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 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.

This study analyses the Mozambique experience of protecting and promoting fisheries with an emphasis on exploring geographical indication (GI) protection for the white prawn of Mozambique. It is achieved through an in-depth review of data collected from local stakeholders, reports based on past technical support provided by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the literature on GIs, and international and regional treaties and reports, among others. Fishery products such as Mozambican prawns are highly recommended for GI certification, as they have high demand from both local and international consumers

Loss of biodiversity is among the greatest problems facing the world today. "Conservation and the Genetics of Populations" gives a comprehensive overview of the essential background, concepts, and tools needed to understand how genetic information can be used to conserve species threatened with extinction, and to manage species of ecological or commercial importance. New molecular techniques, statistical methods, and computer programs, genetic principles, and methods are becoming increasingly useful in the conservation of biological diversity. Using a balance of data and theory, coupled with basic and applied research examples, this book examines genetic and phenotypic variation in natural populations, the principles and mechanisms of evolutionary change, the interpretation of genetic data from natural populations, and how these can be applied to conservation. The book includes examples from plants, animals, and microbes in wild and captive populations.

This second edition contains new chapters on Climate Change and Exploited Populations as well as new sections on genomics, genetic monitoring, emerging diseases, metagenomics, and more. One-third of the references in this edition were published after the first edition.

Each of the 22 chapters and the statistical appendix have a Guest Box written by an expert in that particular topic (including James Crow, Louis Bernatchez, Loren Rieseberg, Rick Shine, and Lisette Waits).

This book is essential for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of conservation genetics, natural resource management, and conservation biology, as well as professional conservation biologists working for wildlife and habitat management agencies.

Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/allendorf/populations.

Beavers are represented by two extant species, the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) and the North American beaver (Castor canadensis); each has played a significant role in human history and dominated wetland ecology in the northern hemisphere. Their behaviour and ecology both fascinate and perhaps even infuriate, but seemingly never fail to amaze. Both species have followed similar histories from relentless persecution to the verge of extinction (largely through hunting), followed by their subsequent recovery and active restoration which is viewed by many as a major conservation success story. Beavers have now been reintroduced throughout Europe and North America, demonstrating that their role as a keystone engineer is now widely recognised with proven abilities to increase the complexity and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. What animals other than humans can simultaneously act as engineers, forest workers, carpenters, masons, creators of habitats, and nature managers? Over the last 20 years, there has been a huge increase in the number of scientific papers published on these remarkable creatures, and an authoritative synthesis is now timely. This accessible text goes beyond their natural history to describe the impacts on humans, conflict mitigation, animal husbandry, management, and conservation. Beavers: Ecology, Behaviour, Conservation, and Management is an accessible reference for a broad audience of professional academics (especially carnivore and mammalian biologists), researchers and graduate students, governmental and non-governmental wildlife bodies, and amateur natural historians intrigued by these wild animals and the extraordinary processes of nature they exemplify.

This book offers a theoretically-based study on crimes against protected wildlife in mainland China with first-hand empirical data collected over five years. It provides an overall examination of crimes against protected and endangered wildlife and an extensive account of the situation in China, where a significant portion of the illegal wildlife trade is currently happening. This emerging field has become an important topic for enforcement and governments alike yet remains an under-researched area. The collected data covers illegal tiger-parts trade, the illegal ivory trade, and the consumption of protected wildlife. The book will serve as a useful reference for scholars, law-enforcement agencies, lawyers, and conservation and wildlife-protection NGO groups to facilitate their understanding of the growing illegal trade in protected and endangered wildlife. The Illegal Wildlife Trade in China has three general aims: first, to contribute to the general development of green criminology and specifically to the literature of the illegal transactions of protected wildlife at the distribution stage. Second, it aims to understand how illegal transactions are carried out to create insights for policy makers and law enforcement professionals. Finally, Wong seeks to apply theoretical frameworks (such as that of trust, networks, and situational crime prevention) to the understanding of the distribution of illegal wildlife products in order to make contributions to ongoing sociological and criminological discussions.

