Today, the East African state of Tanzania is renowned for wildlife preserves such as the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Selous Game Reserve. Yet few know that most of these initiatives emerged from decades of German colonial rule. This book gives the first full account of Tanzanian wildlife conservation up until World War I, focusing upon elephant hunting and the ivory trade as vital factors in a shift from exploitation to preservation that increasingly excluded indigenous Africans. Analyzing the formative interactions between colonial governance and the natural world, The Nature of German Imperialism situates East African wildlife policies within the global emergence of conservationist sensibilities around 1900.

This book uses primary documents as a lens through which to examine historical and present-day efforts to protect endangered species in the United States and around the world. In this thought-provoking work, author Edward P. Weber examines the values, policies, challenges, and approaches to endangered species conservation over the past 200 years. Using primary source documents and in-depth analysis of the issues, the reference tracks the evolution of species protection and conservation in the United States, and offers a brief look at global programs in the United States and other parts of the world. The book surveys how different countries are faring in protecting their plant and animal life, and considers which guidelines and programs hold the most promise for success in the future. Chapters compare and contrast past and present attitudes regarding endangered species and extinction and identify the influence of major organizations and individuals central to the debate over endangered species. Judiciously selected primary documents also explore the impact of species endangerment and loss on natural ecosystems—and ultimately, on humankind itself.

Global change threatens ecosystems worldwide, and tropical systems with their high diversity and rapid development are of special concern. We can mitigate the impacts of change if we understand how tropical ecosystems respond to disturbance. For tropical forests and streams in Puerto Rico this book describes the impacts of, and recovery from, hurricanes, landslides, floods, droughts, and human disturbances in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. These ecosystems recover quickly after natural disturbances, having been shaped over thousands of years by such events. Human disturbance, however, has longer-lasting impacts. Chapters are by authors with many years of experience in Puerto Rico and other tropical areas and cover the history of research in these mountains, a framework for understanding disturbance and response, the environmental setting, the disturbance regime, response to disturbance, biotic mechanisms of response, management implications, and future directions. The text provides a strong perspective on tropical ecosystem dynamics over multiple scales of time and space.

This book sheds light on the major functions of microbial communities in aquaculture ecosystems, showing that by recycling nutrients, degrading organic matter and preventing disease outbreaks, a variety of microbes are truly beneficial to a wide range of aquaculture industries. It discusses how deteriorating environmental quality enables some microbial strains to trigger disease, describes the development of highly sustainable tools to improve water quality, and identifies crucial factors that endanger microbial homeostasis in aquaculture ecosystems. The book also covers post-antibiotic approaches for preventing and treating opportunistic microbial infections based on harnessing environmental and fish-associated microbial communities. Furthermore, it explores how manipulating and engineering these complex microbial communities using bio-agents such as probiotics, phages, natural nutritional additives, or with fine-tuned biofilters will open the door for new ways to develop a more sustainable and cost-effective aquaculture industry. Including an accessible presentation of modern high-throughput sequencing technology to identify host-microbial interactions in aquaculture ecosystems, this book is a valuable resource for scientists, aquaculture and fishery experts, sustainability enthusiasts and scholars in the areas of biology and marine agriculture.

Australia's varied grasslands have suffered massive losses and changes since European settlement, and those changes continue under increasingly intensive human pressures for development and agricultural production. The values of native grasslands for conservation of endemic native biodiversity, both flora and fauna, have led to strong interests in the protection of remaining fragments, especially near urban centres, and documentation of the insects and other inhabitants of grasslands spanning tropical to cool temperate parts of the country. Attention to conservation of grassland insects in Australia is relatively recent, but it is increasingly apparent that grasslands harbour many localised and ecologically specialised endemic species. Their conservation necessarily advances from very incomplete documentation, and draws heavily on lessons from the far better-documented grasslands elsewhere, most notably in the northern hemisphere, and undertaken over far longer periods. From those cases, and the extensive background to grassland management to harmonise conservation with production and amenity values through honing use of processes such as grazing, mowing and fire, the needs and priorities for Australia can become clearer, together with needs for grassland restoration at a variety of scales. This book is a broad overview of conservation needs of grassland insects in Australia, drawing on the background provided elsewhere in the world on the responses to disturbances, and the ecological importance, of some key insect groups (notably Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera) to suggest how insect conservation in native, pastoral and urban grasslands may be advanced. The substantial references given for each chapter facilitate entry for non-entomologist grassland managers and stewards to appreciate the diversity and importance of Australia's grassland insects, their vulnerabilities to changes, and the possibilities for conserving them and the wider ecological roles in which they participate.

