Rewilding is the first popular book on the ground-breaking science behind the restoration of wild nature. As ecologists Paul Jepson and Cain Blythe show, rewilding is a new and progressive approach to conservation, blending radical scientific insights with practical innovations to revive ecological processes, benefiting people as well as nature. Its goal is to restore lost interactions between animals, plants and natural disturbance that are the essence of thriving ecosystems. With its sense of hope and purpose, rewilding is breathing new life into the conservation movement, and enabling a growing number of people - even urban-dwellers - to enjoy thrilling wildlife experiences previously accessible only in remote wilderness reserves. 'De-domesticated' horses galloping across a Dutch 'Serengeti'; beavers creating wetlands in the British countryside; giant tortoises restoring the wildlife of the Mauritian islands; perhaps one day even rhinos roaming the Australian outback - rewilding is full of exciting and inspirational possibilities.

'London in the Wild is a timely opportunity to get out and explore all the wild spaces and natural places that exist alongside us. Both on your doorstep and on the other side of the river.' - Chris Packham A place of cars, concrete, lights, noise and pollution, London is a harsh, unyielding landscape created to meet the needs of people, not wildlife, but if you take the time to stop and look, you'll discover it is teeming with more than 15,000 species of flora, fungi and fauna, including marsh frogs, hedgehogs, short-eared owls and dragonflies. With London in the Wild as your guide, you can explore the city from your garden, local parks and community space, but also from its wetlands, woodlands and heaths. Along the way you'll discover the best places to see bluebells in springtime, the day-to-day life of a London Tube mouse and the activities of seals who make their home in the Thames.

Understanding the complex relationships between humans and the natural world is essential for achieving environmental sustainability and improving human well-being, yet many studies are unable to reveal complex interactions and hidden trends. This is the first book to synthesize the findings and approaches of long-term integrated research in a model coupled human and natural system, and to illustrate their applications to regional, national, and global scales. It features a classic long-term interdisciplinary research project in the Wolong Nature Reserve of China, which contains one of the largest wild populations of the world-famous endangered giant pandas. Bringing together a team of contributors from both the natural and social sciences, this book explores how a long-term interdisciplinary and model system approach is essential to uncover the common patterns and mechanisms of coupled systems, to develop ideas and methods for studying and managing other coupled systems, and ultimately to contribute to the development of theories about coupled systems for sustainability. Pandas and People will be essential reading for scholars interested in the interface of the natural and social sciences, including ecologists, conservation biologists, environmental scientists, sustainability scientists, wildlife biologists, forest scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, and political scientists. It will also be a valuable reference for policy makers, natural resource managers, and graduate students.

The identification and analysis of the particular habitat needs of a species has always been a central focus of research and applied conservation in both ecology and wildlife biology. Although these two academic communities have developed quite separately over many years, there is now real value in attempting to unify them to allow better communication and awareness by practitioners and students from each discipline. Despite the recent dramatic increase in the types of quantitative methods for conducting habitat analyses, there is no single reference that simultaneously explains and compares all these new techniques. This accessible textbook provides the first concise, authoritative resource that clearly presents these emerging methods together and demonstrates how they can be applied to data using statistical methodology, whilst putting the decades-old pursuit of analyzing habitat into historical context. Habitat Ecology and Analysis is written for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in wildlife ecology, conservation biology, and habitat ecology as well as professional ecologists, wildlife biologists, conservation biologists, and land managers requiring an accessible overview of the latest methodology.

Urban Evolutionary Biology fills an important knowledge gap on wild organismal evolution in the urban environment, whilst offering a novel exploration of the fast-growing new field of evolutionary research. The growing rate of urbanization and the maturation of urban study systems worldwide means interest in the urban environment as an agent of evolutionary change is rapidly increasing. We are presently witnessing the emergence of a new field of research in evolutionary biology. Despite its rapid global expansion, the urban environment has until now been a largely neglected study site among evolutionary biologists. With its conspicuously altered ecological dynamics, it stands in stark contrast to the natural environments traditionally used as cornerstones for evolutionary ecology research. Urbanization can offer a great range of new opportunities to test for rapid evolutionary processes as a consequence of human activity, both because of replicate contexts for hypothesis testing, but also because cities are characterized by an array of easily quantifiable environmental axes of variation and thus testable agents of selection. Thanks to a wide possible breadth of inference (in terms of taxa) that may be studied, and a great variety of analytical methods, urban evolution has the potential to stand at a fascinating multi-disciplinary crossroad, enriching the field of evolutionary biology with emergent yet incredibly potent new research themes where the urban habitat is key. Urban Evolutionary Biology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers studying the genetics, evolutionary biology, and ecology of urban environments. It is also highly relevant to urban ecologists and urban wildlife practitioners.

