The Devils Hole pupfish is one of the rarest vertebrate animals on the planet; its only natural habitat is a ten-by-sixty-foot pool near Death Valley, on the Nevada-California border. Isolation in Devils Hole made the fish different from its close genetic relatives, but as Devils Hole Pupfish explores, what has made the species a survivor is its many surprising connections to the people who have studied, ignored, protested or protected it.

It is the evening of 26 August 2009 on Christmas Island. The last known pipistrelle emerges from its day-time shelter. Scientists, desperate about its conservation, set up a maze of netting to try to catch it. It is a forlorn and futile exercise - even if captured, there is little future in just one bat. But the bat evades the trap easily, and continues foraging. It is not recorded again that night, and not at all the next night. The bat is never again recorded. The scientists search all nearby areas over the following nights. It has gone. There are no more bats. Its corpse is not, will never be, found. It is the silent, unobtrusive death of the last individual. It is extinction. This book is about that bat, about those scientists, about that island. But mostly it is an attempt to understand that extinction; an unusual extinction, because it was predicted, witnessed and its timing is precise. A Bat's End is a compelling forensic examination of the circumstances and players surrounding the extinction of the Christmas Island pipistrelle. A must-read for environmental scientists, policy-makers, and organisations and individuals with an interest in conservation. FEATURES: Fascinating forensic examination of the processes and players involved in the extinction of the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat, including personal accounts of ecologists, administrators and politicians Considers our relationship with nature, and the extent to which we should and do care for nature Uses the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat's extinction as a case study, from which lessons can be learned that will resonate more broadly Examines Australia's environmental law and policy, and provides recommendations to strengthen these Foreword written by Tim Low, renowned Australian environmental consultant and author. "To bear witness to extinctions is painful, and made worse when hardly anyone knows they took place. By exploring one extinction from all angles, John gives Australians the opportunity to know what transpired on that island and to reflect on what it says about our nation's treatment of its wildlife. He tells a powerful and perceptive story, one that should be taken to heart by every Australian."" Tim Low, excerpt from the Foreword.

Australia's nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoingexistence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity,many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to thechallenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. Thisdedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, ofpopulations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts. Recovering Australian Threatened Species showcases successful conservation stories and identifiesapproaches and implementation methods that have been most effective in recovering threatened species.These diverse accounts - dealing with threatened plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals- show that the conservation of threatened species is achievable: that it can be done and should be done.They collectively serve to inform, guide and inspire other conservation efforts. This is a book of hope andinspiration. It shows that with dedication, knowledge and support, we can retain and restore our marvellous natural heritage, and gift to our descendants a world that is as diverse, healthy and beautiful as that which we have inherited. FEATURES: Foreword written by Gregory Andrews, Australia's first Threatened Species Commissioner. Features inspiring Australian conservation success stories spanning a wide range of threatened species and habitats, demonstrating that recovery of threatened species is both achievable and worthwhile. Includes perspectives from expert conservation practitioners and draws lessons about what elements are important in achieving conservation successes.

An illustrated record of sea-eagles, harpy eagles, booted eagles and eagle-like hawks in Australasia. Eagles are awe-inspiring birds that have influenced much human endeavour. Australia is home to three eagle species, and in Melanesia there are four additional endemic species. A further three large Australian hawks are eagle-like. Eagles, being at the top of the food chain, are sensitive ecological barometers of human impact on the Earth’s ecosystem services, and all of the six Australian species covered in this book are threatened in at least some states (one also nationally). Three of the four Melanesian tropical forest endemics are threatened or near-threatened. In Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds, Dr Stephen Debus provides a 25-year update of knowledge on these 10 species as a supplement to the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) and recent global treatises, based partly on his own field studies. Included are the first nest or prey records for some Melanesian species. This book places the Australasian species in their regional and global context, reviews their population status and threats, provides new information on their ecology, and suggests what needs to be done in order to ensure the future of these magnificent birds. Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds is an invaluable resource for raptor biologists, birdwatchers, wildlife rescuers and carers, raptor rehabilitators and zookeepers.

