Within a generation, the wilderness of Zululand, with its spectacular array of mammals, birds and plants, came near to extinction. This is the saga of that decline and of the heroic and successful attempt, through establishing game reserves and enforcing environmental protection policies, to save one of Africa's surviving environmental gems. Enough elephant tusks to fill a thousand ox wagons - that's how much ivory alone was shipped out of Durban bay between the 1820s and the 1880s. It amounted to at least a million kilograms, or a thousand tons, of ivory and represented the slaughter of 20 000 elephant. Piles of elephant tusks were then a common sight at the dockside in Port Natal. But that was not all - rhino horn; buck horn; buffalo, hippo and wildebeest hide; lion, leopard and wildcat skin; as well as live wild animals, all were exported, much coming from the last surviving great African kingdom in southern Africa, Zululand. The three pillars of the Zululand and Maputaland wilderness were the wild game, the avifauna, particularly game birds, and the indigenous forests. This title charts both the onslaught on them and the efforts made to preserve them from the destruction that seemed imminent and inevitable. But the title also tells the story of the local African population and their attitudes; it looks at the white and African hunters who pursued the game; and it traces the foundation in the 1890s of the first Zululand game reserves and their struggle for survival against all the odds. Had not the pioneers of Zululand conservation embarked on this early conservation movement, the Zululand wilderness with its tremendous diversity of fauna and flora would have disappeared completely - and with it one of Africa's brightest jewels.

The book provides basic knowledge in mycorrhizal ecology, knitted with novel conceptual frameworks and contemporary perspectives, especially in the context of global change. In a fast changing world wherein anthropogenic climate change, biological invasions, deforestation, desertification, and frequent droughts have become routine hard realities, the contents of this book urge readers to rethink basic notions of setting and accomplishing objectives in mycorrhizal research to make sense vis-a-vis contemporary challenges. In this book, a global perspective of mycorrhizal diversity and distribution is provided, followed by some insights into the impact of various global change elements such as climate change, plant invasion, and extreme environmental conditions on mycorrhizas and the role of these mutualists in turn to help their host plants to withstand such novel selection pressures. Special attention here is given to the interesting, but largely neglected, topics such as the role of mycorrhizas in ecological restoration of degraded environments and mycorrhizal status of aquatic plants. The basic idea is to unify various topical areas in mycorrhizal science in an integrated framework. This book can be used by the undergraduate and graduate level students studying mycorrhizal symbioses in the context of current ecological applications. The materials in this book will benefit biological scientists actively involved in research on mycorrhizal ecology and global environmental change. Besides, the contents of the book could be of special interest to restoration ecologists and biodiversity managers. "

This book provides a broad overview of how the promotion of ocean and coastal literacy is being planned, applied and evaluated in Brazil, a country of continental dimensions with a great diversity of cultural, educational and social realities. It discusses a range of target groups, from children to adults; formal and informal strategies; and various promoting players, such as groups/institutions. Researchers representing Brazilian academic institutions and NGOs share their environmental education (EE) experiences in Brazil and describe the main concerns regarding the marine and coastal environments as well as how they are addressing these concerns in their EE projects. This book is of interest to anyone who is looking for ways of designing and implementing EE activities with a robust theoretical background in different socio-cultural scenarios.

What is behind the greening of European politics, and what is the future of the green movement? This book examines environmental interest groups at the vanguard of the green movement in Western Europe-from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to national bird societies and conservation groups-in order to answer these questions. Russell J. Dalton chronicles the evolution of environmental interest groups from their first mobilization wave in the late 1800s to the present. Drawing on interviews with leaders of nearly seventy major environmental groups in ten countries, he challenges the conventional view of the environmental movement. Dalton argues that environmental leaders are not the political radicals portrayed by their opponents but are advocates of reform. He also finds that green groups are active and varied participants in the policy process. As the green movement has developed, environmental interest groups have helped to define its goals and identity. The environmental movement, says Dalton, has become an advocate for a new green agenda that is reforming the policy priorities of advanced industrial democracies. Dalton uses his investigation into the green movement to shed light on social movements and social theory. By comparing conservation and ecology groups, he finds that an organization's values strongly influence its political behavior. He concludes that social movements are driven by their ideological views and political identity and that these shape their choice of political goals, their potential for action, and their pattern of behavior.