'A must read for all wildlife lovers' Dominic Dyer Foxes, buzzards, crows, badgers, weasels, seals, kites - Britain and Ireland's predators are impressive and diverse and they capture our collective imagination. But many consider them to our competition, even our enemies. The problem is that predators eat what we farm or use for sport. From foxes and ravens attacking new-born lambs to weasels eating game-bird chicks, predators compete with us, putting them directly into the firing line. Farming, fishing, sport and leisure industries want to see numbers of predators reduced, and conservation organisations also worry that predators are threatening some endangered species. Other people, though, will go to great lengths to protect them from any harm. This clashing of worlds can be intense. So, what do we do? One of the greatest challenges facing conservation today is how, when and where to control predators. It is a highly charged debate. Mary Colwell travels across the UK and Ireland to encounter the predators face to face. She watches their lives in the wild and discovers how they fit into the landscape. She talks to the scientists studying them and the wildlife lovers who want to protect them. She also meets the people who want to control them to protect their livelihoods or sporting interests. In this even-handed exploration of the issues, Mary provides a thoughtful and reasoned analysis of the debates surrounding our bittersweet relationship with predators.

Wracked by guilt for breaking a childhood bond with her naturalist father and fearful for the future of the planet in light of the catastrophic impact of climate change, Annabel sets out on a personal journey of redemption. She seeks to reconnect with nature and wildlife in the one place she knows she can make a real difference - her own, barren, neglected garden. Guided by her eccentric, octogenarian neighbour, and with the ghost of her late father never far from her thoughts, Annabel begins to rediscover the therapeutic art of wildlife gardening. Her moving and often very funny green odyssey travels from an idyllic nature-filled childhood of hay meadows, hedgehogs and waxwings in the 1970s to the present day where biodiversity loss is reaching crisis point. The Guilty Gardener neatly blends quirky memoir with pertinent observation of our natural world while showcasing the key to successful wildlife gardening. Illustrated with exquisite line drawings, it reminds us of the simple necessity and beauty of nature and how rewilding can restore love, hope, even life itself. "This book is a lovely demonstration of the importance of gardening for wildlife and enjoying all the benefits this brings, both for our natural world and also for our own wellbeing." Estelle Bailey, CEO, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

Infrastructure development in Africa and Asia is expanding at breakneck speed, largely in biodiversity-rich developing nations. The trend reflects governments' efforts to promote economic growth in response to increasing populations, rising consumption rates and persistent inequalities. Large-scale infrastructure development is regularly touted as a way to meet the growing demand for energy, transport and food - and as a key to poverty alleviation. In practice, however, road networks, hydropower dams and 'development corridors' tend to have adverse effects on local populations, natural habitats and biodiversity. Such projects typically weaken the capacity of ecosystems to maintain ecological functions on which wildlife and human communities depend, particularly in the face of climate change. This title is also available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

The aggressive poaching of rhinos needs to be countered with equal aggression. So argued Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the founder president of the World Wide Fund for nature (WWF), at a 1987 meeting with John Hanks, conservation expert and WWF’s head in Africa. The result was Operation lock, a secret initiative funded by Prince Bernhard and staffed by former SAS operatives. Operation lock set up headquarters in Johannesburg and extended its reach into neighbouring states: Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique. Its operatives planned to train game rangers, to pose as rhino horn traders in order to entrap buyers, and to expose the kingpins who were driving the trade. It was a controversial approach, all the more because it was working within apartheid South Africa in the late 1980s. When the existence of the project was finally leaked, WWF denied any involvement, and John Hanks took the fall. In Operation lock and the War on rhino poaching, John Hanks finally tells the story of these explosive events from 25 years ago. As a leading international authority on conservation, he also deals with the scourge of rhino poaching up to the present, and gives powerful and controversial criticism of some of the current policies to curb poaching.

