|
Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Conservation of the environment > Conservation of wildlife & habitats
[A] deservedly award-studded delight Strong Words Magazine 'A
smart, scathing and bleakly funny cross of folk horror, satire and
historical fiction' Toronto Star 'Reads like a modern fairy tale'
New York Journal of Books 'Eerie and sensual' The Guardian 'So
original, so beautifully done, and sinister and savage. I didn't
want it to end' Chris Whitaker Franck and Lise, a French couple in
the film industry, rent a cottage in the quiet hills of the French
Lot to get away from the stresses of modern life. In this remote
corner of the world, there is no phone signal. A mysterious dog
emerges, looking for a new master. Ghosts of a dark past run wild
in these hills, where a German lion tamer took refuge in the First
World War ... Franck and Lise are confronted with nature at its
most brutal. And they are about to discover that man and beast have
more in common than they think. A literary sensation in France,
Wild Dog is a dark, menacing tale of isolation, human nature and
the infinite savagery of the wild.
This book provides insight into the biology and genomics of the
genus Boswellia (family Burseraceae), a natural resource used for
the production of frankincense, an oleo-gum resin. The Boswellia
species are ecologically, medicinally, commercially and culturally
important. Significantly contributing to the paucity of
comprehensive literature on this genus, this volume provides a
detailed discussion on the genomics, physiology and ecology of
Boswellia. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including
taxonomy, distribution, genetic diversity and microbiology. The
production process of frankincense and its impact on the species
are presented as well. In light of the recent decline of various
Boswellia populations, species propagation and conservation are
discussed. Plant scholars, ecologists and conservation biologists
will find this book to be an important and informative reference.
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.
The Great Tree of Life is a concise, approachable treatment that
surveys the concept of the Tree of Life, including chapters on its
historical introduction and cultural connection. The Tree of Life
is a metaphor used to describe the relationships between organisms,
both living and extinct. It has been widely recognized that the
relationship between the roughly 10 million species on earth drives
the ecological system. This work covers options on how to build the
tree, demonstrating its utility in drug discovery, curing disease,
crop improvement, conservation biology and ecology, along with
tactics on how to respond to the challenges of climate change. This
book is a key aid on the improvement of our understanding of the
relationships between species, the increasing and essential
awareness of biodiversity, and the power of employing modern
biology to build the tree of life.
The editors and contributors to Wildlife Crime examine topical
issues from extinction to trafficking in order to understand the
ecological, economic, political, and social costs and consequences
of these crimes. Drawing from diverse theoretical perspectives,
empirical and methodological developments, and on-the-ground
experiences of practitioners, this comprehensive volume looks at
how conservationists and law enforcement grapple with and combat
environmental crimes and the profitable market for illegal trade.
Chapters cover criminological perspectives on species poaching,
unregulated fishing, the trading of ivory and rhino horns, the
adoption of conservation technologies, and ranger workplaces and
conditions. The book includes firsthand experiences and research
from China, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Peru, Russia,
South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States. The result is a
significant book about the causes of and response to wildlife
crime. Contributors include: Johan Bergenas, Avi Brisman, Craig
Forsyth, Meredith Gore, Georg Jaster, Alex Killion, Kasey Kinnard,
Antony C. Leberatto, Barney Long, Nerea Marteache, Gohar
Petrossian, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Gary Roloff, Viviane Seyranian,
Louise Shelley, Rohit Singh, Nicole Sintov, Nigel South, Milind
Tambe, Daan van Uhm, Greg Warchol, Rodger Watson, Rob White,
Madelon Willemsen, and the editor.
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.
Biodiversity of Fishes in Arunachal Himalaya: Systematics,
Classification, and Taxonomic Identification provides a detailed
piscatorial resource of the fish species living in the rich
mountain waterbodies of the eastern Himalayan region. It presents
the latest classifications and updated taxa of fish dwelling in
high-altitude cold waters, mid-altitude cold and warm waters, and
warm waters in the low altitude foothill regions of the Arunachal
Himalaya. The book includes the scientific and vernacular names of
more than 200 fish species, as well as coloration, distributional
and conservational status. It addresses increasing threats to the
endemic fishes of this region, including habitat shrinkage, habitat
destruction, and more. This book will be a valuable resource for
biodiversity and conservation researchers, especially those
specializing in ichthyo-faunal diversity. Fishery researchers and
students will also find the information presented on taxonomic and
classification very useful to their initiatives.
