A valuable and unique contribution both to environmental ethics and public policy analysis of the preservation of species question. Norton provides a critical overview of the range of thought on the issue, presents a new and comprehensive rationale for preservation of both species and ecosystems, and addresses policy issues.

Originally published in 1990.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The sustainable exploitation of the marine environment depends upon our capacity to develop systems of management with predictable outcomes. Unfortunately, marine ecosystems are highly dynamic and this property could conflict with the objective of sustainable exploitation. This book investigates the theory that the population and behavioural dynamics of predators at the upper end of marine food chains can be used to assist with management. Since these species integrate the dynamics of marine ecosystems across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, they offer new sources of information that can be formally used in setting management objectives. This book examines the current advances in the understanding of the ecology of marine predators and will investigate how information from these species could be used in management.

Invertebrate Conservation and Agricultural Ecosystems explores the diverse interests of invertebrate conservation and agricultural production. It is both an introduction to invertebrate conservation biology for agriculturists and an introduction to crop protection for conservation biologists, demonstrating how these two disparate fields may draw on each other for greater collective benefit. It draws on recent literature to show how invertebrate conservation in highly altered landscapes may be promoted and enhanced. The book deals with problems of, and approaches to, invertebrate conservation in highly managed agricultural ecosystems, and how biodiversity may be promoted without compromising agricultural production. It draws attention to the importance of invertebrates in agricultural systems and their role in ecosystem functions.

'A do-er, not a dreamer, Gow has become one of our most outspoken rewilders.' Countryfile Magazine 'In this warm and funny autobiography, [Gow] writes with a whimsical fluency about the moments of humour and pathos in an unusual life.' Country Life 'Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.' Guardian 'Courageous, visionary, funny.' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding Tearing down fences literally and metaphorically, Birds, Beasts and Bedlam recounts the adventures of Britain's most colourful rewilder, Derek Gow. How he raised a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, transported a raging bison bull across the UK, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat and restored the ancient white stork to the Knepp Estate with Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree. After a Shetland ewe captured a young Derek's heart, he grew up to become a farmer with a passion for ancient breeds. But when he realised how many of our species were close to extinction, even on his own land, he tore up his traditional Devon farm and transformed it into a rewilding haven for beavers, water voles, lynx, wildcats, harvest mice and more. Birds, Beasts and Bedlam is the story of a rewilding maverick and his single-minded mission to save our wildlife.

No species occurs everywhere. Indeed, the majority are absent from most places, and where they do occur they are usually quite rare. Gaston discusses the structure of these distributions - the structure of the geographic ranges of species.
Gaston is particularly concerned with the factors that determine the limits to a species' geographic range, how the sizes of those ranges vary, and patterns in that variation. Also considered are the distribution of individuals amongst those sites where a species does occur and what determines that distribution, and some of the practical implications of all these.
Both in a pure and applied context, ecologists need a broader perspective on their subject matter than has historically prevailed. This book provides one such perspective.
A must have book for any researchers and graduate students studying macroecology, biogeography and conservation biology.

Reproductive mechanisms are well understood in only a handful of vertebrate species, mostly domestic livestock and laboratory animals. This means that attempts to develop and implement management policies for wildlife conservation of endangered species are often based on poor data or no data at all. In Reproductive Sciences and Integrated Conservation, leading authorities examine reproductive diversity in fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals. They review the many factors that influence reproduction--including genetics, behavior and nutrition--and assess the potential conservation relevance of the recent rapid advances in reproductive technology and medicine.

Reproductive mechanisms are well understood in only a handful of vertebrate species, mostly domestic livestock and laboratory animals. This means that attempts to develop and implement management policies for wildlife conservation of endangered species are often based on poor data or no data at all. In Reproductive Sciences and Integrated Conservation, leading authorities examine reproductive diversity in fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals. They review the many factors that influence reproduction--including genetics, behavior and nutrition--and assess the potential conservation relevance of the recent rapid advances in reproductive technology and medicine.

Reliable information is the foundation upon which local, national and international conservation efforts are based, placing research at the heart of biodiversity conservation. The fundamental role of research is diverse and includes understanding the importance of biodiversity, defining 'units' of biodiversity, priority-setting for species and sites, managing endangered and declining populations, understanding large-scale processes, making predictions about the future, and interfacing with training, education, public awareness and policy initiatives. Using real examples, researchers consider the principles underlying these manifold issues and illustrate how these principles have been applied to address actual conservation problems.

This beautifully illustrated textbook introduces students to conservation biology by taking the reader on a tour of the many and varied ecosystems of our planet, providing a setting in which to explore the factors that have led to the alarming loss of biodiversity. In particular, the fundamental problems of habitat loss and fragmentation, habitat disturbance and the non-sustainable exploitation of species in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are explored. The methods that have been developed to address these problems from the most traditional forms of conservation to new approaches at genetic to landscape scales are then discussed, showing how science can be put into practice.