The conservation of biological diversity depends on people's knowledge and actions. This book presents the theory and practice for creating effective education and outreach programmes for conservation. The authors describe an exciting array of techniques for enhancing school resources, marketing environmental messages, using social media, developing partnerships for conservation, and designing on-site programmes for parks and community centres. Vivid case studies from around the world illustrate techniques and describe planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures, enabling readers to implement their own new ideas effectively. Conservation Education and Outreach Techniques, now in its second edition and updated throughout, includes twelve chapters illustrated with numerous photographs showing education and outreach programmes in action, each incorporating an extensive bibliography. Helpful text boxes provide practical tips, guidelines, and recommendations for further exploration of the chapter topics. This book will be particularly relevant to conservation scientists, resource managers, environmental educators, students, and citizen activists. It will also serve as a handy reference and a comprehensive text for a variety of natural resource and environmental professionals.

Using more than 30 years research from the author team at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), this volume reveals how agricultural systems and wildlife interact, presenting examples from scales varying from landscape to microcosm, from populations to individuals, covering plants, invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It demonstrates the essential ecosystem services provided by agricultural land, and discusses the implications of agricultural development for natural habitats and biodiversity.

Mutualisms, interactions between two species that benefit both of them, have long captured the public imagination. Their influence transcends levels of biological organization from cells to populations, communities, and ecosystems. Mutualistic symbioses were crucial to the origin of eukaryotic cells, and perhaps to the invasion of land. Mutualisms occur in every terrestrial and aquatic habitat; indeed, ecologists now believe that almost every species on Earth is involved directly or indirectly in one or more of these interactions. Mutualisms are essential to the reproduction and survival of virtually all organisms, as well as to nutrient cycles in ecosystems. Furthermore, the key ecosystem services that mutualists provide mean that they are increasingly being considered as conservation priorities, ironically at the same time as the acute risks to their ecological and evolutionary persistence are increasingly being identified. This volume, the first general work on mutualism to appear in almost thirty years, provides a detailed and conceptually-oriented overview of the subject. Focusing on a range of ecological and evolutionary aspects over different scales (from individual to ecosystem), the chapters in this book provide expert coverage of our current understanding of mutualism whilst highlighting the most important questions that remain to be answered. In bringing together a diverse team of expert contributors, this novel text captures the excitement of a dynamic field that will help to define its future research agenda.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 WAINWRIGHT BOOK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 POLARI FIRST BOOK AWARD 'This is a book to get lost in . . . A disturbing trauma narrative, it's also a work of delightfully low, pants-dropping comedy, and a learned meditation' Guardian 'A brave and beautiful book, electrifying on sex and nature, religion and love. No one is writing quite like this' Olivia Laing 'Turns the nature memoir genre upon its head . . . is a book full of poetry and pathos. More than anything it is a bold and beautiful study of how to be a true modern man' Ben Myers, Spectator At a crossroads in his life, the demons Luke Turner has been battling since childhood are quick to return - depression and guilt surrounding his identity as a bisexual man, experiences of sexual abuse, and the religious upbringing that was the cause of so much confusion. It is among the trees of London's Epping Forest where he seeks refuge. Away from a society that struggles to cope with the complexities of masculinity and sexuality, Luke begins to accept the duality that has provoked so much unrest in his life - and reconcile the expectations of others with his own way of being.

Savannah habitats comprise an ecologically important, but ultimately fragile, ecosystem. They constitute one of the largest biomes on Earth, covering almost 20% of the land surface, and can be simply described as tropical and subtropical grasslands with scattered bushes and trees. Most savannahs occur in Africa, although smaller areas can be found in South America, India, and Australia. They form a rich mosaic of diverse ecosystems, and this book offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to their ecology, biodiversity, and conservation. The Biology of African Savannahs describes the major plants (grasses, and trees such as Acacia) and animals (mainly large mammals) that live in this habitat, and examines the biological and ecological factors that influence their population size, interactions (such as predation), and community composition. Conservation issues such as climate change, hunting, and conflict between wildlife and domestic animals are also discussed. This new edition has been updated throughout with the latest research in the field, and contains new technique boxes which introduce readers to some of the analytical methods used to study African savannahs. This accessible text is suitable for both senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in savannah and tropical ecology as part of a wider ecology and/or conservation biology degree programme. It will also be of relevance and use to the many professional ecologists and conservation practitioners requiring a concise but authoritative overview of the topic.

