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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Conservation of the environment > Conservation of wildlife & habitats > General
The book presents a collection of large-scale network-modeling
studies on coastal systems in Latin America. It includes a novel
description of the functioning of coastal complex ecosystems and
also predicts how natural and human-made disturbances percolate
through the networks. Coastal areas belong to the most populated
ecosystems around the globe, and are massively influenced by human
impacts such as shipping, mining, fisheries, tourism, pollution and
human settlements. Even though many of these activities have
facilitated socio-economic development, they have also caused a
significant deterioration in natural populations, communities and
ecosystems worldwide. Covering coastal marine ecosystems of Latin
America such as the NE and SE Pacific, NW Atlantic and Caribbean
areas, it discusses the construction of quantitative
(Ecopath-Ecosim-Ecospace and Centrality of Node Sets) and
semi-quantitative (Loop Analysis) multispecies trophic-network
models to describe and assess the impacts of natural and human
interventions like pelagic and benthic fishing as well as natural
events such as El Nino, and La Nina. The book also features steady
state (and/or near moving equilibrium) and dynamical models to
support the management of exploited organisms, and applies and
quantifies macroscopic indices, based on Ascendency (Ulanowicz) and
Local Stability (Levins Loop Analysis). Further, it discusses the
determination of the Keystone Species Complex Index, which is a
holistic extension of the classical concept of Keystone Species
(Paine), offering novel strategies for conservation monitoring and
management.
Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) comprise 12 species of leaf-eating
New World monkeys that range from southern Mexico through northern
Argentina. This genus is the most widespread of any New World
primate and can be found to inhabit a range of forest types from
undisturbed rainforest to severely anthropogenically-impacted
forest fragments. Although there have been many studies on
individual species of howler monkeys, this book is the first
comprehensive volume that places information on howler behavior and
biology within a theoretical framework of ecological and social
adaptability. This is the first of two companion volumes devoted to
the genus Alouatta. This volume: * Provides new and original
empirical and theoretical research on howler monkeys * Presents
evolutionary and adaptive explanations for the ecological success
of howler monkeys * Examines howler behavior and ecology within a
comparative framework These goals are achieved in a collection of
chapters written by a distinguished group of scientists on the
evolutionary history, paleontology, taxonomy, genetics, morphology,
physiology, and anatomy of howlers. The volume also contains
chapters on howlers as vectors of infectious diseases,
ethnoprimatology, and conservation.
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Solo
(Paperback)
Dick Anderson
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R519
R436
Discovery Miles 4 360
Save R83 (16%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The lake charr Salvelinus namaycush is a ubiquitous member of
cold-water lake ecosystems in previously glaciated regions of
northern continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada that often support
important commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. The
lake charr differs from other charrs by its large size, longevity,
iteroparity, top-predator specialization, reduced sexual
dimorphism, prevalence of lacustrine spawning, and use of deepwater
habitat. The species is remarkably variable in phenotype,
physiology, and life history, some of which is reflected in its
ecology and genetics, with as many as four morphs or ecotypes
co-occurring in a single lake. The lake charr is often the top
predator in these systems, but is highly adaptable trophically, and
is frequently planktivorous in small lakes. The lake charr by their
name highlights their common habitat, lakes both large and small,
but often frequents rivers and occasionally moves into the Arctic
Ocean. Movement and behaviour of lake charr are motivated by access
to cool, well-oxygenated water, foraging opportunities, predator
avoidance, and reproduction. Owing to their broad distribution and
trophic level, the lake charr serves as a sentinel of anthropogenic
change. This volume will provide an up-to-date summary of what is
currently known about lake charr from distribution to genetics to
physiology to ecology. The book provides a compilation and
synthesis of available information on the lake charr, beginning
with an updated distribution and a revised treatment of the
paleoecology of the species. Understanding of ecological and
genetic diversity and movement and behaviour of the species has
advanced remarkably since the last major synthesis on the species
over 40 years ago. Mid-sections of the book provide detailed
accounts of the biology and life history of the species, and later
sections are devoted to threats to conservation and fishery
management practices used to ensure sustainability. A new standard
lake charr-specific terminology is also presented. The book will be
a valuable reference text for biologists around the world,
ecologists, and fishery managers, and of interest to the angling
public.
