Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in "ancient DNA" research, walks readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, Shapiro vividly explores the extraordinary cutting-edge science that is being used--today--to resurrect the past. Journeying to far-flung Siberian locales in search of ice age bones and delving into her own research--as well as those of fellow experts such as Svante Paabo, George Church, and Craig Venter--Shapiro considers de-extinction's practical benefits and ethical challenges. Would de-extinction change the way we live? Is this really cloning? What are the costs and risks? And what is the ultimate goal? Using DNA collected from remains as a genetic blueprint, scientists aim to engineer extinct traits--traits that evolved by natural selection over thousands of years--into living organisms. But rather than viewing de-extinction as a way to restore one particular species, Shapiro argues that the overarching goal should be the revitalization and stabilization of contemporary ecosystems. For example, elephants with genes modified to express mammoth traits could expand into the Arctic, re-establishing lost productivity to the tundra ecosystem. Looking at the very real and compelling science behind an idea once seen as science fiction, How to Clone a Mammoth demonstrates how de-extinction will redefine conservation's future.

This report covers island fox recovery actions conducted by park staff in calendar year 2010. The recovery actions, which included island fox population and mortality monitoring, were conducted under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Permit TE86267-0, which has separate reporting requirements (Coonan 2011). This report presents the results of our efforts in 2010 to capture and monitor island fox populations on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Island via small trapping grids and transects, and to track annual survival and mortality causes via radiotelemetry. The purpose of the monitoring was to: * assess condition of individual foxes; * replace radiocollars or affix new radiocollars as required; * establish a "sentinel" group of unvaccinated, radiocollared animals; * vaccinate foxes against canine distemper virus and rabies; and * estimate density and islandwide population size

Rhino occupy a unique part of the food chain and wide niches in specific ecosystems in which they have developed their own behaviour patterns and interactions with other species. They form an essential part of the animal kingdom and their loss would have significant ramifications for other dependant flora and fauna. The large numbers of rhino orphans and the loss of pregnant females are decimating wild rhino populations. This decline is mainly due to poaching for their horns that are made of keratin and which have no proven medical benefit to humans. Greedy markets in China, Vietnam and Yemen, and criminal syndicates offer extremely high prices for rhino horn making it more valuable than gold. Whilst tackling the poachers head on is essential, it is sadly not enough and vigorous education programmes need to be put in place to inform people of the ecological, economic, aesthetic and touristic value of rhino. This book is dedicated to the plight all rhino species face including museum specimens and fossils.

This report was prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) by Decision Analysts Hawaii, Inc. (DAHI), a Hawaii-based economic consulting firm, under contract to Industrial Economics, Incorporated (IEc). The report assesses the economic impacts that may result from the designation of 23 critical habitat units for 76 listed endangered and threatened species of plants on the islands of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau in the state of Hawaii.

Reintroduction of A Migratory Flock of Whooping Cranes in the Eastern United States

What is it like to rehabilitate sun bears in the rainforests of Malaysia? Why are sloth bears trained to dance? How is traditional Chinese medicine implicated in the deaths of black bears in North America? Bear Necessities answers all of these questions, and many more. Through the voices of activists, scientists, and educators, readers walk alongside those who pull sun bears from Vietnamese bile farms, track Andean bears in the rugged hills of Ecuador, work to protect Montana's grizzlies in the courtroom, and gently heal the many wounded bears who live in sanctuaries around the world. Though almost every bear species is endangered or severely threatened, Bear Necessities offers hope through knowledge and understanding, which reside at the heart of change.

136 animal species have become extinct in the British Isles over the past thousand years. This book describes many of these extinctions, from familiar species such as the wolf and the iconic extinction of the great auk, to the numerous insects that have vanished from the islands. Whilst some losses are unsurprising others are strange stories of enigmatic species such as the Manchester moth, the Potters Bar beetle and the St. Kilda mouse. Attempts have been made to reintroduce some species and the successes and failures are described. With increasing attention being paid to preserving and restoring our natural environment consideration is also given to the questions of which species could be reintroduced in the future and whether this can ever play a meaningful role in conservation.

This book provides research on the threats and conservation of endangered species. Chapter One reviews the causes of extinction, the possibilities of persistence in colonised sites, as well as the proposed method of conservation of populations of selected rare plant species such as Dianthus superbus L., Gentiana pneumonanthe L., Gladiolus imbricatus L., Iris sibirica L. as well as Trollius europaeus L. Chapter Two provides an example of the use of multivariate analyses of morphological characters and DNA analyses for assessing the taxonomic ranking of rare plant taxa. Chapter Three offers a synthetic, state-of-the-art analysis of the existing knowledge around magnolias, including their biogeographic origin, the distribution and number of magnolia species, their current and potential uses in medicine and biochemistry, the ecology of seeds and of successful pre-germinate treatments, the regeneration and restructuring of populations, and a revision of the genetic diversity of magnolia species. Chapter Four examines a case study of Cycas hainanensis, an endangered cycad species.

For Native Americans, permits to take eagles from the wild are limited to tribes that can show a traditional religious need that the USFWS's National Eagle Repository cannot meet. The primary example of this is the Hopi, who have collected nestling GEs from specific nest sites for their religious ceremonies for centuries. Historically authorized take of GEs, including the Hopi's, was examined in the USFWS's 2009 Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) of a proposal to permit take as provided under the Eagle Protection Act (hereafter referred to as 2009 FEA; USFWS 2009b). The USFWS considered this take part of a the biological baseline in the 20009 FEA, above which regional take "thresholds" for GEs are established to ensure USFWS does not authorize take that is not compatible with the preservation of eagles, as the Eagle Act requires. Annually since 1986, the USFWS's Southwest Region (Southwest Region) has issued a permit to the Hopi for take of nestling GEs. The allowed level of take has ranged from a low of 12 to an unlimited number. Since 1997 the permit has authorized the Hopi to take 40 nestling GEs, although annual reports from the Hopi indicate annual take during 1997-2012 averaged 23 nestlings. In 2012, the Southwest Region evaluated the population biology and "harvest management" of GEs on lands of the Hopi and Navajo. By 2012, enough data had been collected by the tribes and the USFWS to support a more specific analysis of the Hopi's take of nestling GEs on sustainability of the GE population at multiple spatial (geographic) scales than had been done previously. A team that included eagle experts from the USFWS and both tribes completed the work as a comprehensive technical assessment (TA; Appendix A). Information from the TA and related supplements in appendices of this document supported this EA. Relying on the TA, the Southwest Region developed three alternatives for issuing a permit to the Hopi in 2013. Alternatives B and C each considered multiple scales. Scales include: (1) Bird Conservation Region 16 (BCR 16), the Southern Rockies - Colorado Plateau Region; (2) the Hopi and Navajo lands "local area population" (LAP), which includes GEs on and within 140 miles of this area; 3) the area where the Hopi have collected nestling GEs in recent years (collection area, or CA) and a subset of this, the portion of the CA that is on Navajo lands (Navajo CA).