"The vital position of Africans in effective conservation has not been well described for the Western public, and "The Myth of Wild Africa takes an important step in redressing this lack of understanding. For anyone interested in the realities of conservation, it is a book well worth reading."--Dr. Amy Vedder, Biodiversity Program Coordinator, Wildlife Conservation Society

"A thoughtful and important examination of . . . the fatal fallacies of old-style conservation. The relationship between wildlife and people in Africa is as old as our species itself. The future of both must be taken into account together. Required reading for anyone who has ever cared about one or the other."--Thomas E. Lovejoy, Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution

"I've never read any single other volume that has had as much impact on the problems, politics, and policies--and possible solution--of conservation in Africa."--Gary C. Clarke, Director Emeritus, Topeka, Kansas Zoological Park

'One of the most influential books about the natural world ever published' Paul Kingsnorth, Guardian 'There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot,' begins Aldo Leopold's totemic work of ecological thought. Ranging from lyrical observations of the changing seasons over a year on his Wisconsin farm to his hugely influential idea of a 'land ethic' signifying moral equilibrium between humans and all other life on earth, A Sand County Almanac changed perceptions of the natural world and helped give birth to the modern conservation movement. 'An unequivocal statement of conscience that will carry down the generations ... his argument seems more urgently true now than ever' The New York Times

Hi, I'm Billy Conker! I love to explore our natural world and discover all the amazing creatures living there, from snails and bees in my back garden to polar bears and great blue whales on the other side of the planet. Now I need your help! We're on a mission to find wild animals in their natural habitats. It won't be easy: some are already struggling - or even endangered - and these are the hardest to spot. Are you ready? Come on, then! Follow me and let's get started ... Billy Conker is a young conservationist. He loves visiting different places around the world, discovering all the amazing animals and plants there and finding out how he can help them. Join Billy as he explores ponds and forests, oceans and coral reefs, deserts, prairies, cities and more!

In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard, an intimate portrait of the endangered, exotic, and elusive jaguar When the nature writer Richard Mahler discovers that wild jaguars are prowling a remote corner of his home state of New Mexico, he embarks on a determined quest to see in the flesh a big, beautiful cat that is the stuff of legend-yet verifiably real. Mahler's passion sets in motion a years-long adventure through trackless deserts, steamy jungles, and malarial swamps, as well as a confounding immersion in centuries-old debates over how we should properly regard these powerful predators: as varmints or as icons, trophies or gods? He is drawn from border badlands south to Panama's rain forest along a route where the fate of nearly all wildlife now rests in human hands. Mahler's odyssey introduces him to unrepentant poachers, pragmatic ranchers, midnight drug-runners, ardent conservationists, trance-induced shamans, hopeful biologists, stodgy bureaucrats, academic philosophers, macho hunters, and gentle Maya Indians. Along the way, he is forced to reconsider the true meaning of his search-and the enduring symbolism of the jaguar.

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.

The chimpanzee is one of our planet's best-loved and most instantly recognisable animals. Splitting from the human lineage between four and six million years ago, it is (along with its cousin, the bonobo) our closest living relative, sharing around 94% of our DNA. First encountered by Westerners in the seventeenth century, virtually nothing was known about chimpanzees in their natural environment until 1960, when Jane Goodall travelled to Gombe to live and work with them. Accessibly written, yet fully referenced and uncompromising in its accuracy and comprehensiveness, this book encapsulates everything we currently know about chimpanzees: from their discovery and why we study them, to their anatomy, physiology, genetics and culture. The text is beautifully illustrated and infused with examples and anecdotes drawn from the author's thirty years of primate observation, making this a perfect resource for students of biological anthropology and primatology as well as non-specialists interested in chimpanzees.

