Essentials of Conservation Biology 6e

Essentials of Conservation Biology, Sixth Edition, combines theory and applied and basic research to explain the connections between conservation biology and ecology, climate change biology, the protection of endangered species, protected area management, environmental economics, and sustainable development. A major theme throughout the book is the active role that scientists, local people, the general public, conservation organizations, and governments can play in protecting biodiversity, even while providing for human needs.

Each chapter begins with general ideas and principles, which are illustrated with choice examples from the current literature. The most instructive examples are discussed in boxes highlighting projects, species, and issues of particular significance. Chapters end with summaries, an annotated list of suggested readings, and discussion questions. This new edition comes with extensive summary statements in the text margins, as study aids.
Essentials of Conservation Biology, Sixth Edition, is beautifully illustrated in full color, and is written in clear, non-technical language, making it well-suited for undergraduate courses.

RESOURCES

For Instructors
Instructor's Resource CD-ROM This resource includes all figures (line-art illustrations and photographs) and tables from the textbook, provided as both high- and low-resolution JPEGs. All have been formatted and optimized for excellent projection quality. Also included are ready-to-use PowerPoint presentations of all figures and tables.

Richard B. Primack is a Professor in the Biology Department at Boston University. He received his B.A. at Harvard University in 1972 and his Ph.D. at Duke University in 1976, and then was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury and Harvard University. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong and Tokyo University, and has been awarded Bullard and Putnam Fellowships from Harvard University and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Dr. Primack was President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Conservation. Twenty-eight foreign-language editions of his conservation biology textbooks (the Essentials and the shorter Primer of Conservation Biology) have been produced, with local coauthors. He is an author of rain forest books, most recently Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison (with Richard Corlett). Dr. Primack's research interests include: the biological impacts of climate change; the loss of species in protected areas; tropical forest ecology and conservation; and conservation education. He has recently completed a popular book about changes in Concord since the time of Henry David Thoreau, titled Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau's Woods.

(Bulleted items represent a chapter-by-chapter sampling of new content.)

I. Major Issues That Define the Discipline

1. What Is Conservation Biology?
*A new case study highlights the successful establishment of a nesting population of Kemp's ridley sea turtles on Padre Island in Texas.
*In this chapter and throughout the book, the latest and best examples and references are included.
*The material in the chapter has been reorganized for a better flow and ease of learning.

2. What Is Biological Diversity?
*More marine examples are now included in this chapter and throughout the book.
*The case of sea otter and kelp forests has been updated to include shifting species relationships.
*The section on ecosystem diversity has been streamlined, eliminating some less important terminology.

3. Where Is the World's Biological Diversity Found?
*The section on ecosystem diversity has been reorganized to provide a more balanced coverage of major ecosystems.
*Coverage of the amazing diversity of bacterial species found on and in the human body is now a featured case study.
*The race between describing new species and the extinction of species is described, and a new figure included.


II. Valuing Biodiversity

4. Ecological Economics and Direct Use Values
*Terminology of ecological economics has been clarified.
*Values of biodiversity have been updated to 2014 values.
*A new box describes the value of national parks to the local and regional ecology.
*The figure on the economic value of Yellowstone National Park has been updated.

5. Indirect Use Value
*The economic value of wild pollinators to fruit and vegetable crops is emphasized, with focus on sweet cherries.
*Of special and growing interest are efforts to create markets for reducing the greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change.
*A key point is made that the activities and presence of researchers often reduces illegal activities at protected areas.

6. Ethical Values
*This chapter and all others have suggested readings from the recent literature, to stimulate class discussions.
*The shark box has been revised to reflect new efforts to protect sharks and the rapidly growing ecotourism industry associated with shark viewing.
*The section on the importance of religious groups in conservation has been expanded.


III. Threats to Biological Diversity

7. Extinction
*The percentage of species in danger of extinction has been updated.
*A discussion of why the actual number of extinctions is lower than predicted has been added.
*There is a new box on the extinction of endemic bird species on Pacific islands.