South Africa's fynbos region has intrigued biologists for centuries. It has achieved iconic status as a locus of megadiversity and therefore a place to study the ecological underpinnings of massive evolutionary radiations. Researchers have made great advances over the past two decades in unravelling the complexities of fynbos ecology and evolution, and the region has contributed significant insights into the adaptive radiations of large lineages, conservation science, pollination biology, invasive plant biology, and palaeoanthropology. Lessons from the fynbos offer much of value for understanding the origin, maintenance, and conservation of diversity anywhere in the world. This book provides the first synthesis of the field for 20 years, bringing together the latest ecological and evolutionary research on the South African global biodiversity hotspots of the Greater Cape Floristic Region - the iconic fynbos and succulent karoo. It explores the historical and modern physical and biological environment of this region, the circumstances and processes which have fostered its remarkable biodiversity, and the role this diversity has played in the emergence of modern humans. It also discusses the challenges of contemporary management and conservation of the region's biodiversity in the face of accelerating global change.

Freshwater fish are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates, but are also amongst the most threatened. With contributions from leaders in the field, this is the first assessment of the global state of freshwater fish diversity, synthesising the opportunities, challenges and barriers facing the conservation of freshwater fish biodiversity. The book includes the first global assessment of the number, type and distribution of threatened freshwater fish species, discussing the features of freshwater fish biology and ecology that render so many species vulnerable to extinction. Introductory chapters on why freshwater fish are so sensitive to environmental change and disturbance lead into chapters providing detailed reviews of the key threatening processes and potential solutions. A concluding chapter summarises the key issues and looks to the future for opportunities and challenges for the conservation and management of freshwater fish.

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.

Maintaining forest biodiversity by combining protection, management and restoration of forest and woodland landscapes is a central component of sustainable development.
Evidence that there are threshold levels for how much habitat loss may be tolerated for viable populations of specialised species to be maintained.
Policy-makers, businesses and managers pose questions about how to balance use of renewable forest resources and conserve biodiversity.
Examples are presented on how biodiversity assessments can be made.
Proposes how the critical gaps in our knowledge identified throughout the book could be filled through macroecological research and international co-operation.

This open access book is an original contribution to the knowledge on fishing and research associated with one of the most enigmatic fish of our seas: bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (L.). Based on available evidence, it reconstructs the possible methods used to catch large spawners in the Strait of Gibraltar thousands of years ago and describes the much more recent overfishing that led to a great reduction in the catches of the trap fishery on the area and the disappearance of the northern European fisheries. It is the first book to relate the overfishing of juvenile fishes in certain areas to the decline of large spawners in other very distant areas, revealing one of the main underlying causes of this decline, which has remained a mystery to the fishing sector and scientists alike for over 50 years. This finding should serve to prevent similar cases from arising in the future.

Bats are highly charismatic and popular animals that are not only fascinating in their own right, but illustrate most of the topical and important concepts and issues in mammalian biology. This book covers the key aspects of bat biology, including evolution, flight, echolocation, hibernation, reproduction, feeding and roosting ecology, social behaviour, migration, population and community ecology, biogeography, and conservation.
This new edition is fully updated and greatly expanded throughout, maintaining the depth and scientific rigour of the first edition. It is written with infectious enthusiasm, and beautifully illustrated with drawings and colour photographs.

In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, we have often overlooked the elusive charm and magic of certain landscapes. A cloudy river flows into a verdant Arctic wetland where sandhill cranes and muskoxen dwell. Further south, cypress branches hang low over dismal swamps. Places like these–collectively known as swamplands or peatlands–often go unnoticed for their ecological splendor. They are as globally significant as rainforests, and function as critical carbon sinks for addressing our climate crisis. Yet, because of their reputation as wastelands, they are being systematically drained and degraded to make way for oilsands, mines, farms, and electricity. In Swamplands, journalist Edward Struzik celebrates these wild places, venturing into windswept bogs in Kauai and the last remnants of an ancient peatland in the Mojave Desert. The secrets of the swamp aren’t for the faint of heart. Ed loses a shoe to an Arctic wolf and finds himself ankle-deep in water during a lightning storm. But, the rewards are sweeter for the struggle: an enchanting Calypso orchid; an elusive yellow moth thought to be extinct; ancient animals preserved in lifelike condition down to the fur. Swamplands highlights the unappreciated struggle being waged to save peatlands by scientists, conservationists, and landowners around the world. An ode to peaty landscapes in all their offbeat glory, the book is also a demand for awareness of the myriad threats they face. It urges us to see the beauty and importance in these least likely of places. Our planet’s survival might depend on it.