An environmental historian delves into the history, science, and philosophy of a paradoxical pursuit: the century-old quest to design natural places and create wild species. Environmental restoration is a global pursuit and a major political concern. Governments, nonprofits, private corporations, and other institutions spend billions of dollars each year to remove invasive species, build wetlands, and reintroduce species driven from their habitats. But restoration has not always been so intensively practiced. It began as the pastime of a few wildflower enthusiasts and the first practitioners of the new scientific discipline of ecology. Restoration has been a touchstone of US environmentalism since the beginning of the twentieth century. Diverging from popular ideas about preservation, which romanticized nature as an Eden to be left untouched by human hands, and conservation, the managed use of natural resources, restoration emerged as a "third way." Restorationists grappled with the deepest puzzles of human care for life on earth: How to intervene in nature for nature's own sake? What are the natural baselines that humans should aim to restore? Is it possible to design nature without destroying wildness? Laura J. Martin shows how, over time, amateur and professional ecologists, interest groups, and government agencies coalesced around a mode of environmental management that sought to respect the world-making, and even the decision-making, of other species. At the same time, restoration science reshaped material environments in ways that powerfully influenced what we understand the wild to be. In Wild by Design, restoration's past provides vital knowledge for climate change policy. But Martin also offers something more-a meditation on what it means to be wild and a call for ecological restoration that is socially just.

The oceans cover over 70% of our planet. They are host to a biodiversity of tremendous wealth. Its preservation is now a global priority featuring in several international conventions and a confirmed objective of European policies and national strategies. Understanding the dynamics and the uses of the marine biodiversity is a genuine scientific challenge. Fourteen international experts have got together and identified five priority research themes to address the problem, based on analysing the state of knowledge.

Most aquatic ecosystems have variable water levels. These water-level fluctuations (WLF) have multiple effects on the organisms above and below the waterline. Natural WLF patterns in lakes guarantee both productivity and biodiversity, while untimely floods and droughts may have negative effects. Human impacts on WLF have led to a stabilization of the water levels of many lakes by hydraulic regulation, untimely drawdown due to water use, or floods due to water release from hydropower plants in the catchments.

This book provides a first review in this field. It presents selected papers on the ecological effects of WLF in lakes, resulting from a workshop at the University of Konstanz in winter 2005. Issues addressed here include the extent of WLF, and analyses of their effects on different groups of biota from microorganisms to vertebrates. Applied issues include recommendations for the hydrological management of regulated lakes to reduce negative impacts, and a conceptual framework is delivered by an extension of the floodpulse concept for lakes. Current impacts on water use, including increasing demands on drinking and irrigation water, hydropower etc., and climate change effects on WLF make this book an essential resource for aquatic ecologists, engineers, and decision-makers dealing with the management of lake ecosystems and their catchments.