The Rise, the Fall, and the Recovery of Southeast Asia's
Minidragons offers a comprehensive study of recent Asian economic
history. As the global economy adjusts to an increasing Asian
presence, David Hollingsworth examines specific case models from
the 1990s to draw conclusions, create paradigms, and prepare
guidelines for the future. With studies ranging from Taiwan to
Malaysia and an in-depth analysis of the Asian Financial Crisis of
1997-1998, this is one of the most in-depth studies of contemporary
Asian economic history. With clear focus and a wide range,
Hollingsworth shows the relevance of recent history to the current
economic situations. Contract principle is essentially the driving
force that propelled East Asia to engage in a series of policies
that were responsible for its economic growth and sustainability
since the late 1950s. The book discusses such growth and examines
the economic history of this period. It examines the move from
Import-Substitution-Industrialization to Export-Orientation and the
forces leading to the subsequent Asian Financial Crisis of
1997-1998. The book applies a structural investigation to case
studies of: Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
It concludes by shaping the historical lessons into a vision for
the future.
This book presents a series of possible future scenarios in
wildlife and animal tourism by combining critical thinking and
imagination to stimulate reflection and ways forward. The future of
wildlife tourism faces uncertainties that revolve around many
factors, including climate change, mass wildlife extinction, human
population growth, deforestation, sustainability and ethical
assumptions. For wildlife tourism to meet these challenges, new
ways of thinking are necessary. The chapters in this volume focus
on future wildlife tourism development and management; the
experiential value, educational components and ethical relevance of
tourism-animal encounters; and the technology applied to wildlife
tourism. They offer critically-imagined futures in order to
encourage readers to reflect on the possibility of shaping a better
future. The book will appeal to researchers, students and
practitioners in wildlife tourism, environmental studies,
sustainability and conservation.
This book examines the global, local, and specific environmental
factors that facilitate illegal fishing and proposes effective ways
to reduce the opportunities and incentives that threaten the
existence of the world's fish. Humans are deeply dependent on
fishing-globally, fish comprise 15 percent of the protein intake
for approximately 3 billion people, and 8 percent of the global
population depends on the fishing industry as their livelihood. The
global fishing industry is plagued by illegal fishing, however, and
many highly commercial species, such as cod, tuna, orange roughy,
and swordfish, are extremely vulnerable. Through criminological
analysis, The Last Fish Swimming emphasizes the importance of
looking at specific environmental factors that make illegal fishing
possible. It examines such factors as proximity to known ports
where illegally caught fish can be landed without inspection (i.e.,
ports of convenience), fisheries monitoring, control and
surveillance efforts, formal surveillance, and resource
attractiveness in 53 countries that altogether represent 96 percent
of the world's fish catch. The book calls upon the global community
to address the illegal depletion of the world's fish stock and
other similar threats to the world's food supply and natural
environment in order to ensure the sustainability of the planet's
fish and continuation of the legal fishing industry for generations
to come. Provides a criminological analysis of illegal fishing
through the application of two important environmental criminology
perspectives (rational choice and situational crime prevention)
Highlights the countries most at risk, i.e. hot spots of illegal
fishing, and the ports most frequently used to land illegally
caught fish Discusses environmental factors that increase or reduce
the risk of illegal fishing Includes summary tables on the most
vulnerable species and on global, regional, and local factors
contributing to illegal fishing Provides a toolbox of empirically
founded policy recommendations on how illegal fishing can be
stopped
The Natura 2000 network of protected areas is the centrepiece of
European Union nature policy, currently covering almost one-fifth
of the EU's entire land territory plus large marine areas. This
vast EU-wide network, which aims to conserve Europe's most valuable
and threatened species and habitats, has major impacts on land use
throughout all Member States of the EU. This book critically
assesses the origins and implementation of the Natura 2000 network,
established under the Birds Directive of 1979 and the Habitats
Directive of 1992. Based on original archival research and
interviews with key participants, the book records a detailed
history of the origins and negotiation of Natura 2000 policy and
law, with the history of EU environmental policy provided as a
framework. An historical institutionalist approach is adopted,
which emphasises the importance of understanding legal and policy
development as processes that unfold over time. Three phases in the
history of EU environmental policy are identified and described,
and the history of EU nature policy is placed within the context of
these three phases. Informed by this history, the author presents a
comprehensive summary and assessment of the law and policy that
protects Natura 2000 sites at EU level, and reviews the nature
conservation outcomes for the targeted species and habitats. The
book reveals how a knowledge of the history of Natura 2000 enriches
our understanding of key issues such as conflicts in establishing
and conserving the Natura 2000 network, EU integration in the field
of nature conservation, and the future of EU nature policy.