Tracking Animal Migration with Stable Isotopes, Second Edition, provides a complete introduction to new and powerful isotopic tools and applications that track animal migration, reviewing where isotope tracers fit in the modern toolbox of tracking methods. The book provides background information on a broad range of migration scenarios in terrestrial and aquatic systems and summarizes the most cutting-edge developments in the field that are revolutionizing the way migrant individuals and populations are assigned to their true origins. It allows undergraduates, graduate students and non-specialist scientists to adopt and apply isotopes to migration research, and also serves as a useful reference for scientists. The new edition thoroughly updates the information available to the reader on current applications of this technique and provides new tools for the isotopic assignment of individuals to origins, including geostatistical multi-isotope approaches and the ways in which researchers can combine isotopes with routine data in a Bayesian framework to provide best estimates of animal origins. Four new chapters include contributions on applications to the movements of terrestrial mammals, with particular emphasis on how aspects of animal physiology can influence stable isotope values.

THE SUNDAY TIMES' BESTSELLER AND SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT CONSERVATION AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE This is a book about abandoned places: ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man's lands and fortress islands - and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place. In Chernobyl, following the nuclear disaster, only a handful of people returned to their dangerously irradiated homes. On an uninhabited Scottish island, feral cattle live entirely wild. In Detroit, once America's fourth-largest city, entire streets of houses are falling in on themselves, looters slipping through otherwise silent neighbourhoods. This book explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live - or survive in tiny, precarious numbers - to give us a possible glimpse of what happens when mankind's impact on nature is forced to stop. From Tanzanian mountains to the volcanic Caribbean, the forbidden areas of France to the mining regions of Scotland, Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world - and shows how, against all odds, they offer our best opportunities for environmental recovery. By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written world study is pinned together with profound insight and new ecological discoveries that together map an answer to the big questions: what happens after we're gone, and how far can our damage to nature be undone? More praise for Islands of Abandonment 'Extraordinary ... Just when you thought there was nowhere left to explore, along comes an author with a new category of terrain ... Dazzling' SPECTATOR 'A haunting look at how nature fights back ... Beautiful, evocative' SUNDAY TIMES 'Flyn's brave, thorough book sets out to explore places where angels fear to tread ... The result is fascinating, eerie and strange ... There is some thrilling writing here' KATHLEEN JAMIE, NEW STATESMAN 'Wonderful' ADAM NICOLSON 'Exhilarating' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Professor Linda M. Fedigan, Member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, has made major contributions to our understanding of the behavioural ecology of primates. Furthermore, Linda Fedigan pioneered and continues to advance scholarship on the role of women in science, as well as actively promoting the inclusion of women in the academy. A symposium in honour of her career was held in Banff (Alberta, Canada) in December 2016, during which former and current students and collaborators, as well as scientists with similar research interests, presented and discussed their work and their connections to Linda Fedigan. These presentations and discussions are here presented as chapters in this festschrift. The original works presented in this book are organized around four major research areas that have been greatly advanced and influenced by Linda Fedigan: Primate life histories Sex roles, gender, and science Primate-environment interactions Primate adaptation to changing environments

From the Texas Blackland Prairies to the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of the Carolinas, this volume provides a snapshot of the most spectacular and important natural places in the southern United States. America's Natural Places: South and Southeast 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 book informs readers about the wide variety of natural areas across the south and southeast and identifies places near them that demonstrate the importance of preserving such regions.