This guide covers the main timber species regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It provides information on the key issues regarding the implementation of the Convention for this important group of plants. Written for the non-expert, individual sections cover the species found in signifi cant trade, with details on their distribution, uses, traded parts and derivatives, and scientific c and common names. Additional sections cover timber identification and measurement, guidance on CITES documentation and key resources.

In 1992, in a remote mountain range, a team of scientists discovered the remains of an unusual animal with beautiful long horns. It turned out to be a living species new to western science -- a saola, the first large land mammal discovered in 50 years. Rare then and rarer now, no westerner had glimpsed a live saola before Pulitzer Prize finalist and nature writer William deBuys and conservation biologist William Robichaud set off to search for it in the wilds of central Laos. The team endured a punishing trek, up and down whitewater rivers and through mountainous terrain ribboned with the snare lines of armed poachers. In the tradition of Bruce Chatwin, Colin Thubron, and Peter Matthiessen, THE LAST UNICORN is deBuys's look deep into one of the world's most remote places. As in the pursuit of the unicorn, the journey ultimately becomes a quest for the essence of wildness in nature, and an encounter with beauty.

The rapid growth of the American environmental movement in recent decades obscures the fact that long before the first Earth Day and the passage of the Endangered Species Act, naturalists and concerned citizens recognized-and worried about-the problem of human-caused extinction. As Mark V. Barrow reveals in Nature's Ghosts, the threat of species loss has haunted Americans since the early days of the republic. From Thomas Jefferson's day-when the fossil remains of such fantastic lost animals as the mastodon and the woolly mammoth were first reconstructed-through the pioneering conservation efforts of early naturalists like John James Audubon and John Muir, Barrow shows how Americans came to understand that it was not only possible for entire species to die out, but that humans themselves could be responsible for their extinction. With the destruction of the passenger pigeon and the precipitous decline of the bison, professional scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike began to understand that even very common species were not safe from the juggernaut of modern, industrial society. That realization spawned public education and legislative campaigns that laid the foundation for the modern environmental movement and the preservation of such iconic creatures as the bald eagle, the California condor, and the whooping crane. A sweeping, beautifully illustrated historical narrative that unites the fascinating stories of endangered animals and the dedicated individuals who have studied and struggled to protect them, Nature's Ghosts offers an unprecedented view of what we've lost-and a stark reminder of the hard work of preservation still ahead.

Until about 13,000 years ago, North America was home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and foraged on the marsh land now buried beneath Chicago's 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 elephants and cheetahs to the Great Plains as stand-ins for their extinct native brethren. By reintroducing big browsers and carnivores to North America, 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 like the gray wolf and the bison, 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.

Students with a basic understanding of the environment and concern for its future know the importance of preserving biological diversity. Biodiversity is the variety of living things on Earth or in a specific area. This definition seems simple enough to understand, yet the concept of biodiversity has deeper meanings that challenge even trained environmental scientists. A region that has a wide variety of species in robust populations is said to possess biodiversity. But not every place on Earth bursts with diverse life. Biodiversity concentrates in certain areas, while other parts of the globe possess a somewhat lesser variety and number of species. ""Biodiversity"" takes a look at how habitats are destroyed, the devastating effect this has on biodiversity, and the ways in which scientists restore ecosystems and habits. This new, full-color book also examines the ethical questions that arise when trying to rescue threatened species in the face of dire human conditions. Chapters include: Endangered Species; Measuring Species and Extinction; Protecting Native from Invasive Species; Urban Development; Nature Reserves; Species Protection; and, Methods for Measuring Diversity.