Eighteen of Florida's best-loved writers here share with you their affection for Florida's wild side--the beautiful heart of a state under siege from development. Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, Al Burt, Patrick Smith, the late Archie Carr, and others evoke a Florida thick with pinewoods, alligators, and palmetto scrub; ribboned by miles of coast and dune; blessed with backcountry lakes, rivers, creeks, and springs. Strip malls and concrete cannot tame this wild Florida, but they can kill it. These essays offer passionate argument why that should not be allowed to happen. Coming from a variety of backgrounds--fiction, journalism, poetry, and environmental writing--the writers turn their talent to one thing they have in common--a love for Florida's natural beauty and a commitment to preserve it. Their essays--some old favorites, most appearing here for the first time--are both a celebration and a pointed reminder of what we stand to lose. Many of the areas singled out (the Lake Wales Ridge, the Panhandle's Topsail Hill, Goethe State Forest, and Tampa's Brooker Creek) were purchased through Florida's Preservation 2000, one of the nation's foremost land acquisition programs. All royalties from the book are being donated to the Florida chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Printed on recycled paper with soy ink. Jeff Ripple, natural history writer and photographer, is the author of five books of interpretive natural history, including Sea Turtles, Florida--The Natural Wonders, and Southwest Florida's Wetland Wilderness: Big Cypress Swamp and the Ten Thousand Islands (UPF, 1996). He lives in Gainesville, Florida. Susan Cerulean, writer and biologist, is co-author of Florida Wildlife Viewing Guide. In 1997, the Governor's Council for a Sustainable Florida honored her with an Individual Environmental Educator Award. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

This book covers studies on the systematics of plant taxa and will include general vegetational aspects and ecological characteristics of plant life at altitudes above 1000 m. from different parts of the world. This volume also addresses how upcoming climate change scenarios will impact high altitude plant life. It presents case studies from the most important mountainous areas like the Himalayas, Caucasus and South America covering the countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kirghizia, Georgia, Russia,Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Americas. The book will serve as an invaluable resource source undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers.

From Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the Milnesand Prairie Preserve of New Mexico, this volume provides a snapshot of the most spectacular and important natural places in the western United States. America's Natural Places: Pacific and West examines over 50 of the most spectacular and important areas of this region, with each entry describing the importance of the area, the flora and fauna that it supports, threats to the survival of the region, and what is being done to protect it. Organized by state within the volume, this work informs readers about the wide variety of natural areas across the western part of the United States and identifies places that may be near them that demonstrate the importance of preserving such regions.

The book explores how Darwins legendary and mythologized visit to the Galapagos affected the socioecosystems of the Islands, as well as the cultural and intellectual traditions of Ecuador and Latin America. It highlights in what way the connection between Darwin and the Galapagos has had real, enduring and paradoxical effects in the Archipelago. This Twenty Century construct of the Galapagos as the cradle of Darwin's theory and insights triggered not only the definition of the Galapagos as a living natural laboratory but also the production of a series of conservation practices and the reshaping of the Galapagos as a tourism destination with an increasingly important flow of tourists that potentially threaten its fragile ecosystems. The book argues that the idea of a Darwinian living laboratory has been limited by the success of the very same constructs that promote its conservation. It suggests critical interpretations of this paradox by questioning many of the dichotomies that have been created to understand nature and its conservation. We also explore some possible ways in which Darwin's ideas can be used to better understand the social and natural threats facing the Islands and to develop sustainable and successful management practices.

1 Introduction: Scope and Need for an Ecology of Subtle Human Effects and Populated Areas.- Section I The Human Factor: Perception and Processes.- 2 The History and Present Entanglements of Some General Ecological Perspectives.- 3 An Exceptionally Powerful Biotic Factor.- 4 Environmental Change: The Human Factor.- 5 The Iceberg and the Titanic: Human Economic Behavior in Ecological Models.- 6 Ecosystems and Human Actions.- 7 The Human Component of Ecosystems.- Section II Approaches to the Study of Humans as Components of Ecosystems.- 8 Discovery of the Subtle.- 9 Land-use History and Forest Transformations in Central New England.- 10 Variability in Lake Ecosystems: Complex Responses by the Apical Predator.- 11 Humans as a Component of the Lake Titicaca Ecosystem: A Model System for the Study of Environmental Deterioration.- 12 Nitrogen Loading of Rivers as a Human-Driven Process.- 13 Humans: Capstone Strong Actors in the Past and Present Coastal Ecological Play.- 14 Modification of Nitrogen Cycling at the Regional Scale: The Subtle Effects of Atmospheric Deposition.- 15 The Application of the Ecological Gradient Paradigm to the Study of Urban Effects.- 16 The Process of Plant Colonization in Small Settlements and Large Cities.- 17 Ecological Implications of Landscape Fragmentation.- Section III Implications for Ecosystem Management and Construction.- 18 Integration of Social and Ecological Factors: Dynamic Area Models of Subtle Human Influences on Ecosystems.- 19 Human Influences on Ecosystems: Dealing With Biodiversity.- 20 "Natural" or "Healthy" Ecosystems: Are U.S. National Parks Providing Them?.- 21 Restoration as a Technique for Identifying and Characterizing Human Influences on Ecosystems.- 22 Biosphere 2 and the Study of Human/Ecosystem Dynamics.- Section IV Overview.- 23 Part I: A Social Scientist's Perspective.- II: A Human Ecologist's Perspective.- III: A Marine Ecologist's Perspective-Humans as Capstone-Species.- IV: A Theoretical Ecologist's Perspective: Toward a Unified Paradigm for Subtle Human Effects and an Ecology of Populated Areas.- 24 Humans as Components of Ecosystems: A Synthesis.

Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) comprise twelve species of leaf-eating New World monkeys that range from southern Mexico through northern Argentina. This genus is the most widespread of any New World primate taxa, and can be found to inhabit a range of forest types from undisturbed rainforest to severely anthropogenically impacted forest fragments. Although there have been many studies on individual species of howler monkeys, this book is the first comprehensive volume to place information on howler behavior and biology within a theoretical framework of ecological and social adaptability. This is the second of two volumes devoted to the genus Alouatta. This volume: * Examines behavioral and physiological mechanisms that enable howler monkeys to exploit highly disturbed and fragmented habitats * Presents models of howler monkey diet, social organization, and mating systems that can also inform researchers studying Old World colobines, apes, and other tropical mammals These goals are achieved in a collection of chapters written by a distinguished group of scientists on the feeding ecology, behavior, mating strategies, and management and conservation of howlers. This book also contains chapters on the howler microbiome, the concept of behavioral variability, sexual selection, and the role of primates in forest regeneration.

Playing a critical role in both influencing climate change and mitigating its impacts, the world's diverse wetlands have become one of the world's most threatened ecosystems as unsustainable land-use practices coupled with irrational use of water have already resulted in large-scale wetlands loss and degradation. To develop sound management and conservation schemes to assure wetlands sustainability in the long term requires long-term understanding of wetlands ecology. Yet until now, long-term interdisciplinary research into these systems has been limited to only a few systems from tropical or temperate climates (such as the Florida Everglades, and Czech biosphere reserve). This new book adds to the existing wetlands literature, providing a unique reference in basic and applied Mediterranean wetland ecology, based on results from long-term interdisciplinary research at the RAMSAR and UNESCO Biosphere site, of Las Tablas de Daimiel, Spain. Dating back to the early 1990s the research highlights changes in the biotic and abiotic environment in response to cumulative anthropogenic stressors, and provide guidance on applying this understand to sound management and conservation. With particular relevance to researchers dealing with semi-arid wetlands in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, as well as to resource managers, the book discusses the complexity of the interacting abiotic and biotic environment across different spatial and temporal scales and across various levels of biological hierarchy is highlighted, and reveals how management based on poor knowledge causes more damage than repair. The book will be of interest to researchers interested in freshwater ecology, hydrobotany, hydrology, geology, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology and environmental management.