Butterflies and moths hold an enduring fascination for their unusual life cycle, as they change from one creature into another. Butterflies is an outstanding collection of photographs showcasing nature's most beautiful and often elusive butterflies and moths - members of the Lepidoptera order - in the variety of their natural habitats. With 17,500 species of butterfly and 160,000 species of moth in the world today, they can be found on every continent apart from Antarctica, and in every nation. Arranged in chapters covering some of the most beautiful and interesting types of butterfly and moth, their habitats, their transition from egg to caterpillar and from chrysalid to adult, as well as their behaviour, the book reveals little-known facts about their life cycle, anatomy, self-defence mechanisms, feeding and migration. For example, did you know that while caterpillars chew their solid food, adult butterflies can only consume liquid, and some moths do not even have mouths? Or that many species can taste with their feet? With full captions explaining how the species breeds, feeds, and changes from caterpillar to the animal kingdom's most stunning member, Butterflies is a brilliant examination in more than 200 outstanding colour photographs of these fascinating insects.

Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation reports on the science and conservation of the cheetah. This volume demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of research and conservation efforts to study and protect the cheetah. The book begins with chapters on the evolution, genetics, physiology, ecology and behavior of the species, as well as distribution reports from range countries. These introductory chapters lead into discussions of the challenges facing cheetah survival, including habitat loss, declining prey base, human-wildlife conflict, illegal trade, and newly-emerging threats, notably climate change. This book also focuses on conservation strategies and solutions, including environmental education and alternative livelihoods. Chapters on the role of captive cheetahs to conservation and the long-term research of the species are included, as are a brief discussion of the methods and analyses used to study the cheetah. The book concludes with the conservation status and future outlook of the species. Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation is a valuable resource for the regional and global communities of cheetah conservationists, researchers, and academics. Although cheetah focussed the book provides information relevant to the study of broader topics such as wildlife conservation, captive breeding, habitat management, conservation biology and animal behaviour. Cover photograph by Angela Scott

The growth of the wildlife industry in South Africa can be measured by the growth in the number of wildlife ranches. In 1965 there were only four wildlife-fenced properties in the former north-western Transvaal. By 2005, 40 years later, there were more than 10 000 properties with wildlife exemption permits in the nine provinces combined. As the wildlife industry continues to expand, so too does the need for scientific knowledge upon which it must be based.

This sixth edition of Game ranch management is written by 39 experts in various fields and edited by two experienced wildlife ecologists, managers and veterinarians. It is as complete a guide as possible for wildlife ranchers in South Africa. All the chapters have been revised and updated, with extensive new information on information systems and data management; economics of the wildlife industry in South Africa; bacterial, viral and protozoal diseases of wildlife; buying and selling wild animals; hunting, keeping and managing large terrestrial carnivores; trophy hunting; meat production; veld management, and habitat rehabilitation.

Completely new chapters or subchapters include the following:

• Marketing
• Genetic management
• Medical assistance in the field
• Ecto- and endoparasites
• The management of internal parasites
• Capturing wild animals actively
• Falconry
• Legislation and codes of conduct

Game ranch management is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students doing degrees or modules in wildlife management and ranching at training institutions across southern Africa. It is also a guide for current and future owners of extensive wildlife production units.

"The Game of Conservation" is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable examination of nature protection around the world.
Twentieth-century nature conservation treaties often originated as attempts to regulate the pace of killing rather than as attempts to protect animal habitat. Some were prompted by major breakthroughs in firearm techniques, such as the invention of the elephant gun and grenade harpoons, but agricultural development was at least as important as hunting regulations in determining the fate of migratory species. The treaties had many defects, yet they also served the goal of conservation to good effect, often saving key species from complete extermination and sometimes keeping the population numbers at viable levels. It is because of these treaties that Africa is dotted with large national parks, that North America has an extensive network of bird refuges, and that there are any whales left in the oceans. All of these treaties are still in effect today, and all continue to influence nature-protection efforts around the globe.
Drawing on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, Mark Cioc shows that a handful of treaties--all designed to protect the world's most commercially important migratory species--have largely shaped the contours of global nature conservation over the past century. The scope of the book ranges from the African savannahs and the skies of North America to the frigid waters of the Antarctic.