This book brings together international experts to examine interactions between the biology of wildlife and the divergent goals of people involved in hunting, fishing, gathering, and culling wildlife. Reviews of theory show how sustainable exploitation is tied to the study of population dynamics, with direct links to reproductive rates, life histories, behavior, and ecology. As such theory is rarely put into practice to achieve sustainable use and effective conservation, Conservation of Exploited Species explores the many reasons for this failure and considers remedies to tackle them.

It is now more than ten years since Bruce Brown began the Olympic Peninsula wanderings that led him to write this powerful account of how greed, indifference and environmental mismanagement have threatened the survival of the wild Pacific salmon and, as a result, the region's ecology and its people. Acclaimed by critics who likened it to Coming Into the Country by John McPhee and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Mountain in the Clouds has become a classic of natural history. As the struggle to protect Northwest salmon runs and the urgency of the fight against environmental deterioration escalates, Mountain in the Clouds remains an important and illuminating story, as timely now as when it was first written.

The ability of species to migrate has interested ecologists for many years. Now that so many species and ecosystems face major environmental change, the ability of species to adapt to these changes by dispersing, migrating, or moving between different patches of habitat can be crucial to ensuring their survival. This book provides a timely and wide-ranging overview of the study of dispersal and incorporates much of the latest research. The causes, mechanisms, and consequences of dispersal at the individual, population, species and community levels are considered. The potential of new techniques and models for studying dispersal, drawn from molecular biology and demography, is also explored. Perspectives and insights are offered from the fields of evolution, conservation biology and genetics. Throughout the book, theoretical approaches are combined with empirical data, and care has been taken to include examples from as wide a range of species as possible.

The conservation movement is moving rapidly away from traditional "protectionist" approaches toward nature to more integrated views of wildlife and landscape conservation. This volume reviews modern conservation approaches as they relate to mammals. A team of researchers and conservationists provide focused perspectives on preservation, such as the role of mammals within the conservation movement, how priorities should be set, allocation of funds, and promising techniques and approaches for future mammal protection. In addition, issues of broader conservation relevance are highlighted, including the integration of species and biodiversity approaches, the role of "flagship species," and the need for holistic conservation models in the wider context of society and government.

What hope remains for Africa's black rhinos? This book addresses that question by mixing local people and attitudes with biology and adventure, while describing the challenges of doing ecological fieldwork in a difficult setting, accompanied by a small child. It moves beyond typical nature studies by featuring real world components of conservation - the delicate mix of western and economic influences, and personal commitment.

This book explores the politics of wildlife conservation policy in Africa, specifically Zambia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. The book addresses a general question: Why don't wildlife policies seem to be working? Rather than use standard explanations such as "bureaucratic inefficiency" or "corrupt dictators," the book demonstrates how politicians at all levels use wildlife policy for their own political ends, which may or may not include conservation. The book uses electoral and archival data, as well as interviews with individuals ranging from presidents to poachers to address this issue.

Although wildlife fascinates citizens of industrialized countries, little is known about the politics of wildlife policy in Africa. In this innovative book, Clark Gibson challenges the rhetoric of television documentaries and conservation organizations to explore the politics behind the creation and change of wildlife policy in Africa. This book examines what Clark views as a central puzzle in the debate: Why do African governments create policies that apparently fail to protect wildlife? Moving beyond explanations of bureaucratic inefficiency and corrupt dictatorships, Gibson argues that biologically disastrous policies are retained because they meet the distributive goals of politicians and bureaucrats. Using evidence from Zambia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, Gibson shows how institutions encourage politicians and bureaucrats to construct wildlife policies that further their own interests. Different configurations of electoral laws, legislatures, party structures, interest groups, and traditional authorities in each country shape the choices of policymakers - many of which are not consonant with conservation. This book will appeal to students of institutions, comparative politics, natural resource policymaking, African politics, and wildlife conservationists.