When the University of Arizona announced plans to build observatories on Mt. Graham, atop the Pinaleno Mountains, the construction was seen as a potential threat to an isolated species found only on this sky island. The Mt. Graham red squirrel was declared "endangered" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Legal action required the university to provide funds for research and monitoring the Mt. Graham red squirrel.
This book is derived from a symposium on the Mt. Graham red squirrel and offers a comprehensive picture of the ecology of this red squirrel and the impacts on its mountain home. Forty contributors detail studies conducted to understand the natural history of the creature and the challenges and changing ecological conditions on Mt. Graham.
Each chapter tells a unique story that contributes to the mosaic of natural history knowledge about the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel. They reflect diverse viewpoints on the problems of conserving the habitats and populations of the squirrel, showing how it was complicated by perspectives ranging from Native Americans' concern over traditional lands to astronomers' hope for a better view of space, and by issues ranging from forestry practices to climate change. Studies of such factors as squirrel middens, seed hoarding, and nest sites provide definitive research on the animal.
Ongoing censuses continue to track the squirrel's population trends, and both Forest Service and Arizona Department of Transportation activities continue to be scrutinized by interested parties to determine their impact. This book represents an authoritative overview of this still-endangered species and its habitat.

The rapid growth of the American environmental movement in recent decades obscures the fact that long before the first Earth Day and the passage of the Endangered Species Act, naturalists and concerned citizens recognized--and worried about--the problem of human-caused extinction.

As Mark V. Barrow reveals in "Nature's Ghosts," the threat of species loss has haunted Americans since the early days of the republic. From Thomas Jefferson's day--when the fossil remains of such fantastic lost animals as the mastodon and the woolly mammoth were first reconstructed--through the pioneering conservation efforts of early naturalists like John James Audubon and John Muir, Barrow shows how Americans came to understand that it was not only "possible" for entire species to die out, but that humans themselves could be responsible for their extinction. With the destruction of the passenger pigeon and the precipitous decline of the bison, professional scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike began to understand that even very common species were not safe from the juggernaut of modern, industrial society. That realization spawned public education and legislative campaigns that laid the foundation for the modern environmental movement and the preservation of such iconic creatures as the bald eagle, the California condor, and the whooping crane.

A sweeping, beautifully illustrated historical narrative that unites the fascinating stories of endangered animals and the dedicated individuals who have studied and struggled to protect them, "Nature's Ghosts" offers an unprecedented view of what we've lost--and a stark reminder of the hard work of preservation still ahead.

Famed marine researcher and illustrator Richard Ellis brings us a work of scientific achievement that will forever change the way we think about fish, fishing, and the dangers inherent in the seafood we eat.
The bluefin tuna is one of the world's biggest, fastest, and most highly evolved marine animals, as well as one of its most popular delicacies. Now, however, it hovers on the brink of extinction. Here Ellis explains how a fish that was once able to thrive has become a commodity--and how the natural world and the global economy converge on our plates. With updated information on mercury levels in tuna, this is at once an astounding ode to one of nature's greatest marvels and a serious examination of a creature and world at risk.

Allee effects are (broadly) defined as a decline in individual fitness at low population size or density. They can result in critical population thresholds below which populations crash to extinction. As such, they are very relevant to many conservation programmes, where scientists and managers are often working with populations that have been reduced to low densities or small numbers. There are a variety of mechanisms that can create Allee effects including mating systems, predation, environmental modification, and social interactions. The abrupt and unpredicted collapses of many exploited populations is just one illustration of the need to bring Allee effects to the forefront of conservation and management strategies.
Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation provides a concise yet authoritative overview of the topic, collating and integrating a widely dispersed literature from various fields - marine and terrestrial, plant and animal, theoretical and empirical, academic and applied. This accessible text, with its clear and simple explanations of both empirical observations and theoretical predications is particularly suitable for professional and academic ecologists requiring an overview of the state-of-the-art in Allee effect research, as well as for graduate students in population ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance to a wide readership of professionals in conservation and management requiring a concise summary of the topic.

Allee effects are (broadly) defined as a decline in individual fitness at low population size or density. They can result in critical population thresholds below which populations crash to extinction. As such, they are very relevant to many conservation programmes, where scientists and managers are often working with populations that have been reduced to low densities or small numbers. There are a variety of mechanisms that can create Allee effects including mating systems, predation, environmental modification, and social interactions. The abrupt and unpredicted collapses of many exploited populations is just one illustration of the need to bring Allee effects to the forefront of conservation and management strategies.
Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation provides a concise yet authoritative overview of the topic, collating and integrating a widely dispersed literature from various fields - marine and terrestrial, plant and animal, theoretical and empirical, academic and applied. This accessible text, with its clear and simple explanations of both empirical observations and theoretical predications is particularly suitable for professional and academic ecologists requiring an overview of the state-of-the-art in Allee effect research, as well as for graduate students in population ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance to a wide readership of professionals in conservation and management requiring a concise summary of the topic.