Habitat management is commonly used to maintain and enhance the biological interest of many areas of semi-natural habitat where natural processes no longer create suitable conditions for desired species. Habitat restoration and creation is increasingly being used to increase the extent of ecologically important habitats in order to mitigate the impacts of human development. The modification of past management techniques and the introduction of new ones can provide additional benefits.
Habitat Management for Conservation is a practical handbook which describes the general principles and techniques of managing and creating habitats throughout the world. The opening sections describe the general principles of managing land for biodiversity conservation. They include decision-making, mitigating the damaging effects of climate change, and monitoring the success of management. These are followed by a series of chapters which describe how to manage specific habitats: grasslands, shrublands, forests, scrub, freshwater wetlands, coastal habitats, arable land, urban areas and gardens. For each of these habitats the book discusses the main factors influencing their value for wildlife, highlights the key decisions that need to be made, and describes and compares the effects of individual management techniques.
This comprehensive guide will be essential reading for graduate students as well as an invaluable resource for land managers, land-use advisors and others involved in conservation land management worldwide.

This book encompasses the body of available scientific information on the notothenioid fish Pleuragramma antarctica commonly known as Antarctic silverfish. This plankton-feeder of the intermediate trophic level is the most abundant fish in the coastal regions of high Antarctica, and plays a pivotal ecological role as the main prey of top predators like seals, penguins, whales and Antarctic toothfish. Broad circum-polar distribution, a key role in the Antarctic shelf pelagic ecosystem, and adaptations makes understanding the species' likely response to environmental change relevant to foresee the potential responses at the local ecosystem level. Additionally, a detailed understanding of the abundance and trophic interactions of such a dominant keystone species is a vital element of informing the development of marine spatial planning and marine protected areas in the Antarctic continental shelf region. Experts in the field provide here unique insights into the evolutionary adaptation, eco-physiology, trophic ecology, reproductive and population ecology of the Antarctic silverfish and provide new clues about its vulnerability in facing the challenges of the ongoing environmental changes.

Pollution doesn't make for easy sonnets or flowing, romantic narratives. And that's what this title is about - pollution. Not the everyday sort of pollution that we recognise so easily, the type which piles up into stinking heaps of litter or that clogs the sky with filthy smoke. No, this is a form of pollution which is so subtle and insidious that many people do not realise it is there. Invaded is about biological pollution, the kind that comes in dense hedges of lush greenery, blooming fields of heady petals or gracefully draped creepers. It may spread incognito on the wings of a bird, tug on the end of an angler's line or scurry unnoticed through the undergrowth. These pages explore plants and animals that have traversed the borders and boundaries of their natural habitats and made their way into South Africa over the past 300 years and more. Unhindered by the predators and diseases which once kept their populations in check, many have come to outnumber and out-compete the species they encounter in their adopted homes. Invaded provides an overview of the different species that have arrived in our country during the past three centuries, and the threats they pose (or have the potential to become). Ultimately, the book attempts to quantify how these species have changed systems, disrupted the natural environment and threatened the future of the country's many unique plants, animals and habitats.

This book summarizes current advances in our understanding of how infectious disease represents an ecological interaction between a pathogenic microorganism and the host species in which that microbe causes illness. The contributing authors explain that pathogenic microorganisms often also have broader ecological connections, which can include a natural environmental presence; possible transmission by vehicles such as air, water, and food; and interactions with other host species, including vectors for which the microbe either may or may not be pathogenic. This field of science has been dubbed disease ecology, and the chapters that examine it have been grouped into three sections. The first section introduces both the role of biological community interactions and the impact of biodiversity on infectious disease. In turn, the second section considers those diseases directly affecting humans, with a focus on waterborne and foodborne illnesses, while also examining the critical aspect of microbial biofilms. Lastly, the third section presents the ecology of infectious diseases from the perspective of their impact on mammalian livestock and wildlife as well as on humans. Given its breadth of coverage, the volume offers a valuable resource for microbial ecologists and biomedical scientists alike.