"I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer," John Muir wrote. "Civilization and fever and all the morbidness that has been hooted at me has not dimmed my glacial eye, and I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature's loveliness. My own special self is nothing."
In Donald Worster's magisterial biography, John Muir's "special self" is fully explored as is his extraordinary ability, then and now, to get others to see the sacred beauty of the natural world. A Passion for Nature is the most complete account of the great conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club ever written. It is the first to be based on Muir's full private correspondence and to meet modern scholarly standards. Yet it is also full of rich detail and personal anecdote, uncovering the complex inner life behind the legend of the solitary mountain man. It traces Muir from his boyhood in Scotland and frontier Wisconsin to his adult life in California right after the Civil War up to his death on the eve of World War I. It explores his marriage and family life, his relationship with his abusive father, his many friendships with the humble and famous (including Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson), and his role in founding the modern American conservation movement. Inspired by Muir's passion for the wilderness, Americans created a long and stunning list of national parks and wilderness areas, Yosemite most prominent among them. Yet the book also describes a Muir who was a successful fruit-grower, a talented scientist and world-traveler, a doting father and husband, a self-made man of wealth and political influence. A man for whom mountaineering was "a pathway to revelation and worship."
For anyone wishing to more fully understand America's first great environmentalist, and the enormous influence he still exerts today, Donald Worster's biography offers a wealth of insight into the passionate nature of a man whose passion for nature remains unsurpassed.

Bees play a vital and irreplaceable role in pollinating our flowers, fruits and vegetables. The more bees in your garden the healthier, more productive and more pleasant a place it will be. Yet bees are declining rapidly and many people, even if they do not wish to keep bees themselves, are asking what can be done on an individual basis to help the bee. This book is a response to that request. It will demonstrate in one accessible volume how each of us can play our part in providing a bee-friendly environment, no matter how much gardening space and/or time we may have. It includes: * How bees forage, what bees you can expect to find in your garden and what plants are best for them. * Why honey bees are so important; what they need to thrive and how they detect and access those requirements; and what varieties of plants are best suited to provide those needs. * How the gardener can offer and maintain a bee-friendly garden, followed by a season-by-season account of what beefriendly plants are in flower and when, and what jobs the gardener can be doing during these times to help bees thrive. * A gazetteer of selected bee-friendly plants, arranged by type of plant in seasonal sub-sections. * Illustrative, practical planting plans, including a culinary herb garden, a potager, a wild flower garden, and a 3 seasons traditional border.

Most animals are invertebrates, yet conservation managers and practitioners know very little about their biology, or how to study and survey them adequately in the field. Invertebrate Surveys for Conservation is a comprehensive guide to the ecological methods used to survey invertebrate animals in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. Containing practical advice and discussion on optimal sampling methods, and on how to interpret samples effectively for practical conservation assessment, this book will be an essential tool for anyone involved in conservation biology or ecology.

This book deals with the ecological effect a species can have when it moves into an environment that it has not previously occupied (commonly referred to as an `Invasion'). It is unique in presenting a clear and accessible introduction to a highly complex area - the modelling of biological invasions. The book presents the latest theories and models developed from studies into this crucial area. It includes data and examples from biological case studies showing how the models can be applied to the study of invasions.

As the human impact on the earth leads to ever increasing environmental degradation, the restoration of dwindling populations of numerous plant and animal species has become urgent. In this volume, contributors examine the conceptual, planning, and applied aspects of recovery of rare or endangered species. It is unique in its treatment of both plants and animals, and in its presentation of scientific approaches to implemented restorations. Experts report on the restoration efforts and plans for the restoration of a wide variety of species including the dune thistle, lakeside daisy, woodland caribou, kit fox, and black-footed ferret and end with a broad overview, suggesting future opportunities and problems.

This book is a unique collection of evolutionary and ecological perspectives in the study of biodiversity by some of the leading researchers in the field. The seventeen chapters are divided into three sections, each section beginning with an overview of its contents. The book traces past landmarks, current questions, and future trends in biodiversity reseach ranging from the evaluation of the fossil record and molecular phylogenies in untangling the genesis of diversity; to population, community, and ecosystem-level approaches in understanding patterns of species persistence; and finally to large-scale diversity patterns and species conservation. Subject reviews, case-studies, and discussions of techniques are combined to produce a state-of-the-art book.

As it becomes ever more expensive to purchase land for conservation purposes, it is becoming increasingly important both to manage existing sites properly and to create new habitats. This comprehensive volume provides a pragmatic, habitat-by-habitat guide to conservation management, in which the prescriptions and methods are based on sound science coupled with practical experience. For each habitat, the book guides the reader through the options and solutions, highlights potential problems, and gives good and bad examples of habitat management in the past. This will be required reading for all practicing ecologists, land managers, wardens, landscape architects and conservationists, and will provide a valuable reference for students of ecology, conservation and environmental science.

This book describes the natural processes that must be understood in order to manage and protect the Earth's biological diversity. The author begins with a clear definition of biological diversity and a summary of the types of diversity patterns found on Earth. Next he lays out a scientific framework for understanding the complex array of diversity patterns, including the distribution of rare species to landscape patterns visible from space. Many fascinating case studies of coral reefs, fire-maintained shrublands, prairies, and tropical rain forests illustrate the theories and models described in this book, including such fundamental issues as endemism, invasions, and extinction in temperate, tropical, and marine ecosystems.