The book offers a comprehensive review of the advances in conservation and the reintroduction of rare and endangered plants in China. It systematically discusses plant diversity, in situ and ex situ protection and plant reintroduction in China, including the reintroduction species list and orchid plant reintroduction up to November 2019. A useful reference resource for students, instructors and scientific researchers in the field of wild plant protection, botany, biodiversity protection, and natural land protection and management, the book also provides valuable insights for government departments involved in plant management.

The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the 2 northwesternpartoftheIndiansubcontinent.Withanextentof280,000km ,itisthe 17th largest desert in the world. It lies mostly in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and extends into the southern portion of Haryana and Punjab and into northern Gujarat. The Thar Desert is bounded in the northwest by the Sutlej River, in the east by the Aravalli Range, in the south by a salt marsh known as the Rann of Kutch, and in the west by the Indus River. In spite of the fact that climatic conditions are very harsh, this extremely hot region of the country exhibits a vivid and spectacular biodiversity. It is an important area biologically, at the con?uence of very different habitats, namely grassland, sand dunes and rocky expanses as well as forested domains. Due to the diversi?ed ha- tats, the vegetation and animal life in this arid region are very rich. Some wildlife species, fast disappearing from other parts of India, are found in large numbers in this desert, such as the Great Indian Bustard, Blackbuck, Indian Gazelle and Indian Wild Ass in the Rann of Kutch. The Desert National Park is an excellent example of theThar Desertecosystem, anditsdiverse fauna.The region isahaven formigratory and resident desert birds.

Until about 13,000 years ago, Europe and North America were home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become our cities and streets. Then, just as the first humans reached the Americas, these Ice Age giants vanished forever. In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal ("megafauna") extinction events worldwide, showing that understanding this history-and our part in it-is crucial for protecting the elephants, polar bears, and other great creatures at risk today. These surviving relatives of the Ice Age beasts now face an intensified replay of that great die-off, as our species usurps the planet's last wild places while driving a warming trend more extreme than any in mammalian history. Inspired by a passion for the lost Pleistocene giants, some scientists advocate bringing wolves back to Scotland, and elephants to America's Great Plains as stand-ins for their extinct native brethren. By reintroducing big browsers and carnivores to colder climes, they argue, we could rescue some of the planet's most endangered animals while restoring healthy prairie ecosystems. Critics, including biologists enmeshed in the struggle to restore native species see the proposal as a dangerous distraction from more realistic and legitimate conservation efforts. Deftly navigating competing theories and emerging evidence, Once and Future Giants examines the extent of human influence on megafauna extinctions past and present, and explores innovative conservation efforts around the globe. The key to modern-day conservation, Levy suggests, may lie fossilized right under our feet.

The book provides the most comprehensive review of lamprey biology since Hardisty and Potter's five-volume "The Biology of Lampreys" published more than 30 years ago. Published in two volumes, it includes contributions from international lamprey experts, reviewing and providing new insights into the evolution, general biology, and management of lampreys worldwide. This first volume offers up-to-date chapters on the systematics, general biology, conservation status, and conservation needs of lampreys. It will serve as an important reference for researchers working on any aspect of lamprey biology and fishery managers whose mandate is to control or conserve lamprey populations.

This book provides cutting-edge scientific idea and novel concepts on the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management. It begins by reviewing the scientific fundamentals and problems currently faced by conventional fisheries science, based on population dynamics. In turn, it reviews the theoretical basis of ecosystem dynamics, including selected ecosystem indicators. Surplus production and balanced harvests are discussed in the ecosystem dynamics context. Several ecosystem-holistic indicators are described, but particular emphasis is placed on two: the noxicline (gain in entropy due to loss of biomass) and resilience, which are expressed as ecosystem (holistic) points of reference for defining allowable harvest rates. Both biological (population) and ecosystem (holistic) points of reference are subsequently analyzed in the context of fisheries management and conservation. An adaptability concept is also discussed as a management policy for facing climate change. In closing, the concepts presented are applied to six study cases involving a range of different ecosystems and fisheries.

