A look at how wildlife professionals can modernize their approaches to habitat and population management with a fresh take on animal ecology. How can we maximize the probability that a species of wild animal will persist into the future? This audacious book proposes that advancing animal ecology-and conservation itself-demands that we reenvision our basic understanding of how animals interact with their environments and with each other. Synthesizing where we are and where we need to go with our studies of animals and their environs, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology asserts that studies of animal ecology should begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms. The book examines * the limitations of classic approaches to the study of animal ecology * how organisms organize into collections, such as breeding pairs, flocks, and herds * how the broader biotic and abiotic environment shapes animal populations, communities, and ecosystems * factors underlying the distribution and abundance of species through space and time * the links between habitat and population * why communication between researchers and managers is key * specific strategies for managing wild animal populations and habitats in an evolutionary and ecosystem context Throughout, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they argue, will help ecologists translate science into meaningful and lasting actions in the environment. Taking the perspective of the organism of interest in developing concepts and applications, the authors always keep the potentially biased human perspective in focus. A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife-habitat relationships, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to professionals and practitioners in natural resource management in public and private sectors, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.

Practical guidance for wildlife professionals working to improve study design, data analysis, and the application of results to habitat and population management. Despite major advances in sampling techniques and analytical methods, many animal ecologists conduct research that is primarily relevant to a specific time and place. They also tend to focus more on the statistical analyses and nuances of modeling than actual study design. Arguing that studies of animal ecology should always begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms, including how they form into distinct biological populations, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology takes a fresh and critical look at the field. Building from its companion volume, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology, this practical book presents readers with the principal methods used to observe animal behavior. Teaching them to assess resource abundance categories of species-environmental relationships models, it also explores * major aspects of measuring animal habitat: what to measure and how to measure it; * common sampling and estimation methods to assess population parameters; * when to measure and how to analyze data; * problems that will confront ecologists in the coming years-and how to gather information to adequately address them; and * how the experimental approach can be used to advance the science of animal ecology. Throughout the book, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they assert, will help ecologists translate science into meaningful and lasting actions in the environment. Taking the perspective of the organism of interest in developing concepts and applications, the authors always keep the potentially biased human perspective in focus. They also provide a selection of suggested research projects, cautions, and caveats. A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife-habitat relationships, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to natural resource management professionals and practitioners, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.