Whales and dolphins are icons for the conservation movement. They are the most conspicuous ambassadors for entire marine ecosystems and possibly even for the biosphere as a whole. Concurrent with our realisation of impending threats to their environment is a growing scientific understanding of the social and cognitive complexity of many of these species. This book brings together experts in the relevant diverse fields of cetacean research, to provide authoritative descriptions of our current knowledge of the complex behaviour and social organization of whales and dolphins. The authors consider this new information in the context of how different human cultures from around the world view cetaceans and their protection, including attitudes to whaling. They show how new information on issues such as cetacean intelligence, culture and the ability to suffer, warrants a significant shift in global perceptions of this group of animals and how these changes might be facilitated to improve conservation and welfare approaches.

A plague is spreading throughout the Florida Everglades. Nonnative Burmese pythons--one of the largest snakes on the planet--are now known to be reproducing freely in the shallow waters of the famed River of Grass. And though scientists work feverishly to learn as much as possible about this unprecedented invader, methods of control remain elusive.

This book challenges the assumption that humans generally treat all animal species equally according to their need of conservation. Recent studies suggest that humans show strong preferences toward particular animal species/taxa and are willing to protect them more than others. Such understanding of human preferences is an important part of conservation strategies. Special attention has to be paid to less preferred, but endangered species. Fortunately, the highly preferred species are present in almost every family and also among threatened species. Thus, the zoos can replace preferred but common species by endangered one that meets both, conservation as well as visitor's aesthetic criteria.

This is an illustrated book that points out wildlife crimes conducted in India -- it shows how poachers work, their mechanisms and how officials can control and curb wildlife crime -- which accounts for a shockingly large percentage of illegal trade and crime in the world.

After years of working with landowners, land managers, naturalists, county officials, and others about wildlife management and land stewardship for birds in the Texas Hill Country, biologist Rufus Stephens and educator Jan Wrede teamed up to write a practical guidebook on how to improve habitat for birds on both small and large properties throughout the Hill Country. Because each bird species has specific needs for cover, food, water, nesting, and rearing their young, the book is organized by Hill Country habitat types: wooded slopes and savannahs; grasslands; rivers and creeks; canyons, seeps, and springs; tanks and ponds; plus residential backyards. Each chapter contains an in-depth discussion of common problems and possible solutions for developing optimum habitat. Th e book showcases 107 species in their habitats with color photographs and a short descriptive account of how to know the bird and care for its habitat. Three additional chapters on predator control, deer management, and cedar management off er detailed information on these special issues that impact the presence of birds throughout the region. As a comprehensive guide to habitat assessment, identification of birds and the habitats they use, plus stewardship practices that will benefit these birds, Attracting Birds in the Texas Hill Country offers landowners the ideal "how to manual" for writing an effective Wildlife Tax Valuation plan. By helping readers recognize and evaluate habitat health and then use appropriate habitat enhancement practices, the authors hope to inspire and enable widespread and effective bird conservation in the Texas Hill Country. And as bird populations flourish, so do the populations of other wildlife.

In this tribute to a pioneer conservationist, Duane M. Leach celebrates the life of an exceptional ranch manager on a legendary Texas ranch, a visionary for wildlife and modern ranch management, and an extraordinarily dedicated and generous man. Caesar Kleberg went to work on the King Ranch in 1900. For almost thirty years he oversaw the operations of the sprawling Norias division, a vast acreage in South Texas where he came to appreciate the importance of rangeland not only for cattle but also for wildlife. Creating a wildlife management and conservation initiative far ahead of its time, Kleberg established strict hunting rules and a program of enlightened habitat restoration. Because of his efforts and foresight, by his death in 1946 there were more white-tailed deer, wild turkey, bobwhite quail, javelinas, and mourning dove on the King Ranch than in the rest of the state. Kleberg's legacy lives on at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville, where a research program he helped foundhas gained recognition far beyond the pastures of Norias.

The surface of dry or wet asphalt roads reflect partially linearly polarised light, the degree of linear polarisation of which depends on the darkness and roughness of asphalt: the darker and/or the smoother the asphalt, the higher the p of light reflected from it. If the asphalt is sunlit and the direction of view is parallel to the solar-antisolar meridian, then the direction of polarisation of asphalt-reflected light is horizontal. In this case the asphalt surface can attract water-seeking aquatic insects, because they detect water by means of the horizontal polarisation of light reflected from the water surface. This phenomenon is called positive polarotaxis. This book proposes the use of these remedies on asphalt roads running near emergence sites of endangered aquatic insects, especially in the vicinity of wetlands, rivers and lakes.