A two-volume set made up of 'Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids' and 'Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids'. These advanced textbooks bring together a unique network of the world's most respected and knowledgeable experts to provide a review of the biology and conservation of these families, and provide detailed case-studies from species investigations worldwide.

This spectacular new edition of the best-selling Helm field guide of all time covers all resident, migrant and vagrant species found in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. More than 1,300 species are illustrated with full details of all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered. Concise text describes the identification, status, range, habits and voice, with fully updated range maps for each species. This authoritative book will not only be an indispensable guide to the visiting birder, but also a vital tool for those engaged in work to conserve and study the avifauna of the region - East Africa shelters a remarkable diversity of birds, many seriously endangered with small and vulnerable ranges.

This book, published in two volumes, provides the most comprehensive review of lamprey biology since Hardisty and Potter's "The Biology of Lampreys" published more than 30 years ago. This second volume offers a synthesis of topics related to the lamprey gonad (e.g., lamprey sex ratios, sex determination and sex differentiation, sexual maturation, and sex steroids), the artifical propagation of lampreys, post-metamorphic feeding and the evolution of alternative feeding and migratory types, the history and status of sea lamprey control in the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, and an overview of contributions of lamprey developmental studies for understanding vertebrate evolution.

This volume presents a representative sample of contributions to the 41st European Marine Biology Symposium held in September 2005 in Cork, Ireland. The theme of the symposium was 'Challenges to Marine Ecosystems' and this was divided into four sub themes; Genetics, Marine Protected Areas, Global Climate Change and Marine Ecosystems, Sustainable Fisheries and Agriculture. The world's marine ecosystems face multiple challenges, some natural, but many resulting from humankind's activities. Global climate change, driven by influences of energy usage and industrial practices, is a reality now accepted by most of the world's scientists, media and political establishments. Warming seas and rising sea levels are regarded as threats, while visionaries consider deep ocean carbon disposal as a technological opportunity. Exploitation of the seas continues apace, with repeated concerns over the impact of over-fishing, plus reservations about the environmental effects of marine aquaculture. We need to understand how resilient organisms and ecosystems are to these challenges, while responding by protecting biologically-meaningful areas of the oceans. The subthemes of the 41st European Marine Biology Symposium address all of these matters.

Bird migration between Europe and Africa is a fraught journey, particularly in the Mediterranean, where migratory birds are shot and trapped in large numbers. In Malta, thousands of hunters share a shrinking countryside. They also rub shoulders with a strong bird-protection and conservation lobby. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this book traces the complex interactions between hunters, birds and the landscapes they inhabit, as well as the dynamics and politics of bird conservation. Birds of Passage looks at the practice and meaning of hunting in a specific context, and raises broader questions about human-wildlife interactions and the uncertain outcomes of conservation.

In 2020, it will have been twenty-five years since one of the greatest wildlife conservation and restoration achievements of the twentieth century took place: the reintroduction of wolves to the world's first national park, Yellowstone. Eradicated after the park was established, then absent for seventy years, these iconic carnivores returned to Yellowstone in 1995 when the US government reversed its century-old policy of extermination and--despite some political and cultural opposition--began the reintroduction of forty-one wild wolves from Canada and northwest Montana. In the intervening decades, scientists have studied their myriad behaviors, from predation to mating to wolf-pup play, building a one-of-a-kind field study that has both allowed us to witness how the arrival of top predators can change an entire ecosystem and provided a critical window into impacts on prey, pack composition, and much else. Here, for the first time in a single book, is the incredible story of the wolves' return to Yellowstone National Park as told by the very people responsible for their reintroduction, study, and management. Anchored in what we have learned from Yellowstone, highlighting the unique blend of research techniques that have given us this knowledge, and addressing the major issues that wolves still face today, this book is as wide-ranging and awe-inspiring as the Yellowstone restoration effort itself. We learn about individual wolves, population dynamics, wolf-prey relationships, genetics, disease, management and policy, newly studied behaviors and interactions with other species, and the rippling ecosystem effects wolves have had on Yellowstone's wild and rare landscape. Perhaps most importantly of all, the book also offers solutions to ongoing controversies and debates. Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall, beautiful images, a companion online documentary by celebrated filmmaker Bob Landis, and contributions from more than seventy wolf and wildlife conservation luminaries from Yellowstone and around the world, Yellowstone Wolves is a gripping, accessible celebration of the extraordinary Yellowstone Wolf Project--and of the park through which these majestic and important creatures once again roam.

