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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Conservation of the environment > Conservation of wildlife & habitats > General
John Bassi has dedicated most of his life to the plight of wildlife in Africa. Raised in north eastern Zimbabwe, he was inspired by a life of living and working in wilderness areas throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Learning about the cruel realities of war and human greed, he made a vow to devote his life to protecting nature. Fuelled by a passion for wilderness and aviation, John Bassi embarked on a challenging and fascinating journey through the birth, growth and change of South Africa's game capture industry. Translocation projects, wildlife research, and veterinary and breeding projects expose him to the shape, form and movement of African wildlife on a daily basis. John specialised in operating helicopters and has become one of the leading game capture pilots and conservationists in the country. John has stood at the forefront of the industry and has accumulated over sixteen thousand hours of flying throughout Southern Africa. On the flip side, he has been witness to elements that hide commercial exploitation under the guise of conservation and he has seen the degradation of some of South Africa's pristine wilderness areas; an all too familiar sight echoing the ruin of his beloved Zimbabwe. John has incorporated his extensive knowledge and skill into providing a unique helicopter platform for wildlife research projects, large-scale anthrax vaccinating, aerial game censuses, radio tracking, ecological surveys, helicopter safaris, conservation education and everything else imaginable with regards to rotorcraft aviation. Inspiration gleaned from years of working hands-on with African wildlife is reflected in John's wild- life bronze sculptures, always in motion. John has written published articles on aviation, expeditions and conservation and, since February 2002, has been writing articles for the monthly aviation magazine SA Flyer. John Bassi's contribution to our natural heritage has been immeasurable, a legacy made all the more admirable considering how few possess the passion, expertise and empathy required to be an exceptional wildlife helicopter pilot.
The idea that a bird is good news and needs all our support is probably the only thing amateur birdos, professional zoologists and 'birdscapers'—people who redesign their gardens to support birdlife—have in common. But together they form a conservation community that cares about the future of birds and their habitats, who are working to heal the damage wrought by those who don't notice birds.What Birdo is That? reveals how bird-people in Australia have gone about their craft across the years. Its stories come from wild places — at sea as well as on the land—from dusty archives, from restoration projects, gardens and urban wastelands. They are human stories, but the birds themselves interject and interrupt any self-important anthropocentrism. They educate. They counter the imperialism of the ever-expanding economies of the new millennium. They turn up in unexpected places, giving surprise and joy. This field guide to Australia's bird-people provides a basis for understanding the complex relationship between people and birds in a land of extremes at the forefront of changing climate and habitats.
An elegant and faithful reproduction of a classic. Celebrated naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton was born in County Durham in 1860 and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy in London. He grew up in Toronto and from an early age his overriding passion was observation of the natural world. He spent countless hours in the woods discovering plants and fungi and quietly observing creatures of all sizes and species. He kept meticulous notes and drawings, building “an accurate account of the creature’s ways, habits, changing whims, and emotions.†In his early 20s, Seton joined his brother on a homestead in Manitoba. He continued to dedicate himself to careful observation of animals in their element, and their relationships with humans, supporting himself through trapping and sales of his drawings and stories. Wild Animals I Have Known is a collection of short stories written by Seton about animals he encountered. It was published in 1898, selling out in three weeks and reprinted 28 times. It made Seton an instant celebrity and a popular lecturer. The book has been published in a dozen languages and has never been out of print, which speaks volumes about the popularity and appeal of this classic book. Wild Animals I Have Known opens with Seton’s most famous story, Lobo, The King of Currumpaw. It tells the true story of when Seton was hired by ranchers to trap Lobo, leader of a pack of wolves which over the years had killed dozens of sheep and cattle. The hunt was successful but the story tragic. Seton would later regret his actions, having recognized that the human desire to overcome the wild reveals the innate human desire to exist in harmony with nature. Lobo was key to Seton’s transformation into a conservationist, but while swearing off hunting he would defend his telling of nature’s brutality: “The fact that these stories are true is the reason why all are tragic. The life of a wild animal always has a tragic end.†Seton went on to write more than fifty books and hundreds of magazine articles, and delivered countless public lectures in the service of animal and habitat conservation. His stories established a moral connection between people and animals, and helped to change society’s consciousness about the treatment of animals and the natural environment. He lobbied for the creation of national parks and fought for protections for wildlife. Today he is remembered for Lobo but scarcely as one of the lead authors of wildlife conservation. The stories in Wild Animals I Have Known are illustrated with Seton’s original drawings as published in the first edition and bound in a fauxleather, embossed hardback binding — which will make this restored edition a fine gift. This lovely reproduction in the spirit of the original is an essential addition to personal and school libraries, all circulating collections and gift tables.