""The sight of a bear standing on its hind legs is simply awesome. It turns the cute and cuddly image of the teddy bear on its head, and instead evokes fear and wonder."" - from the introduction

Bears are respected and admired, yet also feared. These mighty animals have virtually no enemies except for humans. Over the last 150 years, as civilization has expanded into their natural environments, bears are being displaced. Because of habitat loss, hunting for sport, and the black market trade in body parts for medicinal use, all species except brown and American black bears are endangered or vulnerable.

Bear Rescue profiles the major projects and people around the world who are active in the conservation efforts to help these animals: Armando Castellanos is the founder of the Spectacled Bear Project, which works to save the habitat of the endangered spectacled bears of South America Yoganand Kandasamy radio-collars sloth bears in India and follows them night and day through the forest to study their behavior Jill Robinson of China Bear Rescue rescues and rehabilitates Asiatic black bears from bear bile farms in China Ian Stirling is a research scientist studying the effects of global warming and toxins on the polar bear population A team from Seattle Woodland Park Zoo is working on successfully breeding in captivity the endangered sun bear.

Illustrated with 50 color photographs, Bear Rescue covers the people, the issues and the challenges involved in preserving a future for endangered wildlife.

About the "Firefly Animal Rescue" series:

The "Firefly Animal Rescue" identifies endangered and threatened species and what is being done to protect them. Combining lively, accessible text and stunning color photographs, each book provides a detailed overview of the species, describing its characteristics, behavior, habits, physiology and more.

""These attractive books are a call to action... fascinating readable accounts."" - School Library Journal

""Succinct introductions to the science and practice of wildlife conservation... written in accessible, lively language."" - Booklist

Crocodilians is the scientific name for crocodiles, alligators, gharials and caimans. Collectively they area walking, breathing link to the dinosaurs that roamed the Earth 240 million years ago. And they look even more fierce as long as a pickup truck, and with giant mouths full of razor-sharp teeth.

Loathed for their eating habits and adored for their skins, alligators and crocodiles were hunted almost to extinction. But thanks to some creative conservation efforts the status of crocodilians has improved dramatically. Even though some populations are thriving, others are still at risk. Eight species remain on the endangered list, and some hover on the edge of extinction.

Alligator and Crocodile Rescue profiles the major programs and people around the world who are active in the conservation efforts to help these animals: Rene Hedegaard founded Denmark's Krokodille Zoo, which breeds and cares for 70 crocs from 19 species Christine Brewton is a member of Louisiana Fur and Alligator Advisory Council, which actually protects wild gators and their habitat Yosapong Temsiripong is a conservationist from Thailand who works to introduce captive-bred Siamese crocodiles into the wild.

Illustrated with 50 color photographs, Alligator and Crocodile Rescue covers the people, the issues and the challenges involved in preserving a future for endangered wildlife.

About the "Firefly Animal Rescue" series:

The "Firefly Animal Rescue" identifies endangered and threatened species and what is being done to protect them. Combining lively, accessible text and stunning color photographs, each book provides a detailed overview of the species, describing its characteristics, behavior, habits, physiology and more.

""These attractive books are a call to action... fascinating readable accounts."" - School Library Journal

""Succinct introductions to the science and practice of wildlife conservation... written in accessible, lively language."" - Booklist

""Whenever you touch a rhino, you think you're touching a dinosaur." - from the introduction"

A rhinoceros is a powerful beast weighing 3 tons or more and wielding a deadly horn up to five feet long. Ruthlessly slaughtered for centuries, rhinos are suddenly one of conservation's great success stories as populations of white rhinos and black rhinos recover. Even so, rhinos are still at risk: Javan and Sumatran rhinos are close to extinction and the world rhino population is still less than it was just 30 years ago.