From the foods you consume to the household and personal care products you buy, being just slightly greener can have a big impact on your health and happiness! The Slightly Greener Method gives you small, actionable changes you can easily make in three areas of your home-the kitchen (foods and beverages), bathroom (personal care products and cosmetics), and cleaning products-without breaking the bank or upending your life. You don't have to be 100% chemical free to be healthier and safer. By focusing on micro-habits you can build over time and the gradual introduction of non-toxic, all-natural or organic, eco-friendly products, board-certified holistic nutritionist Tonya Harris guides you along a roadmap to a greener, more environmentally-friendly and sustainable lifestyle that can help protect you and your families' health long-term. Get answers to questions like:What does "organic" really mean?Which of the unpronounceable chemicals listed on the back of my shampoo bottle might be toxic?Do I really need to throw away expired makeup?Why aren't companies always required to list toxic ingredients on their product labels?How can I make sure my kids and pets are safe while also keeping a squeaky clean house?It's never too soon (or too late) to start your slightly greener journey! This practical, actionable guide is perfect for readers of bestselling lifestyle and organizational books such as The Complete Book of Clean and Zero Waste Home, and fans of TV shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and The Home Edit.

The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change examines the global carbon cycle and the energy balance of the biosphere, following carbon and energy through increasingly complex levels of metabolism from cells to ecosystems. Utilizing scientific explanations, analyses of ecosystem functions, extensive references, and cutting-edge examples of energy flow in ecosystems, it is an essential resource to aid in understanding the scientific basis of the role played by ecological systems in climate change. This book addresses the need to understand the global carbon cycle and the interrelationships among the disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics in a holistic perspective. The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change is a compendium of easily accessible, technical information that provides a clear understanding of energy flow, ecosystem dynamics, the biosphere, and climate change. "Dr. Reichle brings over four decades of research on the structure and function of forest ecosystems to bear on the existential issue of our time, climate change. Using a comprehensive review of carbon biogeochemistry as scaled from the physiology of organisms to landscape processes, his analysis provides an integrated discussion of how diverse processes at varying time and spatial scales function. The work speaks to several audiences. Too often students study their courses in a vacuum without necessarily understanding the relationships that transcend from the cellular process, to organism, to biosphere levels and exist in a dynamic atmosphere with its own processes, and spatial dimensions. This book provides the template whereupon students can be guided to see how the pieces fit together. The book is self-contained but lends itself to be amplified upon by a student or professor. The same intellectual quest would also apply for the lay reader who seeks a broad understanding." --W.F. Harris| Deputy Assistant Director, Biological Sciences, National Science Foundation (Retired); Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Retired)

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.