This book highlights the fundamental association between aquaculture and engineering in classifying fish hunger behaviour by means of machine learning techniques. Understanding the underlying factors that affect fish growth is essential, since they have implications for higher productivity in fish farms. Computer vision and machine learning techniques make it possible to quantify the subjective perception of hunger behaviour and so allow food to be provided as necessary. The book analyses the conceptual framework of motion tracking, feeding schedule and prediction classifiers in order to classify the hunger state, and proposes a system comprising an automated feeder system, image-processing module, as well as machine learning classifiers. Furthermore, the system substitutes conventional, complex modelling techniques with a robust, artificial intelligence approach. The findings presented are of interest to researchers, fish farmers, and aquaculture technologist wanting to gain insights into the productivity of fish and fish behaviour.

Biostatistics with R provides a straightforward introduction on how to analyse data from the wide field of biological research, including nature protection and global change monitoring. The book is centred around traditional statistical approaches, focusing on those prevailing in research publications. The authors cover t-tests, ANOVA and regression models, but also the advanced methods of generalised linear models and classification and regression trees. Chapters usually start with several useful case examples, describing the structure of typical datasets and proposing research-related questions. All chapters are supplemented by example datasets, step-by-step R code demonstrating analytical procedures and interpretation of results. The authors also provide examples of how to appropriately describe statistical procedures and results of analyses in research papers. This accessible textbook will serve a broad audience, from students, researchers or professionals looking to improve their everyday statistical practice, to lecturers of introductory undergraduate courses. Additional resources are provided on www.cambridge.org/biostatistics.

Mushrooms, the first of a major new series of books on British natural history, provides a remarkable insight into the natural and human world of fungi. Peter Marren, in his inimitable, relaxed style, guides the reader through the extraordinary riches of this often overlooked group, from the amazing diversity of forms and lifestyles that populate the fungal landscape, to the pursuit of edible fungi for the pot, and the complexities of identification thrown up by our modern understanding of DNA. Throughout the book, the author tells a story rich in detail about how we have come to appreciate and, in some cases, fear the mushrooms and toadstools that are such an integral part of the changing seasons. Marren also provides a refreshingly candid view of our attempts to name species, the role of fungi in ecosystems, and our recent efforts to record and conserve them.

Quaggas were beautiful pony-sized zebras in southern Africa that had fewer stripes on their bodies and legs, and a browner body coloration than other zebras. Indigenous people hunted quaggas, portrayed them in rock art, and told stories about them. Settlers used quaggas to pull wagons and to protect livestock against predators. Taken to Europe, they were admired, exhibited, harnessed to carriages, illustrated by famous artists and written about by scientists. Excessive hunting led to quaggas' extinction in the 1880s but DNA from museum specimens showed rebreeding was feasible and now zebras resembling quaggas live in their former habitats. This rebreeding is compared with other de-extinction and rewilding ventures and its appropriateness discussed against the backdrop of conservation challenges-including those facing other zebras. In an Anthropocene of species extinction, climate change and habitat loss which organisms and habitats should be saved, and should attempts be made to restore extinct species?

Of the forty mammal species known to have vanished in the world in the last 200 years, almost half have been Australian. Our continent has the worst record of mammal extinctions, with over 65 mammal species having vanished in the last 50 000 years. It began with the great wave of megafauna extinctions in the last ice-age, and continues today, with many mammal species vulnerable to extinction. The question of why mammals became extinct, and why so many became extinct in Australia has been debated by experts for over a century and a half and we are no closer to agreement on the causes. This book introduces readers to the great mammal extinction debate. Chris Johnson takes us on a detective-like tour of these extinctions, uncovering how, why and when they occurred.

With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings, and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved bird which has fascinated people from many cultures throughout history. How did the barn owl colonise the world? What adaptations have made this bird so successful? How is the increasing impact of human disturbance affecting these animals? Answering these questions and more, Roulin brings together the main global perspectives on the evolution, ecology and behaviour of the barn owl and its relatives, discussing topics such as the high reproductive potential, physiology, social and family interaction, pronounced colour variation and global distribution. Accessible and beautifully illustrated, this definitive volume on the barn owl is for researchers, professionals and graduate students in ornithology, animal behaviour, ecology, conservation biology and evolutionary biology, and will also appeal to amateur ornithologists and nature lovers.