Genetic erosion is the loss of genetic diversity within a species. It can happen very quickly, due to catastrophic events, or changes in land use leading to habitat loss. But it can also occur more gradually and remain unnoticed for a long time. One of the main causes of genetic erosion is the replacement of local varieties by modern varieties. Other causes include environmental degradation, urbanization, and land clearing through deforestation and brush fires. In order to conserve biodiversity in plants, it is important to targets three independent levels that include ecosystems, species and genes. Genetic diversity is important to a species' fitness, long-term viability, and ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Chapters in this book are written by leading geneticists, molecular biologists and other specialists on relevant topics on genetic erosion and conservation genetic diversity in plants. This divisible set of two volumes deals with a broad spectrum of topics on genetic erosion, and approaches to biodiversity conservation in crop plants and trees. Volume 1 deals with indicators and prevention of genetic erosion, while volume 2 covers genetic diversity and erosion in a number of plants species. These two volumes will also be useful to botanists, biotechnologists, environmentalists, policy makers, conservationists, and NGOs working to manage genetic erosion and biodiversity.

Dr. Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison are world-renowned ecological philosophers and activists, interdisciplinary social and environmental scientists and broad-ranging, deeply committed humanists. This collection of fifty essays and interviews comprises an invigorating, outspoken, provocative and eloquent overview of the ecological humanities in one highly accessible volume. The components of this collection were published in the authors' "Green Conversations" blog series, and pieces in the Eco News Network from 2011 to 2013 and feature luminaries from Jane Goodall to Ted Turner to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to the former head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Stunning color photographs captured by the authors and contributors make Why Life Matters: Fifty Ecosystems of the Heart and Mind a feast for the eyes as well as the mind and soul. Ethics, science, technology, ecological literacy, grass-roots renaissance thinkers, conservation innovation from the U.S. to the U.K.; from India to Ecuador; from Bhutan to Haiti; from across Africa, the Neo-Tropics, Central Asia and Japan, to Rio, Shanghai and Manhattan - this humanistic ode to the future of life on earth is a relevant and resonating read. Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, partners who between them have authored some 50 books and written, directed and produced some 170 films, a prolific body of work that has been read, translated and/or broadcast around the world, have been married for more than a quarter-of-a-century. Their field research across the disciplines of comparative literature, anthropology, the history of science and philosophy, ecology and ethics, in over 80 countries, has served as a telling example of what two people - deeply in love with one another - can accomplish in spreading that same unconditional love to others - of all species.

The Handbook identifies all aspects of Regulatory Plant Biosecurity and discusses them from the standpoint of preventing the international movement of plant pests, diseases and weeds that negatively impact production agriculture, natural plant-resources and agricultural commerce.

Medina tells us that up to 2% of the urban population in developing countries survives by salvaging materials from waste for recycling, which represents up to 64 million scavengers in the world today. Despite these numbers, we know little about the impact of scavenging on global capitalism development. The author examines its historical evolution and its linkages with formal and informal sector productive activities in capitalist and non-capitalist societies, in case studies from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt, the Philippines, and India. His new book radically alters popular perceptions on scavenging, demonstrating that many widely-held beliefs are wrong: scavenging is not primarily the activity of the poor nor is it a strictly marginal activity; the economic impact of scavenging is significant and can increase industrial competitiveness; and scavenging can be compatible with a sustainable waste management system. Scavenging represents an adaptive response to poverty, yet at the same time it can be a resource to cities, whose contributions should be recognized and understood.

It is the world's best-known national park, with a controversy that no amount of snow can bury. Rosy-cheeked snowmobilers extol the glories of riding through a winter wonderland, while environmentalists decry the noise, the air pollution, and the harm to wildlife. There seems to be no room for compromise. In this first book-length study of winter use in any national park, Michael Yochim examines the long standing conflict between the National Park Service and groups who favor or object to snowmobiles in Yellowstone. By illuminating the fundamental drivers of the controversy - American values, community identity, industry influence, and political tampering with policy - he doesn't merely document the debate but shows how increasingly politicized battles have taken a toll on the autonomy of the NPS and its ability to protect the park. The debate itself, Yochim observes, is not over whether one mode of transportation is more appropriate than another, but whether it is more important to embrace nature's sacredness or one's personal liberties. With motorized snow travel sanctioned for forty years, snowmobilers see their sport as an expression of freedom and rugged individualism, and attempts to curtail their activity as un-American. Conversely, environmentalists see parks as sacred space, so snowmobiles to them are inappropriate in what they regard as a temple. Yochim discusses the political and legal intricacies of arguments on both sides in a balanced presentation - one that does not spare the NPS from close scrutiny - and he examines influence on the Park Service from both political parties. Along the way, he teases out the role of science as a policy guide, the place of values in the controversy, and the influence of strident personalities in the debate. In tracing the history of motorized winter recreational use of the park from the earliest days of winter visitation in the 1930s to the present, Yochim shows that what is at stake is more than recreation in one park but the very mission of the NPS - and whether political machinations will keep it from protecting the park and accomplishing that mission. ""Yellowstone and the Snowmobile"" allows readers to better understand this controversy, one that is unlikely to go away any time soon.

Conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services is critical to promoting human welfare and sustainable development. Valuing Ecosystem Services: Methodological Issues And Case Studies presents the latest research on valuing ecosystem services and case studies by leading experts from around the world. This thought provoking book draws together prominent international authorities to discuss the key methodological issues and challenges in valuing ecosystem services. Covering a cross-section of ecosystems and services in different sites, countries and regions, and presenting state of the art surveys of studies on valuation of forest and coastal ecosystems and pollination services, the collection presents essential case studies that value ecosystem services and experiences with operationalizing valuation into policy. Providing a unique blueprint for moving the science and practice of ecosystem services valuation forward, this timely book will be of special interest to academics, policy makers and professionals working in ecological economics, natural resources, forestry and conservation. Contributors: G. Atkinson, I.J. Bateman, D.M. Bauer, P. van Beukering, L. Brander, N.D Burgess, F. Casey, H. Chang, D. Cooley, R. Costanza, V. Dujon, D. Ervin, C. Fezzi, A. Ghermandi, D. Gordon, E. Granek, G. Guannel, D. Immerzeel, M. Inoue, A. Jenkins, R. Jindal, J. Kerr, A.Kontoleon, R. Kramer, T. Kroeger, A. Lesser, J. Loomis, G.M. Mace, E.Y. Mohammed, S. Morse-Jones, B.C. Murray, K.N. Ninan, P.A.L.D. Nunes, L. Pendleton, L. Richardson, V. Shandas, R.D. Simpson, P.C. Sutton, C. Tisdell, R. K. Turner, T. Vegh, J.A. Yeakley, K. Yoshida

This second edition emphasizes the environmental impact on reproduction, with updated chapters throughout as well as complete new chapters on species such as sharks and rays. This is a wide-ranging book that will be of relevance to anyone involved in species conservation, and provides critical perspectives on the real utility of current and emerging reproductive sciences.Understanding reproductive biology is centrally important to the way many of the world's conservation problems should be tackled. Currently the extinction problem is huge, with up to 30% of the world's fauna being expected to disappear in the next 50 years. Nevertheless, it has been estimated that the global population of animals in zoos encompasses 12,000 - 15,000 species, and we anticipate that every effort will be made to preserve these species for as long as possible, minimizing inbreeding effects and providing the best welfare standards available. Even if the reproductive biology community cannot solve the global biodiversity crisis for all wild species, we should do our best to maintain important captive populations. Reproductive biology in this context is much more than the development of techniques for helping with too little or too much breeding. While some of the relevant techniques are useful for individual species that society might target for a variety of reasons, whether nationalistic, cultural or practical, technical developments have to be backed up by thorough biological understanding of the background behind the problems.

This book addresses issues related to sources of groundwater pollution such as arsenic, uranium, fluoride and their effects on human health. It discusses extensively the removal of heavy metals, arsenic and fluoride from drinking water. Bioremediation and phyto remediation on biomass productivity are treated in several chapters in the book. The volume highlights leachate characteristics analysed both in the laboratory and in field studies assessing the trace metals in rainwater. This book is a study on the judicious management of natural resources and exposes environmental problems particularly those related to pollution and bioremediation.