In New Mexico's Gila Wilderness, 83 Mexican gray wolves may be some of the most monitored wildlife on the planet. Collared, microchipped, and transported by helicopter, the wolves are protected and confined in an attempt to appease ranchers and conservationists alike. Once a symbol of the wild, these wolves have come to illustrate the demise of wilderness in this Human Age, where man's efforts shape life in even the most remote corners of the earth. And yet, the howl of an unregistered wolf, half of a rogue pair, splits the night. If you know where to look, you'll find that much remains untamed, and even today, wildness can remain a touchstone for our relationship with the rest of nature. In Satellites in the High Country, journalist and adventurer Jason Mark travels beyond the bright lights and certainties of our cities to seek wildness wherever it survives. In California's Point Reyes National Seashore, a battle over oyster farming and designated wilderness pits former allies against one another, as locals wonder whether wilderness should be untouched, farmed, or something in between. In Washington's Cascade Mountains, a modern-day wild woman and her students learn to tan hides and start fires without matches, attempting to connect with a primal past out of reach for the rest of society. And in Colorado's High Country, dark skies and clear air reveal a breathtaking expanse of stars, flawed only by the arc of a satellite passing - beauty interrupted by the traffic of a million conversations. These expeditions to the edges of civilization's grid show us that, although our notions of pristine nature may be shattering, the mystery of the wild still exists, and in fact, it is more crucial than ever. But wildness is wily as a coyote: you have to be willing to track it to understand the least thing about it. Satellites in the High Country is an epic journey on the trail of the wild, a poetic and incisive exploration of its meaning and enduring power in our Human Age.

An essential guide to assist those surveying for water voles, whether as a professional ecological consultant, a researcher or simply an interested amateur. This book provides detailed descriptions of all the habitats used by water voles, including ideal habitats as well as less typical places, with annotated photos to help the surveyor home in on just the right areas to look. It also contains a comprehensive photographic reference guide to assist in the correct identification of water vole field signs, and explains how to distinguish them from those of similar species. Tips on where and how to search for field signs are also provided, along with guidance on how best to record survey data.

This new book of essays from the author of Wild tracks the turning light of the day and seasons, an almanac of the turning times. Beginning in night and winter, it moves to dawn and spring, then noon and summer and finally evening and autumn. Set partly at the author's home in Wales, the book journeys widely, searching for a dead father in Prague, listening to the Sky-Grandmothers of Mexican myth and staying with the people of West Papua who, when they know they will fall over laughing, lie down first. It asks: what is the real gift of the misunderstood Goddess Nemesis? Why should flowers be prescribed as medicine? What do male zebra finches dream of? Where do the sands of time run fastest, and how is that connected to the age of anxiety? It explores the dawn chorus; the tradition of sacred hospitality; dust from the time before the sun even existed; the twilight time of the trickster and the daily rituals of morning. In all of these it asks: why does light, through the hours of the day and the seasons of the year, affect us? Griffiths concludes this extraordinary collection by deciding that light is in fact how we think.

Domestic and wild large mammalian herbivores occur on every continent except Antarctica. Through their browsing and grazing, they affect the structure and distribution not only of vegetation, but also of associated fauna. Consequently, the interactions between management practices and herbivore populations influence the biodiversity, structure and dynamics of ecosystems across vast expanses around the globe: signs of human activity that will be detectable for epochs to come. As a follow-up work to The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing, published in 2008, this new volume presents cutting-edge research on the behaviour, distribution, movement, and direct and indirect impacts of domestic and wild herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. The respective chapters highlight strategic and applied research on cross-cutting issues in palaeontology and ecology, and provide concrete recommendations on the management of large herbivores to integrate production and conservation in terrestrial systems. Given its scope, the book will appeal to students, researchers and anyone interested in understanding these fascinating wild animals and how they shape the natural world.

- provides the first comprehensive overview of the history, theory and current practices of rewilding - edited by founding members of IUCN Rewilding Task Force (RTF) who have practiced and written about rewilding for many years - presents interdisciplinary chapters which address case studies from across the globe - will be appropriate for students, researchers, academics and practitioners