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
Tony Fitzjohn, part missionary, part madman, has been called "one
of the world's most endangered creatures." An internationally
renowned field expert on African wildlife, he is best known for the
eighteen years he spent helping "Born Free"'s George Adamson return
more than forty leopards and lions--including the celebrated
Christian--to the wild in central Kenya.
The Bahia Blanca Estuary is one of the largest coastal systems in Atlantic South America. This mesotidal estuary, situated in a sharp transition between humid subtropical and semiarid climates, has a unique combination of large interannual climatic variations. The estuarine area encompasses roughly 2300 square kilometers and is composed of wide expanses of intertidal flats, salt marshes, and emerged islands, which create intricate landscape patterns. Natural environments in the estuary sustain a high concentration of marine and terrestrial species, including endemic, threatened, and endangered fish and shorebirds. Puerto Cuatreros, in the inner zone of the estuary, hosts a permanent marine research station, whose records span more than 30 years of biophysical variables, and represent one of the largest time series of ecological data in South America. Beyond its ecological relevance, the Bahia Blanca Estuary is under increasing anthropogenic pressure from large urban settlements, industrial developments and harbors, raising the question of how to balance conservation and development. The Bahia Blanca Estuary: Ecology and Biodiversity offers a comprehensive review of life in the ecosystems of the estuary. The book is divided into five major sections, the first of which provides a description of the regional setting and covers key aspects of estuarine dynamics. The three following sections are dedicated to different habitat types and, within each section, the chapters are organized around major functional groups from pelagic and benthic environments. The fifth and final section covers issues related to management and conservation. Overall, the book provides essential and up-to-date reference material on the biodiversity and ecosystem processes of the Bahia Blanca Estuary, and will appeal to a broad international audience.
The Canary Islands is a popular destination for birders and travellers with an interest in wildlife and nature, and one of the best places in the world to see several scarce species such as the Houbara Bustard. They also hold a number of endemic birds that occur nowhere else, such as the emblematic Blue Chaffinch. This beautifully illustrated guide covers all the birds found in the islands, providing concise descriptions for easy identification and plates for easy identification of all species. It's the perfect guide for any visitor to these sun-kissed islands.
Winner of the 2014 Albert Corey Prize from the American Historical Association Winner of the 2013 Hal Rothman Award from the Western History Association Winner of the 2013 John Lyman Book Award in the Naval and Maritime Science and Technology category from the North American Society for Oceanic History For centuries, borders have been central to salmon management customs on the Salish Sea, but how those borders were drawn has had very different effects on the Northwest salmon fishery. Native peoples who fished the Salish Sea--which includes Puget Sound in Washington State, the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca--drew social and cultural borders around salmon fishing locations and found ways to administer the resource in a sustainable way. Nineteenth-century Euro-Americans, who drew the Anglo-American border along the forty-ninth parallel, took a very different approach and ignored the salmon's patterns and life cycle. As the canned salmon industry grew and more people moved into the region, class and ethnic relations changed. Soon illegal fishing, broken contracts, and fish piracy were endemic--conditions that contributed to rampant overfishing, social tensions, and international mistrust. The Nature of Borders is about the ecological effects of imposing cultural and political borders on this critical West Coast salmon fishery. This transnational history provides an understanding of the modern Pacific salmon crisis and is particularly instructive as salmon conservation practices increasingly approximate those of the pre-contact Native past. The Nature of Borders reorients borderlands studies toward the Canada-U.S. border and also provides a new view of how borders influenced fishing practices and related management efforts over time. Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ffLPgtCYHA&feature=channel_video_title
Glow-in-the-dark owls, eggs boiling in Icelandic hot pools, the gangster tactics of the devil's coach-horse beetle ... Eanna Ni Lamhna has seen them all! Eanna explores the wonders of our wild world, from a safari in Tanzania to the cloud forests of Costa Rica, from rat-hunting in Canada to whale watching in New Zealand. She draws on her experience as a diver to tell of face-to-face encounters with fascinating fan worms, elusive sea hares and a murderous crab, and rings the alarm bells on the environmental challenges facing us. Eanna also recounts with cheerful relish the pitfalls and delights of being a broadcaster and a scientist. Sure why would anyone want to be anything else?