8. Vulnerability to Extinction
*A new figure of the Living Planet Index shows that the protection of biodiversity is improving in temperate areas but declining in tropical areas.
*The number of endangered species included in Red Lists has been updated.
*The description of the U.S. Endangered Species Act has been moved to this chapter.

9. Habitat Destruction, Fragmentation, Degradation, and Global Climate Change
*Results from the 2013 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are included.
*A new figure shows the harmful impacts of climate change on crop production.
*Active debate among scientists as to whether species should be moved to new locations as a conservation strategy is described.

10. Overexploitation, Invasive Species, and Disease
*The case study on whales has been updated and shortened to highlight the most relevant information.
*The example of lionfish is used to illustrate a recent and highly destructive invasive species in the marine environment.
*The concept of accepting novel ecosystems that include both native and non-native species is discussed.
*A new figure shows how the elimination of introduced rats allows the recovery of native insects.


IV. Conservation at the Population and Species Levels

11. Problems of Small Populations
*A new example shows skewed sex ratios towards males in grayling fish exposed to the warmer water associated with climate change.
*The need to protect between 500 and 1000 individuals to maintain the viability of small populations is discussed.
*The example of lions in Tanzania has been updated with the latest population information.

12. Applied Population Biology
*A new case study discusses using environmental DNA to detect the presence of rare species and the arrival of invasive species.
*Predictions of population viability using Leadbeater's possum from Australia are compared with what actually results years later.
*Long-term monitoring of African flamingo populations shows a gradual decline in reproductive events.

13. Establishing New Populations
*The terminology of the chapter has been updated to reflect current usage.
*Attempts to reintroduce wildflowers have been re-evaluated to determine if they are actually successful.
*Hunting of wolves in the Yellowstone area has become an emotional issue after they were no longer protected.

14. Ex Situ Conservation Strategies
*A new box describes attempts to bring back extinct species using the latest methods in DNA technology.
*Chinese scientists are now training captive-born giant panda in the skills they need to return to the wild.
*The numbers of animals held in zoos has been updated.
*Rare pygmy rabbits are being raised in enclosures that combine features of zoos and their original environment.


V. Practical Applications

15. Establishing Protected Areas
*Values for the numbers and extent of protected areas have been updated.
*A new box highlights the giant new Marine Protected Areas being established across the world.
*The section on gap analysis has been reorganized, with new material on conservation planning added.

16. Designing Networks of Protected Areas
*The leaders of the Nature Conservancy are now articulating a policy that emphasizes the value of ecosystem services.
*Planning tools for selecting new protected areas are now included in this chapter.
*The Maasai Mara/Serengeti region of East Africa is included as an example of a protected migration corridor.

17. Managing Protected Areas
*New material emphasizes that management needs to be adjusted as the environment changes.
*The rapidly expanding use of conservation drones for monitoring species and ecosystems, detecting illegal activity, and directing wildlife movement is addressed.
*The sharpening of arguments between wildlife conservation advocates and the energy industry over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is discussed.

18. Conservation Outside Protected Areas
*The two sections on communal land managed for wildlife conservation in Kenya and Namibia have been combined.
*The relative value of land sharing versus land sparing as a conservation strategy is introduced.
*Gains in influence and acceptance of initiatives to certify products as coming from sustainably managed industries are discussed.

19. Restoration Ecology
*A new case study to create a pre-human wilderness in the Dutch countryside with the original species has been added.
*The massive effort to restore the Everglades ecosystem in southern Florida is now included as a case study.
*The example of the restoration of dry deciduous forest in Costa Rica has been updated, including both biological and educational impacts.


VI. Conservation and Human Societies

20. Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local and National Levels
*The impacts of renewable energy sources--such as wind, biofuels, and solar--are presented in an updated box.
*Innovative projects are described involving direct payments to local people for actions taken to protect forests and bird nests.
*The U.S. Endangered Species Act is evaluated for its current effectiveness as a national strategy.

21. An International Approach to Conservation and Sustainable Development
*The status and details of all internatio