This guide provides descriptions of when the bat species resident in Britain and Ireland use natural and human-made rock habitats, how they use them, and the environments each species occupies therein. For the first time it brings together findings from historical scientific investigations, useful photographic accounts and open-access biological records, along with a rich seam of new data – all in a practical and user-friendly structure. The book encompasses: ~ Descriptions of the features that a climber, caver or professional ecologist might encounter on and in rock habitats where bats roost. ~ Recording criteria for both the physical and environmental attributes of different features and situations. ~ Identification of suitability thresholds against which the recorded information can be compared to assess the likelihood that a specific feature might be exploited by a particular bat species. ~ Suggestions for how to avoid mistakes and difficulties when performing a survey. The intention is that using this book will help generate standardised biological records which can feed into the fully accessible online database at www.batrockhabitatkey.co.uk. These data will be analysed to search for patterns that can increase the confidence in the suitability thresholds and help build roost features that deliver the environment each species really needs. As well as offering many new insights, this book allows the reader to participate in cutting-edge research.

A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world's leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.

At a time when wildlife policy management becomes increasingly complex and when effective administration is of paramount importance, William R. Mangun has designed a study analyzing the public policymaking process and wildlife conservation issues today. As editor, he has brought together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to give a conceptual framework and in-depth evaluation of practical issues in wildlife management. The book stresses the importance of the human dimension and calls for knowledgeable public involvement. Charting new ground, the text should help resource managers and behavioral scientists, students, and professionals in public administration, political science, and wildlife protection find new ways to overcome current problems. The book begins with an overview of the enormous changes in wildlife management over the past 50 years, and then provides a theoretical framework for understanding wildlife policy. Strategies and operations, intergovernmental policies and programs, issues in resource allocation and sustainable development, and organizational problems describe contemporary political, economic, social, and ethical conflicts and administrative pitfalls. Case studies range from problems like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the plight of sea turtles, and endangered species plans to matters demonstrating local, state, national, and transnational priorities. The book demonstrates that a lack of understanding of the policy process will lead to compromised effectiveness, diminished professional pride, and relative powerlessness in overcoming the growing problems confronting those concerned with wildlife protection and conservation today.

Elephants are in dire straits - again. They were virtually extirpated from much of Africa by European hunters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but their numbers resurged for a while in the heyday of late-colonial conservation efforts in the twentieth. Now, according to one estimate, an elephant is being killed every 15 minutes. This is at the same time that the reasons for being especially compassionate and protective towards elephants are now so well-known that they have become almost a cliche: their high intelligence, rich emotional lives including a capacity for mourning, caring matriarchal societal structures, that strangely charismatic grace. Saving elephants is one of the iconic conservation struggles of our time. As a society we must aspire to understand how and why people develop compassion - or fail to do so - and what stories we tell ourselves about animals that reveal the relationship between ourselves and animals. This book is the first study to probe the primary features, and possible effects, of some major literary genres as they pertain to elephants south of the Zambezi over three centuries: indigenous forms, early European travelogues, hunting accounts, novels, game ranger memoirs, scientists' accounts, and poems. It examines what these literatures imply about the various and diverse attitudes towards elephants, about who shows compassion towards them, in what ways and why. It is the story of a developing contestation between death and compassion, between those who kill and those who love and protect.

When northern Kenyans find elephant bones, they lay down blossoms and branches as a mark of respect, honouring their crucial connection with the wildlife they live alongside. In our changing world, these values are vitally important. For decades, northern Kenya was one step away from a warzone, on the frontlines of climate change and habitat loss. People slept with their shoes on, fearing attack. Wildlife was decimated. Yet, facing the most extreme challenges, people united. What began as a last-ditch effort to save rhinos from extinction sparked a remarkable return of wildlife, with the once-struggling cattle ranch Lewa named a UN World Heritage Site for its outstanding value to humanity. This served as a catalyst for much broader action. Communities created a network of protected lands across an area larger than Switzerland. Through conservation, they built peace, driving social, environmental and political change. From tracking elephants through the bush to gun battles with bandits and treks through Al-Qaeda territory, Peter Martell tells the exciting story of a conservation movement that gives hope. At a time when humanity is reassessing its broken relationship with nature, these communities offer an inspirational blueprint, proving that environmental change does not have to divide, but can bring us together.