In recent decades, there has been increased interest in understanding ecosystems in order to be able to manage and conserve them. Yet examples of how research directly supports conservation are rare. Protected area managers and policy makers need scientific information from protected areas for policy development and to effectively devise, revise, and implement management strategies. Researchers seek a clear understanding of what types of research can directly support conservation efforts to guide them in the design of such projects. A variety of perspectives of what constitutes 'conservation' or 'applied' wildlife research may exist, and indeed conservation priorities do differ between sites so that ultimately, what we describe here is from one perspective and designing projects that directly support site conservation depends on a prior understanding of issues at the site. This book is intended to encourage thinking about what constitutes conservation research to be able to better develop projects that directly support conservation. The aim of this book is to support research that directly benefits conservation by reviewing applied research and providing examples in which it has been used for conservation purposes.

In recent decades, there has been increased interest in applying science to the management of ecosystems. However, designing research programs that directly support conservation is never straightforward especially for research intended to support protected area conservation. A good understanding of the intensity of threats, their ramifications, and the impacts of conservation is central to conservation. This book and its complement for forests, is intended to increase understanding of what constitutes conservation research in protected areas and how it is applied.

In recent decades, there has been increased interest in understanding ecosystems in order to be able to manage and conserve them. Yet examples of how research directly supports conservation are rare. Protected area managers and policy makers need scientific information from protected areas for policy development and to effectively devise, revise, and implement management strategies. Researchers seek a clear understanding of what types of research can directly support conservation efforts to guide them in the design of such projects. A variety of perspectives of what constitutes 'conservation' or 'applied' wildlife research may exist, and indeed conservation priorities do differ between sites so that ultimately, what we describe here is from one perspective and designing projects that directly support site conservation depends on a prior understanding of issues at the site. This book is intended to encourage thinking about what constitutes conservation research to be able to better develop projects that directly support conservation. The aim of this book is to support research that directly benefits conservation by reviewing applied research and providing examples in which it has been used for conservation purposes.

In recent decades, there has been increased interest in applying science to the management of ecosystems. However, designing research programs that directly support conservation is never straightforward especially for research intended to support protected area conservation. A good understanding of the intensity of threats, their ramifications, and the impacts of conservation is central to conservation. This book and its complement for forests, is intended to increase understanding of what constitutes conservation research in protected areas and how it is applied.