Coral reefs are ancient and extremely complex communities functioning as a single unit. They are the 'rain forests of the sea,' containing the richest biodiversity of all marine ecosystems. This book examines the biological aspects of coral reefs and the importance of their existence. Environmental threats to coral reefs are reviewed (i.e., global warming, overfishing), and ways in which the coral reef ecosystem can be restored are also discussed. Marine ornamental fish play an extremely important role today in the international fish trade. The data on breeding and rearing protocols for some of these high value marine ornamental species are reviewed. Phototrophic dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae and their possible role in coral reef management are also described. Furthermore, the causes of reef damage such as destructive fishing methods are examined. Other examples of adverse human impacts on coral reef sustainability, such as over-fishing, are also reviewed. It is suggested that coral calcification is closely coupled with carbon dioxide in seawater. This book describes the impact of anthropogenic surface ocean acidification with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral calcification. In addition, changes of caspases in the brains of hypoxic fish are examined by comparing a coral reef with a freshwater teleost. This book also provides a basic knowledge of tsunami effects on coral reefs to aid in the future evaluations of coral damage by tsunamis.

"Red Panda: Biology and Conservation of the First Panda" provides a broad-based overview of the biology of the red panda, "Ailurus fulgens." A carnivore that feeds almost entirely on vegetable material and is colored chestnut red, chocolate brown and cream rather than the expected black and white. This book gathers all the information that is available on the red panda both from the field and captivity as well as from cultural aspects, and attempts to answer that most fundamental of questions, "What is a red panda?" Scientists have long focused on the red panda s controversial taxonomy. Is it in fact an Old World procyonid, a very strange bear or simply a panda? All of these hypotheses are addressed in an attempt to classify a unique species and provide an in-depth look at the scientific and conservation-based issues urgently facing the red panda today.

"Red Panda" not only presents an overview of the current state of our knowledge about this intriguing species but it is also intended to bring the red panda out of obscurity and into the spotlight of public attention.
Wide-ranging account of the red panda ("Ailurus fulgens") covers all the information that is available on this species both in and ex situDiscusses the status of the species in the wild, examines how human activities impact on their habitat, and develops projections to translate this in terms of overall panda numbersReports on status in the wild, looks at conservation issues and considers the future of this unique speciesIncludes contributions from long-standing red panda experts as well as those specializing in fields involving cutting-edge red panda research."

In her wise and elegant new book, Jane Goodall blends her experience in nature with her enthusiasm for botany to give readers a deeper understanding of the world around us. Long before her work with chimpanzees, Goodall's passion for the natural world sprouted in the backyard of her childhood home in England, where she climbed her beech tree and made elderberry wine with her grandmother. The garden her family began then, she continues to enjoy today. SEEDS OF HOPE takes us from England to Goodall's home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as places where hope for plants can be found, such as The Millennium Seed Bank, where one billion seeds are preserved. She shows us the secret world of plants with all their mysteries and potential for healing our bodies as well as Planet Earth. Looking at the world as an adventurer, scientist, and devotee of sustainable foods and gardening-and setting forth simple goals we can all take to protect the plants around us-Jane Goodall delivers an enlightening story of the wonders we can find in our own backyards.

Regardless of the word "balance" being used either globally or locally in any given context, it is undoubtedly the keyword in the increasing number of environmental problems. The underlined sketch is a proper introduction to the question: Why are the environmental problems being focused on now? One particular answer can be found in a hierarchy of the main scientific problems for the 21st century as seen by the community mostly consisting of physicists and biologists. According to them, in the 21st century the world of scientific community will be occupied by the problems linked to superconductivity, quantum teleology, modelling living structures and environmental problems that are primarily expressed through the problem of climate changes. A unique characteristic of these problems is their close connection with the questions of different aspects of the existence of individual human being, i.e., the questions of technological capability, origin of the consciousness and survival on the Earth. Based on own experience and knowledge of scientists, accumulated from their recent environmentally oriented projects, this book covers, for the first time, the complex field of fundamental scientific methodologies, modelling and measurements in environmental and linking sciences. The first part of the book comprises the following points: modelling transverse turbulent mixing in a shallow flow, new approaches in modelling of natural complex systems, modelling of forest-atmosphere interaction, modelling of the advection term in the equations of motion, dynamics of coupled interactions of natural complex systems, calculation of albedo over heterogeneous environmental interfaces and regional climate modelling. In the second part are considered vertical mixing schemes for chemical transport models, locating the source of air pollution using inverse modelling techniques, aggregating the albedo in mountain regions, deposition of heavy metals by moss biomonitoring technique, spectral UV radiation measurement and modelling, measurements of atmospheric ammonia over grassland and measurements evaporation over short vegetation. The third part is devoted to climate change impacts and adaptation options of vulnerable agriculture in different aspects, prediction of plant diseases appearance as well as spatial climatic analogy and adaptive knowledge transfer.