A large-format, beautifully illustrated look at the natural history
of birds There are some 10,000 bird species in existence today,
occupying every continent and virtually every habitat on Earth. The
variety of bird species is truly astounding, from the tiny bee
hummingbird to the large flightless ostrich, making birds one of
the most diverse and successful animal groups on the planet. Taking
you inside the extraordinary world of birds, What Is a Bird?
explores all aspects of these remarkable creatures, providing an
up-close look at their morphology, unique internal anatomy and
physiology, fascinating and varied behavior, and ecology. It
features hundreds of color illustrations and draws on a broad range
of examples, from the familiar backyard sparrow to the most exotic
birds of paradise. A must-have book for birders and armchair
naturalists, What Is a Bird? is a celebration of the rich
complexity of bird life. An absorbing and beautifully presented
exploration of the natural history of birds Integrates
physiological adaptations with ecology and behavior Features a
wealth of color photographs and explanatory figures Uses scanning
electron microscope imagery to provide a rare close-up view of
structures not normally visible Provides insights into our complex
relationship with birds, from our enduring fascination with them to
the threats they face and the challenges of conservation
This book takes a multi-disciplinary and critical look at what has
changed over the last ten years in one of the world's most
important and dynamic ecosystems, the Amazon floodplain or varzea.
It also looks forward, assessing the trends that will determine the
fate of environments and people of the varzea over the next ten
years and providing crucial information that is needed to formulate
strategies for confronting these looming realities.
The Handbook of Histopathological Practices in Aquatic
Environments: Guide to Histology for Environmental Toxicology
offers readers in aquatic biology and other water-based
environmental sciences a comprehensive resource on histopathology,
which is a key tool in the growing field of ecotoxicology. This
work brings together the necessary knowledge, from sample
preparation, to trait identification, and scoring and data
treatment. Furthermore, with examples from several groups of
organisms (from worms to fish), these practices can be applied
across a wide array of aquatic ecosystems. This book provides a
step-by-step approach to solving the questions researchers
encounter in aquatic biology and related fields.
Environmental Radioactivity from Natural, Industrial, and Military
Sources is the comprehensive source of information on radiation in
the environment and human exposure to radioactivity. This Fourth
Edition isa complete revision and extension of the classic work,
reflecting major new developments and concerns as the Cold War
ended, nuclear weapons began to be dismantled, and cleanup of the
nuclear weapons facilities assumed center stage. Contamination from
accidents involving weapons, reactors, and radionuclide sources are
discussed in an updated chapter, including the latest information
about the effects of the Chernobyl accident. Important revisions
are also made to the chapters on natural radioactivity, nuclear
fuels and power reactors, radioactive waste management, and various
other sources of exposure. Several chapters provide primers for
readers who may not be familiar with the fundamentals of radiation
biology, protection standards, and pathways for the environmental
transport of radionuclides. An Appendix lists the properties of the
more important radionuclides found in the environment. The book
concludes with a commentary on contemporary social aspects of
radiation exposure and risks that offers analternative view to
current, often excessive concerns over radiation, nuclear
technology, and waste.