Winner of the Marsh Book of the Year Award (2015) Throughout British history rivers have been of profound economic, social and cultural importance - yet as we see with increasing frequency they have the potential to wreak great destruction. This book describes the natural and not-so-natural changes that have affected British rivers since the last ice age and looks at the many plants and animals that live along, above and within them. Detailed case studies of the Meon, Dee and Endrick illustrate the incredibly varied nature of our river ecosystems, and the natural and human factors that make each one different. Written by two widely respected river ecologists, the book looks not only at rivers as they were and are but also at how they can be managed and cared for. Full of interesting facts and stunning images, Rivers is essential reading for anyone professionally involved in rivers and for the naturalist, conservationist and layman alike. It is the one book you need to understand this singularly important and often contentious feature of the British landscape.

A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated photographic guide-now in a handy field-guide format This lavishly illustrated photographic guide provides a comprehensive overview of the natural history of wildlife habitats in Britain and Ireland. Now completely redesigned in a handy field-guide format, and featuring revised and updated text throughout, this new edition of Britain's Habitats guides readers through all the main habitat types, presenting information on their characteristics, extent, geographical variation, key species, cultural importance, origins and conservation. It aims to help visitors to the countryside recognize the habitats around them, understand how they have evolved and what makes them special, and imagine how they might change in the future. This new edition includes updated maps and additional photographs throughout, and covers a new habitat-gardens. The perfect companion for anyone travelling in Britain and Ireland, the book is essential reading for all wildlife enthusiasts, professional ecologists and landscape architects. Individual sections on all the main habitat types found in Britain and Ireland More than 680 evocative colour photographs, including images from around Britain and Ireland in all seasons Details and photographs of key species and features associated with the different habitats Up-to-date information-including maps-on the distribution, extent and importance of all habitat types Features new to this edition include a field-guide format, updated maps, more photographs throughout and coverage of an additional habitat-gardens

A burning mix of diesel fuel and gasoline drips from handheld canisters onto the ground. Slowly a line of fire begins to creep downhill. The flames are well behaved, almost hesitant. This is a backing fire, unlikely to attract media attention unless it escapes, like the disastrous Los Alamos Cerro Grande fire did in 2000. This book explores a century of controversy over prescribed burning--using fire as a tool--and fire suppression. For more than 100 years, America waged an all-out war against wildland fire. Decades of fire suppression caused fuels to build up at alarming levels in our forests, culminating in the increasingly severe, uncontrollable fires of the late 20th century--the fires in Yellowstone, the Oakland Hills, and Los Alamos and the fires in summers of 2000 (the second worst fire season in the nation's history) and 2001.

Looking at these and earlier fires, Carle uses the voices of those who were involved, of those who were early advocates, and of today's proponents to examine the role of controlled burning. Early in the century, Harold Biswell, a pioneer in prescribed burning, dared to commit the heresy of questioning the dogma of fire suppression, despite professional controversy and opprobrium, he and a few other pioneers led the way. Their roles play an integral part in the story told here. In Biswell's words, fire is a natural part of the environment, about as important as rain and sunshine... . We must work more in harmony with nature, not so much against it. Can humanity, this book asks, learn to become a fire-adapted species?

Orchids are the most charismatic of flowering plants and the largest family with over 20,000 species. Many are naturally rare and others are thought to be endangered or extinct through habitat destruction and over-collecting. Orchids have a high profile in conservation but relatively little is known about their distribution and lifestyles. Author Harold Koopowitz gives the most up-to-date information on the biology, ecology, distribution, destruction and conservation of orchids that there is.