Imagine a garden that is as beautiful as it is productive, that gives you fresh, wholesome, chemical-free food with flavours that go way beyond anything the shops can offer. In Eat What You Grow, Alys shows you how to create a rich, biodiverse garden that feeds not only you, but supports a wide range of pollinators, bees and butterflies, as well as other wildlife. From perennial vegetables that come back year after year, to easy-to-grow delights, she has selected plants that hold their own in both the garden and on the plate. And tells you how to raise these plants, guiding you through the process of feeding your soil, saving seed and taking cuttings to increase your supplies. She also teaches you simple and effective design tools that will ensure your garden looks striking and wild, brings joy to your world and feeds you day after day.

An illuminating look at the challenges and triumphs of state wildlife professionals at the forefront of the fight to protect the American wilderness. The adage "think globally but act locally" defines the work of American wildlife professionals. Their contributions, from remote outposts to major cities, guard the natural world of the entire country. In State Wildlife Management and Conservation, Thomas J. Ryder brings together wildlife leaders from practical, policy, and academic backgrounds to tell the story of state wildlife agencies, chronicling their efforts to restore and protect our nation's natural resources. Reflecting the core principle of the profession-that the public, not any individual, owns wildlife-the book explains how this tenet became law, laying the groundwork for the history of state-level wildlife management that follows. The authors cover key issues, including the limits of private land ownership, the funding of wildlife regulation, the nuances of humanwildlife conflict, the role of law enforcement, disease control efforts, and the challenges involved in balancing the perspectives of hunters, nonhunters, and animal rights advocates. Detailed essays also discuss state management techniques for a wide range of wildlife, including big game and migratory birds. State Wildlife Management and Conservation is a comprehensive, nationwide account of state management efforts. It will aid professors training the next generation of wildlife professionals, students hoping to enter the profession, and anyone working with wildlife to develop a more sophisticated understanding of what it means to be a state wildlife biologist. Contributors: M. Carol Bambery, Gordon R. Batcheller, Chad J. Bishop, Vernon C. Bleich, Dale Caveny, David K. Dahlgren, Daniel J. Decker, Karie L. Decker, Thomas A. Decker, Billy Dukes, John D. Erb, John R. Fischer, Ann B. Forstchen, Jonathan W. Gassett, Parks Gilbert, Colin M. Gillin, Tim L. Hiller, Daniel Hirchert, Michael W. Hubbard, Mark Humpert, Scott Hygnstrom, Robert P. Lanka, Richard E. McCabe, Jennifer Mock-Schaeffer, Brian Nesvik, Shaun L. Oldenburger, John F. Organ, Ronald J. Regan, Michael A. Schroeder, William F. Siemer, Christian Smith, Randy Stark, Gary J. Taylor, J. Scott Taylor, Daniel J. Thompson, Kurt VerCauteren, Mark P. Vrtiska, H. Bryant White, Steven A. Williams

A charmingly illustrated ode to increasingly threatened wildlife.The much-loved illustrations of Hannah Dale celebrate a new generation of wildlife around the world, including many endangered animals. Born to Be Wild features 50 charming portraits of new cubs, chicks and calves, some with the mother and father, some in their pride or tribe and some setting off on their own. Wildlife has never been under such threat from climate change, habitation loss and poachers and hunters. This book is a timely reminder of the beauty of the wild and the accompanying text explains how the parents undertake their role of nurturer in the wild. From orangutans to humpback whales, tigers to hedgehogs, penguins to elephants, and meerkats to koalas, Hannah Dale captures and preserves the essence of wildlife in this pocket sized book. A wonderful reference and beautiful little gift book for nature lovers.