Changes in seasonal movements and population dynamics of migratory birds in response to ongoing changes resulting from global climate changes are a topic of great interest to conservation scientists and birdwatchers around the world. Because of their dependence on specific habitats and resources in different geographic regions at different phases of their annual cycle, migratory species are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In "Bird Migration and Global Change," eminent ecologist George W. Cox brings his extensive experience as a scientist and bird enthusiast to bear in evaluating the capacity of migratory birds to adapt to the challenges of a changing climate. Cox reviews, synthesizes, and interprets recent and emerging science on the subject, beginning with a discussion of climate change and its effect on habitat, and followed by eleven chapters that examine responses of bird types across all regions of the globe. The final four chapters address the evolutionary capacity of birds, and consider how best to shape conservation strategies to protect migratory species in coming decades. The rate of climate change is faster now than at any other moment in recent geological history. How best to manage migratory birds to deal with this challenge is a major conservation issue, and "Bird Migration and Global Change" is a unique and timely contribution to the literature.

This book summarizes current advances in our understanding of how infectious disease represents an ecological interaction between a pathogenic microorganism and the host species in which that microbe causes illness. The contributing authors explain that pathogenic microorganisms often also have broader ecological connections, which can include a natural environmental presence; possible transmission by vehicles such as air, water, and food; and interactions with other host species, including vectors for which the microbe either may or may not be pathogenic. This field of science has been dubbed disease ecology, and the chapters that examine it have been grouped into three sections. The first section introduces both the role of biological community interactions and the impact of biodiversity on infectious disease. In turn, the second section considers those diseases directly affecting humans, with a focus on waterborne and foodborne illnesses, while also examining the critical aspect of microbial biofilms. Lastly, the third section presents the ecology of infectious diseases from the perspective of their impact on mammalian livestock and wildlife as well as on humans. Given its breadth of coverage, the volume offers a valuable resource for microbial ecologists and biomedical scientists alike.

Insects inhabiting agricultural landscapes are important for crop production as they serve as pollinators or pest-controllers. However, their occurrence in agricultural land is limited mostly to patchily distributed remnants of semi-natural grasslands, field boundaries, ditch or forest edges. Furthermore, insect conservation is relatively ignored in comparison with the so-called charismatic megafauna, yet insects are of paramount importance for the long-term sustainability of most terrestrial ecosystems. This book calls attention to these detrimental management regimes which are actively damaging woods, soil and the associated biodiversity of insects. Artificial neural networks (ANN) structures are examined, as well as how they work, and how they can be applied to the increasing amount of data on the distribution and habitats of invasive pest species. The recommended habitat management for conserving the butterfly populations in the event of natural disturbances is also explored. The factors which affect the butterfly species in abandoned fields, and how abandoned fields contribute to the number of species at the landscape scale are looked at as well.

In the last two decades, as a result of the limitations of protected areas in providing habitat for many wildlife species, efforts have shifted to studying wildlife conservation in human-dominated landscapes. The present study was carried out in the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, Costa Rica. The corridor encompasses 55 rural communities with more than 10,000 people. Deforestation and development are the main threats to biodiversity in the region. The main objective of this study was to estimate the contribution of ten habitat types: forested areas, agroforestry systems, and other human-dominated land uses on the conservation of bird species in the corridor.

National Parks (NPs) are mainly designed to protect the remaining "wilderness" of a given country and have primarily focused on the conservation of extraordinary areas or emblematic species. National parks have many roles among which "preserving nature" has become a matter of considerable social, political, economical and scientific concern. One of the major problems concerning National Parks is how to preserve their landscapes and biodiversity. While the diversity of plants and animals can be experimentally assessed, their protection involves the maintenance of their ecosystems and periodic monitoring. Any change in an environment can certainly have some effect on the plants and animals living there and so, the consequences of changes at a variety of scales is hard to predict although variations often lead to a reduction or homogenisation of animal and plant diversity. In the long run, the positive role played by National Parks for nature conservation and tourism will be maintained if we ensure that social, economic and environmental goals are closely aligned. This new important book gathers the latest research in this field.