Rhino Rescue profiles people around the world who are helping rhinos, including: Terri Roth of the Cincinnati Zoo, who guided the successful breeding of a rare Sumatran rhino in captivity for the first time in 112 years Esmond Martin, who helped stop the use of rhino horn in ceremonial daggers, a change that saved thousands of rhinos Rob Brett, who risks his life relocating rhinos, a key to successful conservation Bibhab Talukdar, a conservationist from India, who does almost anything to protect the Indian rhino, including going undercover to nab poachers.

Illustrated with 50 spectacular color photographs, Rhino Rescue also surveys the biological issues in and challenges of preserving a future for endangered wildlife.

About the "Firefly Animal Rescue" series:

The "Firefly Animal Rescue" identifies endangered and threatened species and what is being done to protect them. Combining lively, accessible text and stunning color photographs, each book provides a detailed overview of the species, describing its characteristics, behavior, habits, physiology and more.

""These attractive books are a call to action... fascinating readable accounts."" - School Library Journal

""Succinct introductions to the science and practice of wildlife conservation... written in accessible, lively language."" - Booklist

The tension between wildlife protection under the Endangered Species Act and water management in the Platte River Basin has existed for more than 25 years. The Platte River provides important habitat for migratory and breeding birds, including three endangered or threatened species: the whooping crane, the northern Great Plains population of the piping plover, and the interior least tern. The leading factors attributed to the decline of the cranes are historical overhunting and widespread habitat destruction and, for the plovers and terns, human interference during nesting and the loss of riverine nesting sites in open sandy areas that have been replaced with woodlands, sand and gravel mines, housing, and roadways. Extensive damming has disrupted passage of the endangered pallid sturgeon and resulted in less suitable habitat conditions such as cooler stream flows, less turbid waters, and inconsistent flow regimes. Commercial harvesting, now illegal, also contributed to the decline of the sturgeon. Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River addresses the habitat requirements for these federally protected species. The book further examines the scientific aspects of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's instream-flow recommendations and habitat suitability guidelines and assesses the science concerning the connections among the physical systems of the river as they relate to species' habitats. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Regional Context for Water and Species 3 Law, Science, and Management Decisions 4 Scientific Data for the Platte River Ecosystem 5 Whooping Crane 6 Piping Plover and Interior Least Tern 7 Pallid Sturgeon 8 Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix A: Biographical Information on Committee Members Appendix B: Bird Species of Conservation Concern in Nebraska Appendix C: Confirmed Whooping Crane Sightings in Central Platte River Study Area, 1942-2003 Appendix D: Input Data for Figures 5-6 a and 5-6b

Because carnivores are at the top of the food chain, it is often argued that protecting them will afford adequate protection to other taxa as well. In the past ten years, theoretical and empirical studies on carnivores have developed very quickly. This volume reviews and summarizes the current state of the field, describes limitations and opportunities for carnivore conservation, and offers a conceptual framework for future research and applied management. It will be of interest to students and researchers of conservation biology, mammalogy, animal behavior, ecology, and evolution.

Explores the roots and evolution of the salmon crisis in the Pacific Northwest. The author describes the evolutionary history of the salmon as well as the geological history of the Pacific Northwest, before considering the multitude of factors, including historical, social, scientific and cultural, which have led to the salmon's decline. The book includes a clinical and critical assessment of why the numerous restoration efforts have failed. The book exposes the myths that have guided recent human-salmon interactions and explains the difficult choices facing the region, offering an insight into this chapter of America's environmental history.

Suzanne Romaine and Daniel Nettle argue that the loss of linguistic diversity is just as threatening as the loss of global biodiversity. Approximately half of all known languages have disappeared in the last five hundred years, and with the advent of global communication, the rate of extinction is accelerating to the level that, according to some, 90% of all languages are in danger of becoming extinct during the next century. The loss of both linguistic and biological diversity is part of a much larger and more serious problem - the near-total collapse of our worldwide ecosystem. Languages are enmeshed in social and geographical matrix just as animals and plants, and their demise is symptomatic of the illness and dealth of cultures and ways of life different from our own. Romaine and Nettle describe the background of this situation, how the current catastrophe occurred, and what can be done about it. They argue for the importance of maintaining diverse, localized responses to the environment, and show how the maintenance of different languages is necessarily linked to the diversity of human beings.