"Yendegaia National Park" offers a visually spectacular tour of one of Earth's most remote and scenic national parks. In Chilean Patagonia on the grand island of Tierra del Fuego, the new park -- designated in 2014 -- was prompted by a donation of private land to the Chilean park system. When combined with adjacent federal land, the new protected area covers some 372,000 acres, and forms a habitat linkage between existing national parks in Chile and Argentina. Thus the new Yendegaia National Park has helped establish one of the planet's most significant trans-boundary protected areas, or "peace parks." During expeditions to Yendegaia in various seasons, renowned nature photographer Antonio Vizcaino captured the harsh beauty of a remote land at the end of the world where glacier-carved peaks, untamed rivers, windblown steppe, and Earth's southernmost forests combine to create a unique and stunningly beautiful landscape. For both armchair adventurers who dream of Patagonia and intrepid travelers planning a trip to Chile's national parks, "Yendegaia National Park" is a must-have.
The importance of fungal infections in both human and animals has increased over the last few decades. This book presents an overview of the different categories of fungal infections that can be encountered in animals (including lower vertebrates) originating from environmental sources with or without transmission to humans. In addition, the endemic infections with indirect transmission from the environment, the zoophilic fungal pathogens with near-direct transmission, the zoonotic fungi that can be directly transmitted from animals to humans, mycotoxicoses and antifungal resistance in animals will also be discussed. This book includes case studies and reviews the current state of knowledge on the mechanism of fungal attraction, recognition, infection, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and pathogenesis of nematophagous fungi. The book also covers diagnostics, fungal formulations, as well as prevention methods. It discusses strategies to access the fungal pathogen groups, metagenomic analyses, genomics, secretomics, metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics. In addition, pathogen description, understanding, distribution and recent research results are provided.
Tucked away in the northeastern corner of Alaska is one of the most contested landscapes in all of North America: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Considered sacred by Indigenous peoples in Alaska and Canada and treasured by environmentalists, the refuge provides life-sustaining habitat for caribou, polar bears, migratory birds, and other species. For decades, though, the fossil fuel industry and powerful politicians have sought to turn this unique ecosystem into an oil field. Defending the Arctic Refuge tells the improbable story of how the people fought back. At the center of the story is the unlikely figure of Lenny Kohm (1939-2014), a former jazz drummer and aspiring photographer who passionately committed himself to Arctic Refuge activism. With the aid of a trusty slide show, Kohm and representatives of the Gwich'in Nation traveled across the United States to mobilize grassroots opposition to oil drilling in the refuge. Together, images and Indigenous voices helped build a political movement that galvanized the citizenry and transformed the debate into a struggle for environmental justice. In a time of escalating climate change, species extinction, and threats to Indigenous lands and cultures, this book demonstrates the power of collective action to defend human rights and ecosystems and the ability of diverse alliances to take on multinational corporations and change the world.