Key Features
* Describes every important source of environmental
radioactivity
* Reviews the vexing problems of radioactive waste management and
cleanup of contaminated sites
* Contains measured or projected radiation dose estimates for the
major sources
* Features 126 figures, 80 tables, and more than 1200
references
* Discusses current problems in historical context
* The two authors bring more than 75 years of combined experience
with environmental radioactivity
* Provides an understanding of the sources of environmental
radioactivity and human exposure from the mining of ores to final
disposal of wastes
* Thoroughly reviews important contamination accidents
Swamps and marshes once covered vast stretches of the North
American landscape. The destruction of these habitats, long seen as
wastelands that harbored deadly disease, accelerated in the
twentieth century. Today, the majority of the original wetlands in
the US have vanished, transformed into farm fields or buried under
city streets. In The Marsh Builders, Sharon Levy delves into the
intertwined histories of wetlands loss and water pollution. The
book's springboard is the tale of a years-long citizen uprising in
Humboldt County, California, which led to the creation of one of
the first U.S. wetlands designed to treat city sewage. The book
explores the global roots of this local story: the cholera
epidemics that plagued nineteenth-century Europe; the researchers
who invented modern sewage treatment after bumbling across the
insight that microbes break down pollutants in water; the discovery
that wetlands act as efficient filters for the pollutants unleashed
by modern humanity. More than forty years after the passage of the
Clean Water Act launched a nation-wide effort to rescue lakes,
rivers and estuaries fouled with human and industrial waste, the
need for revived wetlands is more urgent than ever. Waters from
Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay to China's Lake Taihu are tainted with
an overload of nutrients carried in runoff from farms and cities,
creating underwater dead zones and triggering algal blooms that
release toxins into drinking water sources used by millions of
people. As the planet warms, scientists are beginning to design
wetlands that can shield coastal cities from rising seas. Revived
wetlands hold great promise for healing the world's waters.
From cocoa farming in Ghana to the orchards of Kent and the desert
badlands of Pakistan, taking a practical approach to sustaining the
landscape can mean the difference between prosperity and ruin.
Working with Nature is the story of a lifetime of work, often in
extreme environments, to harvest nature and protect it - in effect,
gardening on a global scale. It is also a memoir of encounters with
larger-than-life characters such as William Bunting, the gun-toting
saviour of Yorkshire's peatlands and the aristocratic gardener Vita
Sackville-West, examining their idiosyncratic approaches to
conservation. Jeremy Purseglove explains clearly and convincingly
why it's not a good idea to extract as many resources as possible,
whether it's the demand for palm oil currently denuding the forests
of Borneo, cottonfield irrigation draining the Aral Sea, or
monocrops spreading across Britain. The pioneer of engineering
projects to preserve nature and landscape, first in Britain and
then around the world, he offers fresh insights and solutions at
each step.
On the afternoon of Sunday, October 5, 2003, in Alaska's Katmai
National Park, one or more brown bears killed and ate Timothy
Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard. The next day, park
rangers investigating the site shot and killed two bears that
threatened them; it was later determined that one of the bears had
human flesh and clothing in its stomach.
This chilling story immediately captured worldwide media attention,
not only because of the horrific manner of Timothy and Amie's
deaths, but also because Timothy was a well-known wildlife
celebrity. His films of close-up encounters with grizzly bears - he
spent more than a dozen summers living with and videotaping giant
bears in the Alaskan bush - were the subject of television talk
shows, movies, and books.
But his work was not without controversy, and some bear experts
felt that Treadwell's fatal encounter was a tragedy waiting to
happen - the result of the unorthodox tactics he used in his life
among the bears.
Death in the Grizzly Maze is the compelling account of Treadwell's
intense life and dramatic death. Author Mike Lapinski chronicles
Treadwell's rise from self-described alcoholic loser to popular
grizzly-bear advocate. Lapinski explores how a waiter from Malibu,
California, with no background in biology or wildlife science, came
to be considered a bear expert. And he reveals the high cost of the
current craze for wildlife celebrities - and what it means for the
future of wildlife conservation.
Gorilla Pathology and Health: With a Catalogue of Preserved
Materials consists of two cross-referenced parts. The first, the
book itself, is a review of pathological changes and tissue
responses in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla and G. beringei), with an
emphasis on free-living animals, but also with reference to those
in captivity. The comparative aspects are discussed, stressing the
relevance of research to both gorillas and humans. What makes the
publication truly unique, however, is the second part, a
comprehensive descriptive catalogue of the location and nature of
gorilla material in museums and scientific institutions throughout
the world. This is of great consequence because free-living
gorillas are strictly conserved with restricted access, so the
location of a wealth of preserved tissues and other material that
has been collected over the decades is a great benefit for research
and study. This book can, and should, be used to gain cardinal
knowledge regarding the biology and pathology of this genus. The
combination of book and catalogue in this extensive compilation
makes it an invaluable tool for all those concerned with the
health, welfare, and conservation of gorillas, one of our nearest
living relatives.