How does an understanding of the behavior of a given animal species contribute to its conservation? The answer has profound consequences for our efforts to conserve endangered species. Behaviour and Conservation links the extraordinary advances in behavioral ecology over the past thirty years with the new discipline of conservation biology. It shows how an evolutionary approach can help solve problems in practical conservation, and suggests a new direction for behavioral ecology. Leading authorities in animal behavior address the ways in which behavior and conservation interact, investigating the conservation impact of people, habitat loss and fragmentation, threats to wild populations of animals, conservation priorities, and the use of behavioral approaches for conservation applications.

Today's conservation literature emphasizes landscape ecology and population genetics without addressing the behavioral links that enable the long-term survival of populations. This book presents theoretical and practical arguments for considering behavior patterns in attempts to conserve biodiversity. It brings together prominent scientists and wildlife managers to address a number of issues, including the limits and potentials of behavioral research to conservation, the importance of behavioral variation as a component of biodiversity, and the use of animal behavior to solve conservation problems. Throughout, the text provides specific direction for research and management practices. The book is unique in its emphasis on conservation of wild populations as opposed to captive and reintroduced populations, where behavioral research has concentrated in the past.

As recently as ten years ago, out of every ten African elephants that died, four fell at the hands of poachers. The figure today is eight. Rhinoceroses are being slaughtered throughout their ranges. The Vietnamese one-horned rhinoceros is extinct, the western black rhino is now believed to be extinct, and the northern white rhinoceros, the largest of them all, survives - only precariously - in captivity. Since the worldwide ban on ivory trading was passed in 1989, author Ronald Orenstein has been at the heart of the fight. The ban came after a decade that saw half of Africa's elephants slaughtered by poachers. After the ban, Africa's elephants started to recover - but in 1997 the ban was partially relaxed, and in 2008 it was agreed that China could legally import ivory from four designated States in southern Africa. Today a new ivory crisis has arisen - this time, fuelled by internal wars in Africa and a growing market in the Far East. Seizures of smuggled ivory have shot up in the past two years. Bands of militia have crossed from one side of Africa to the other, slaughtering elephants with automatic weapons. At the same time a market surge in Vietnam has led to an onslaught against the world's rhinoceroses, animals far more endangered than elephants. Rhinos are being killed everywhere for their horns, mistakenly believed to cure cancer. Horns have changed hands at prices higher per kilo than for gold. Organized crime has moved into the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn. The situation, for both elephants and rhinos, is dire. This captivating book sketches out a crime story that, for most, is unseen and takes place thousands of miles away and in countries that few will visit. But like the trade in illegal drugs, the trade in elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns has far-reaching implications not only for two species of endangered animals but also for all of us who are ultimately touched by a world-wide underground economy whose pillars are organized crime, corruption and violence. Among the topics explored are: Ivory and Luxury; Rhino Horn and Medicine; What Makes Poachers Poach?; CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora); The Ivory Crisis and the Ban; Rhinos Under Guard; Coming to Grips with Poaching.

Coral reefs declined worldwide during the 1980s and 1990s, making them perhaps the most endangered marine ecosystem on Earth. This realization spurred John W. Tunnell Jr. and others to write a comprehensive book that would raise awareness of coral reefs and their plight. Tunnell and coeditors Ernesto A. Chavez and Kim Withers present an integrated and broad-ranging synthesis, while Mexican and U.S. experts assess the current state of these fragile systems and offer a framework for their restoration.
Beginning with a history of the research done in this region, Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico covers the geography, geology, oceanography, ecology, and biodiversity of the thirty-eight "emergent" or platform-type coral reefs in the southern Gulf. The editors include chapters on the biota--from algae to fish--followed by a look at environmental impacts, both natural (such as hurricanes and red tides) and human (such as ship groundings and dredging). The book closes with a discussion of conservation issues, which is both descriptive and prescriptive in its assessment of what has been done and what should be done to protect and manage these vital ecosystems.