of mass extinction. One of these periods is unfolding right now but all the evidence suggests that current extinction rates are between a hundred and a thousand times greater than the background rate. To put this in to context, a quarter of all known mammalian species is at risk. The current extinction crisis is unique, because it is caused by the impact of one species, humans, on all others. This acceleration of species loss, and the much more widespread reductions in the populations of many species, is not merely a tragedy in aesthetics, it is also a threat to the quality of human life, indeed to the entire human enterprise. Biodiversity, the diversity of life, is not only fascinating and beautiful, it is the engine of all the world's natural cycles, and the source of many of the resources on which humanity depends. Concern about biodiversity conservation is, therefore, not merely the preoccupation of a few enthusiastic naturalists - it is the lifeline business of everybody. In this Very Short Introduction, David Macdonald introduces the concept of biodiversity and the basic biological processes that it involves - evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral. He considers the various threats to biodiversity, their impacts, and some of the solutions to the problems; concluding by considering the future of biodiversity conservation. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Human activities are depleting ecosystems at an unprecedented rate. In spite of nature conservation efforts worldwide, many ecosystems including those critical for human well-being have been damaged or destroyed. States and citizens need a new vision of how humans can reconnect with the natural environment. With its focus on the long-term holistic recovery of ecosystems, ecological restoration has received increasing attention in the past decade from both scientists and policymakers. Research on the implications of ecological restoration for the law and law for ecological restoration has been largely overlooked. This is the first published book to examine comprehensively the relationship between international environmental law and ecological restoration. While international environmental law (IEL) has developed significantly as a discipline over the past four decades, this book enquires whether IEL can now assist states in making a strategic transition from not just protecting and maintaining the natural environment but also actively restoring it. Arguing that states have international duties to restore, this book offers reflections on the philosophical context of ecological restoration and the legal content of a duty to restore from an international law, European Union law and national law perspective. The book concludes with a discussion of several contemporary themes of interest to both lawyers and ecologists including the role of private actors, protected areas and climate change in ecological restoration.

People are inseparable from natural ecosystems, andunderstanding how people think about, experience, and interact withnature is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability aswell as human well-being. This is the new edition of what is now the leading textbook inconservation psychology, the field that explores connectionsbetween the study of human behavior and the achievement ofconservation goals. Completely updated, this book summarizes theory and research on ways in whichhumans experience nature; it explores people’s conceptions ofnature and environmental problems, their relationship with nature,and their moral lenses on nature; and examines ways to encourageconservation-oriented behavior at both individual and societallevels. Throughout, the authors integrate a wide body of researchdemonstrating the role of psychology in promoting a moresustainable relationship between humans and nature. New sections cover human perceptions of environmental problems, newexamples of community-based conservation, and a “positivepsychology” perspective that emphasizes the relevance ofnature to human resilience. Additional references are to be foundthroughout this edition along with some new examples and areorganisation of chapters in response to reader feedback. This fascinating volume is used for teaching classes to seniorundergraduate and graduate students of Conservation Psychology,Environmental Psychology and Conservation Science in departments ofPsychology, Geography, Environmental Science, and Ecology andEvolution. It is equally suitable as a starting point for otherresearchers and practitioners - psychologists, conservationbiologists, environmental scientists, and policy-makers - needingto know more about how psychological research can inform theirconservation work.

In a world where habitats are constantly changing and the impact of anthropization on the environment is increasingly intense, interactions between human and wildlife are becoming more and more complex. Some species pose problems for human activities while many others need to be helped in order to continue to exist. This book follows the first volume called 'Problematic Wildlife', edited by F.M. Angelici and published by Springer in 2016, which has had considerable success with readers and critics. The volume includes 21 chapters divided into 7 parts devoted specific topics which are approached in a multidisciplinary way. There are both review chapters and specific cases, always bearing in mind the interest for an international audience. The book is useful both for scientists, wildlife specialists, conservationists, zoologists, ecologists, university students, nature managers, and for those who live in contact with wildlife and its problems, such as farmers, shepherds, hunters, urban planners, and staff of parks and nature reserves. Its ultimate goal is to offer scientific and pragmatic approaches to manage each categories of problematic species.

Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are migratory songbirds that breed in temperate North America, primarily in the Great Lakes region with remnant populations throughout the Appalachian Mountains, and winter in Central and northern South America. Their breeding range has contracted dramatically in the Appalachian Mountains and many populations have dramatically declined, likely due to habitat loss, competition and interbreeding with Blue-winged Warblers (Vermivora pinus), andglobal climate change.. As a result of population declines in much of the eastern portion of their breeding range, Golden-winged Warblers are listed as endangered or threatened in 10 U.S. states and in Canada and have been petitioned for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Published in collaboration with and on behalf of The American Ornithological Society, this volume in the highly-regarded Studies in Avian Biology series compiles extensive, current research on Golden-winged Warblers and summarizes what is known and identifies many remaining unknowns, providing a wealth of peer-reviewed science on which future research and listing decisions can be based.