Despite the wealth of natural historical research conducted on migration over decades, there is still a dearth of hypothesis-driven studies that fully integrate theory and empirical analyses to understand the causes and consequences of migration, and a taxonomic bias towards birds in much migration research. This book takes a comparative, integrated view of animal migration, linking evolution with ecology and management, theory with empirical research, and embracing all the major migratory taxa (including human pastoralists). The scope extends beyond the target organism to consider the ecosystem-level dynamics of migration. The emphasis is on exciting new research avenues that are now opening up, whether due to advances in our understanding of migration as a biological phenomenon or through the availability of a range of new technologies.
Broad themes that emerge include integrating migration into the broad spectrum of movement behavior, the need for a comparative and cross-taxonomic approach that considers migration at a range of temporal and spatial scales, and examination of the key roles of resource uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity in driving migratory behavior. The book identifies the potential for new tools to revolutionize the study of migration, including satellite-tracking technology, genomics, and modeling - all of which are linked to increasing computing power. We are now on the verge of a breakthrough in migration research, which is crucial given the multiple threats that face the conservation of migration as a phenomenon, including climate change.

This practical manual of freshwater ecology and conservation provides a state-of-the-art review of the approaches and techniques used to measure, monitor, and conserve freshwater ecosystems. It offers a single, comprehensive, and accessible synthesis of the vast amount of literature for freshwater ecology and conservation that is currently dispersed in manuals, toolkits, journals, handbooks, 'grey' literature, and websites. Successful conservation outcomes are ultimately built on a sound ecological framework in which every species must be assessed and understood at the individual, community, catchment and landscape level of interaction. For example, freshwater ecologists need to understand hydrochemical storages and fluxes, the physical systems influencing freshwaters at the catchment and landscape scale, and the spatial and temporal processes that maintain species assemblages and their dynamics. A thorough understanding of all these varied processes, and the techniques for studying them, is essential for the effective conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems.

Britain is home to fifteen species of breeding birds of prey, from the hedgerow-hopping Sparrowhawk to the breathtaking White-tailed Eagle. In this handsomely illustrated book, acclaimed British filmmaker and naturalist David Cobham offers unique and deeply personal insights into Britain's birds of prey and how they are faring today. He delves into the history of these magnificent birds and talks in depth with the scientists and conservationists who are striving to safeguard them. In doing so, he profiles the writers, poets and filmmakers who have done so much to change the public's perception of birds of prey. There are success stories--five birds of prey that were extinct have become reestablished with viable populations--but persecution is still rife. Featuring drawings by famed wildlife artist Bruce Pearson, this book reveals why we must cherish and celebrate our birds of prey, and why we neglect them at our peril.

This handbook is the most comprehensive and interdisciplinary work on marine conservation and fisheries management ever compiled. It is the first to bridge fisheries and marine conservation issues. Its innovative ideas, detailed case studies, and governance framework provide a global special perspective over time and treat problems in the high seas, community fisheries, industrial fishing, and the many interactions between use and non-use of the oceans. Its policy tools and ideas for overcoming the perennial problems of over fishing, habitat and biodiversity loss address the facts that many marine ecosystems are in decline and plagued by overexploitation due to unsustainable fishing practices. An outstanding feature of the book is the detailed case-studies on conservation practice and fisheries management from around the world. These case studies are combined with 'foundation' chapters that provide an overview of the state of the marine world and innovative and far reaching perspectives about how we can move forward to face present and future challenges.
The contributors include the world's leading fisheries scientists, economists, and managers. Ecosystem and incentive-based approaches are described and complemented by tools for cooperative, participatory solutions. Unique themes treated: fisher behavior and incentives for management beyond rights-based approaches; a synthesis of proposed 'solutions'; a framework for understanding and overcoming the critical determinants of the decline in fisheries, degradation of marine ecosystems, and poor socio-economic performance of many fishing communities; models for innovative policy instruments; a plan of action and adoption pathways to promote sustainable fishing practices globally.
Collectively, the handbook's many valuable contributions offer a way forward to both understanding and resolving the multifaceted problems facing the world's oceans.