This edited book, composed of chapters written by scholars of the geomatics-based, environmental and biological sciences, examines selected topics from the intersecting fields of geomatics (including remote sensing, geographical information science (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), mapping and field survey methods) and conservation biology (including ecology and conservation policy), with case studies from West Africa, Canada, India and Malaysia. The focus is on some of the more important issues that dominate current intersections between developments in geomatics technology and those of conservation biology. Chapter One examines the history and themes of geomatics and applications to conservation biology research. Chapter Two presents a case study of geomatics-based research on the vital issue of vulture ecology, extinction and conservation in Central India. Chapter Three examines the relationship between people and elephants in the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and its surroundings in India, and it creates habitat suitability models from geomatics techniques to assess and predict elephant presence and potential human-elephant conflicts. Chapter Four examines the history and status of remote sensing as an aspect of geomatics, focusing mainly on satellite imagery. Chapter Five looks at development in GIS and takes an example of multidirectional landcover change from the West African savanna. Chapter Six looks at developments in GPS technology, especially concerning applications to the micro-habitats of bird presence and applications to mammal behavior. Chapter Seven looks at the subfield of animal geography, which looks at the subjective behavior of individual animals and the technology used to measure these detailed phenomena. Chapter Eight takes a case study of bird migration and habitat utilization in the swamps of coastal Malaysia. Chapter Nine looks at the utility of dated aerial photographs and supporting field methods in the evaluation of historical landcover change, covering periods before the development of modern imaging techniques and using an example from the West African savanna. This book makes an important contribution to the intersections of geomatics and conservation biology.
This book addresses the multidisciplinary challenges in biodiversity conservation with a focus on wildlife crime and how forensic tools can be applied to protect species and preserve ecosystems. Illustrated by numerous case studies covering different geographical regions and species the book introduces to the fundamentals of biodiversity conflicts, outlines the unique challenges of wildlife crime scenes and reviews latest techniques in environmental forensics, such as DNA metagenomics. In addition, the volume explores the socio-economic perspective of biodiversity protection and provides an overview of national and international conservation laws. The field of conservation medicine stresses the importance of recognizing that human health, animal health, and ecosystem health are inextricably interdependent and the book serves as important contribution towards achieving the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals, in particular SDG 15, Life on Land. The book addresses graduate students, scientists and veterinary professionals working in wildlife research and conservation biology.
Native only to the California Channel Islands, the island fox is the smallest canid in North America. Populations on four of the islands were threatened to extinction in the 1990s due to human-mediated predation and disease. This is the first account of the natural history and ecology of the island fox, illustrating both the vulnerability of island ecosystems and the efficacy of cooperative conservation measures. It explains in detail the intense conservation actions required to recover fox populations, such as captive breeding and reintroduction, and large-scale ecosystem manipulation. These actions were successful due in large part to extraordinary collaboration among the scientists, managers and public advocates involved in the recovery effort. The book also examines the role of some aspects of island fox biology, characteristic of the 'island syndrome', in facilitating their recovery, including high productivity and an apparent adaptation to periodic genetic bottlenecks.
'Essential reading for anybody who cares about the future' Henry Marsh, *New Statesman Books of the Year* A radical examination of Britain's relationship with the land by one of our greatest nature writers. **SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT GOLDEN BEER BOOK PRIZE 2019** The British love their countryside more than almost any other nation, yet they live in one of the most denatured landscapes on Earth. From the flatlands of Norfolk to the tundra-like expanse of the Flow Country in northern Scotland, Mark Cocker sets out on a personal quest through the British countryside attempting to solve this puzzle. Radical, provocative and original, Our Place tackles some of the central issues of our time whilst mapping out a future in which this overcrowded island of ours could be a place fit not just for human occupants but also for its billions of wild citizens. 'A tour de force... By turns hopeful, melancholy, humorous and heartfelt' BBC Wildlife Book of the Month
The species-area relationship (SAR) describes a range of related phenomena that are fundamental to the study of biogeography, macroecology and community ecology. While the subject of ongoing debate for a century, surprisingly, no previous book has focused specifically on the SAR. This volume addresses this shortfall by providing a synthesis of the development of SAR typologies and theory, as well as empirical research and application to biodiversity conservation problems. It also includes a compilation of recent advances in SAR research, comprising novel SAR-related theories and findings from the leading authors in the field. The chapters feature specific knowledge relating to terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms, ensuring a comprehensive volume relevant to a wide range of fields, with a mix of review and novel material and with clear recommendations for further research and application.
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