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A Tree for a Year
(Hardcover)
Ellen Dutton; Illustrated by Emily Hurst Pritchett
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R586
R481
Discovery Miles 4 810
Save R105 (18%)
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The population of the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor)
has drastically declined; this Asian leopard subspecies has
disappeared from some parts of its former range. Containing large
areas of potential habitats with leopard presence across almost all
of its provinces, Iran is known to be the last stronghold for the
Persian leopard in the region. This book comprehensively covers
research, management and conservation practices of the Persian
leopard, including: * The first phase of the Persian Leopard
National Action Plan in Iran together with an innovative leopard
insurance program and a contingent valuation practice with respect
to the wildlife trafficking law enforcement in Iran * Research on a
hypothesis about the risk of a major fragmentation and splitting
the leopard distribution range in Iran into a northern and a
southern parts * An innovative and empirically fitted species- and
region-specific approach for assessing the cumulative effect of
land use and land cover changes on the leopard persistence *
Distribution modeling of leopard potential habitats on a regional
basis, accompanied by ground validation techniques * An evaluation
to three threshold rules to define the habitat suitability indices
* Persian leopard habitats and relative corridors in the
trans-boundary areas of the East Azarbaijan province of the
northwest of Iran in the Caucasus Ecoregion. The innovative
research and conservation approaches presented in this book will be
of great interest to those studying the leopard and other large
carnivore species. The innovative models presented in this book
about cumulative effect of the land use and land cover changes will
be beneficial to land use managers, planners and decision makers in
selecting wildlife friendly solutions for development programs. The
strategic and action planning model as well as the leopard
compensation program as an insurance scheme are developed
specifically for the local condition and leopard status in Iran.
We are witnessing an alarming, global biodiversity crisis with an
ongoing loss of species and their habitats. In response, a number
of tools and approaches - including some that are contested - are
being explored and promoted. Biodiversity offsets are one such
approach, and deserve critical examination since the debate
surrounding them has often been oversimplified and lacking
practical evidence. As such, this study presents a refined typology
including seven types of biodiversity offsets and taking into
account different contexts, governance arrangements and drivers. It
draws on a detailed analysis of theoretical concepts to explain the
voluntary implementation of biodiversity offsets using an
internet-based (netnographic) research approach. Furthermore it
builds on a broad global explorative base of 72 practical examples
and presents in-depth case studies for each type. The results
reveal a number of global tendencies that allow recommendations to
be made for different locations, contexts and stakeholders. They
also encourage the expansion of this research field to respond to
the pressing needs of policy and practice.
Notwithstanding the importance of modern technology, fieldwork
remains vital, not least through helping to inspire and educate the
next generation. Fieldwork has the ingredients of intellectual
curiosity, passion, rigour and engagement with the outdoor world -
to name just a few. You may be simply noting what you see around
you, making detailed records, or carrying out an experiment; all of
this and much more amounts to fieldwork. Being curious, you think
about the world around you, and through patient observation develop
and test ideas. Forty contributors capture the excitement and
importance of fieldwork through a wide variety of examples, from
urban graffiti to the Great Barrier Reef. Outdoor learning is for
life: people have the greatest respect and care for their world
when they have first-hand experience of it. The Editors are
donating all royalties due to them to the environmental charity,
The Field Studies Council, to support student fieldwork at the
Council's field centres.
The management and conservation of natural populations relies
heavily on concepts and results generated from models of population
dynamics. Yet this is the first book to present a unified and
coherent explanation of the underlying theory. This novel text
begins with a consideration of what makes a good state variable,
progressing from the simplest models (those with a single variable
such as abundance or biomass) to more complex models with other key
variables of population structure (including age, size, life
history stage, and space). Throughout the book, attention is paid
to concepts such as population variability, population stability,
population viability/persistence, and harvest yield. Later chapters
address specific applications to conservation such as recovery
planning for species at risk, fishery management, and the spatial
management of marine resources. Population Dynamics for
Conservation is suitable for graduate-level students. It will also
be valuable to academic and applied researchers in population
biology. This overview of population dynamic theory can serve to
further their population research, as well as to improve their
understanding of population management.
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