In recent decades, there has been an increased need to understand ecosystems in order to be able to manage them for conservation and sustainable use. Yet examples of how research directly supports conservation are rare. This book examines the impact of disturbance, specifically habitat fragmentation and forest harvesting in national parks. This book also presents the results of observations of bulk deposition and its physico-chemical properties in national parks in Poland and tries to identify tendencies of change in its composition. In addition, research on Uganda's forest and savanna parks are reviewed, stimulating thinking about what kind of research is of value in guiding conservation actions. Over the past several decades, a highly polarised debate has emerged in the conservation literature about whether national parks in lesser developed countries should follow the "Yellowstone model" of strict protection or whether new types of national park should be developed. The authors of this book assess the U.S. national park experience and ways in which to balance people's needs and desires with nature protection in national parks. Other chapters in this book examine the abundance and diversity of vertebrate fauna in national parks in India, the roles of rhodolith beds and their impact in the marine national parks of the Gulf of California management, the impacts of multiple or extreme storms on national seashores, and the impact of invasive plant species on biodiversity and ecological integrity of national parks.

Between fiscal years 2002 and 2007, the refuge system experienced funding and staffing level fluctuations, the introduction of several new policy initiatives, and the increased influence of external factors such as extreme weather that threaten wildlife habitat and visitor infrastructure. Although core funding -- measured as obligations for refuge operations, maintenance, and fire management -- increased each year, inflation-adjusted core funding peaked in fiscal year 2003 at about $391 million -- 6.8 percent above fiscal year 2002 funding. Inflation-adjusted core funding ended the period 2.3 percent below peak levels, but 4.3 percent above fiscal year 2002 levels by fiscal year 2007. Core refuge staffing levels peaked in fiscal year 2004 at 3,610 full-time equivalents -- 10.0 percent above the fiscal year 2002 level -- and then declined more slowly than funding levels. By fiscal year 2007, staffing levels fell to 4.0 percent below peak levels, but 5.5 percent above fiscal year 2002 levels. Through fiscal year 2007, the number of permanent employees utilised by the refuge system declined to 7.5 percent below peak levels. During this period, refuge system officials initiated new policies that: (1) reduced staff positions and reallocated funds and staff among refuges to better align staff levels with funding; (2) required refuge staff to focus on a legislative mandate to complete refuge conservation plans by 2012; (3) shifted to constructing a larger number of smaller visitor structures, such as informational kiosks, and fewer large visitor centres to spread visitor service funds across more refuges; (4) increased the number of full-time law enforcement officers and their associated training and experience requirements; and (5) resulted in additional administrative work. During this period, external factors that complicate refuge staffs' ability to protect and restore habitat quality also increased, including severe storms and development around refuges.

The US National Wildlife Refuge System was created by Executive Order On March 14, 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the country's first wildlife refuge on Florida's central Atlantic coast C the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). From its modest beginning on Pelican Island the Refuge System has expanded into a network of over 550 distinct units that encompasses over 95 million acres. Alaska contains approximately 76.8 million acres of refuge lands, or about 80% of the land in the total system. To accomplish its mission the Refuge System finalised a strategic plan in early 2007 that contains twelve strategic outcome goals (SOGs). These goals cover the areas of habitat and wildlife conservation, wildlife dependent recreation, law 1 National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997; Public Law 105 57 enforcement, fire management, welcoming and orienting visitors, wilderness management, conservation planning, infrastructure and equipment maintenance, strategic growth and organisational excellence. The Refuge System is part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which is managed by the Department of Interior.

Large predators are among the most threatened species on the planet and ways of conserving them in the face of increasing human populations and associated resource requirements are becoming critical. This book draws upon the experiences of some of the world's foremost large carnivore specialists to discuss the numerous issues associated reintroducing large predators back into their natural habitats. Reviews of internationally renowned reintroduction programs for wolves, European lynx and African wild dog reveal the successes and failures of these actions. Experts on tigers, snow leopards and jaguars contend that there are other conservation options of higher priority that will ensure their security in the long-term. Other experts discuss more theoretical aspects such as whether we know enough about these species to be able to predict their behavioural or ecological response to the reintroduction process. Social, economic, political and genetic considerations are also addressed.

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.

Following passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971, limits for the number of horses on each herd unit (referred to as Herd Management Areas or HMA's) were set. These limits or population goals are referred to as Appropriate Management Levels or AMLs. From 1980 and through the present, more active management reduced wild horse numbers closer to AMLs. Wild horse numbers were reduced to about 40,000 by 1999 and to about 37,186 wild horses in 2003, prior to the foaling season. Some 203 HMAs are managed by the BLM across the Western U.S. The responsibility of monitoring range conditions; allocating range resources between horses, livestock, and wildlife; monitoring horse and burro numbers and managing their population levels represents a large federal management responsibility. The number of animals in most herds are counted or estimated every three to four years, in order to plan for any gathers, and adoptions. Herd management activities, such as gathers and removals, take place for most herd areas every four years.