The notion of Endangerment stands at the heart of a network of
concepts, values and practices dealing with objects and beings
considered threatened by extinction, and with the procedures aimed
at preserving them. Usually animated by a sense of urgency and
citizenship, identifying endangered entities involves evaluating an
impending threat and opens the way for preservation strategies.
Endangerment, Biodiversity and Culture looks at some of the
fundamental ways in which this process involves science, but also
more than science: not only data and knowledge and institutions,
but also affects and values. Focusing on an "endangerment
sensibility," it encapsulates tensions between the normative and
the utilitarian, the natural and the cultural. The chapters situate
that specifically modern sensibility in historical perspective, and
examine central aspects of its recent and present forms.This timely
volume offers the most cutting-edge insights into the Environmental
Humanities for researchers working in Environmental Studies,
History, Anthropology, Sociology and Science and Technology
Studies.
Amid the historical decimation of species around the globe, a new
way into the language of loss An endling is the last known
individual of a species; when that individual dies, the species
becomes extinct. These "last individuals" are poignant characters
in the stories that humans tell themselves about today's
Anthropocene. In this evocative work, Lydia Pyne explores how
discussion about endlings-how we tell their histories-draws on deep
traditions of storytelling across a variety of narrative types that
go well beyond the science of these species' biology or their
evolutionary history. Endlings provides a useful and thoughtful
discussion of species concepts: how species start and how (and why)
they end, what it means to be a "charismatic" species, the effects
of rewilding, and what makes species extinction different in this
era. From Benjamin the thylacine to Celia the ibex to Lonesome
George the Galapagos tortoise, endlings, Pyne shows, have the power
to shape how we think about grief, mourning, and loss amid the
world's sixth mass extinction.
This textbook provides a comprehensive, reliable and practical
guide to the dissection and parasitological examination of marine
fish and cephalopods. The first part provides a general
introduction, presenting basic information on: parasitology,
ecology of the marine environment, history and methods of fisheries
and aquaculture, as well as the ecology of marine fish and
cephalopods and the impact of parasites on hosts. In turn, the
second part provides general information on the morphology and
anatomy of marine fish and cephalopods using the example of
abundant morphotypes (including e.g. habitus photos of the body
cavity and internal organs). The third part covers the relevant
parasitic groups, their ecology (e.g. lifecycles, transmission),
related diseases, and detection. The fourth part, a comprehensive
methods section, provides essential protocols and applications of
common dissection methods (for roundfish, flatfish and cephalopods)
and stomach content analyses, as well as parasite preservation,
preparation and molecular identification. Basic calculations of the
most common infection and ecological parameters are also
introduced. The book's fifth and final part provides information on
health risks associated with fish and cephalopod consumption, as
well as the prevention of human infection through the correct
handling and processing of fish samples. The appendix provides e.g.
blank sheets for recording fish dissections and parasitological
examinations.
The first comprehensive coverage of a subject that has fascinated
natural historians for centuries. Avian vagrancy is a phenomenon
that has fascinated natural historians for centuries. From
Victorian collectors willing to spend fortunes on a rare specimen,
to today's high-octane bird-chasing 'twitchers', the enigma of
vagrancy has become a source of obsession for countless birders
worldwide. Vagrancy in Birds explores both pattern and process in
avian vagrancy, drawing on recent research to answer a suite of
fundamental questions concerning the occurrence of rare birds. For
each avian family, the book provides an in-depth analysis of recent
and historical vagrancy patterns, representing the first
comprehensive assessment of vagrancy at a global scale. The
accounts are accompanied by hundreds of previously unpublished
images featuring many of the most exceptional vagrants on record.
The book synthesises for the first time everything we know about
the subject, making the case for vagrancy as a biological
phenomenon with far-reaching implications for avian ecology and
evolution.
|
|