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How can students, teachers, parents, and librarians be certain that the information a Web site provides is accurate and age appropriate? In this unique book, experienced science educator Judith A. Bazler reviews hundreds of the most reliable biology-related Web sites. Each review discusses the most appropriate grade level of the site, analyzes its accuracy and usefulness, and provides helpful hints for getting the most out of the resource. ... Read more

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This book describes the application of statistics, economics and mathematical modeling to the control of bird and mammal pests. It is about how scientists have analyzed whether vertebrates are pests and what is achieved by control.The book distinguishes itself from other books on the topic by emphasizing the science behind vertebrate pest control rather than methods of control.Dr. Hone critically reviews the literature on topics such as damage assessment and control evaluation and makes links to ecology, epidemiology, fisheries management and economics. The text includes case studies of many mammalian and avian pests in a worldwide scope. ... Read more

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Miami University in Oxford, Ohio offers a course entitled "Sustainability Perspectives," based on this text.The course was awarded "The Instructional Innovation Award" at the 1996 annual meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, an association of Decision Science professionals headquartered at Georgia State University in Atlanta.The 1990's have seen the development of important new approaches to sustaining corporate development and protecting the environment. Corporations are beginning to realize their responsibilities for a healthy environment. Sustainable development is viewed as an integrated, ecological, economic, and social system in which both economic growth and quality-of-life improvements can occur in a unified system complementary to the maintenance of natural capital. Sustainability Perspectives for Resources and Businesses shows the reader that a sound understanding of the concepts involved in sustainable development is beneficial to businesses, natural resources, and the population in general.This textbook was written to help students and professionals involved in business, science, or engineering to understand the changes occurring in the workplace. It serves as a step toward understanding how business and science, as professional communities, are adapting to new information about risks to the environment. Various chapters are devoted to resources, values, and valuation systems. Each section develops principles such as resilience and integrity in the economy and the environment. ... Read more

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Conserving Living Natural Resources is an introductory textbook for students of conservation biology and resource management. It presents the historical and conceptual contexts of three seminal approaches to the management of living natural resources: utilitarian management for harvest of featured species and control of unwanted species, protection and restoration of populations and habitats to maintain biodiversity, and management of complex ecosystems to sustain both productivity and biodiversity. Rather than endorsing a single approach as the only correct one, this book investigates the historical and philosophical contexts, conceptual frameworks, principal techniques, and the limitations of each approach. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

She is a genius!
This is a most magnificent book! The author obviously is a genius! If you buy only one book in your entire life, buy this one.
This book examines three approaches to resource management, not the usual two. Wow, a lot of work went into this superb book.
I highly recommend it! ... Read more

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This book is essential reading for second-year undergraduatecourses in plant biology and plant genetic conservation. It will alsobe valuable for postgraduate courses in plant genetics, conservation,and cell biology. It provides invaluable information for professionalplant conservationists. No book of this nature has been published in which ex situgenetic resources conservation has been addressed in such detail. This book will also be of great value to professional biologicalconservationists and students, and is unique in this field. ... Read more

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The Asian elephant has had a unique cultural association with people. Unfortunately, elephants and people have also been in conflict, resulting in the decline in elephants throughout their former range in Southern Asia. This book provides an ecological analysis of elephant human interaction and its implications for the conservation of elephants. The foraging habits of elephants and their impact on vegetation are considered, along with the interactions that occur between elephants and humans. The ecological data provide the basis for recommendations on elephant conservation and management, keeping in view the socio-economic imperatives of the Asian region.This first comprehensive account of Asian elephant ecology will be of particular interest to conservation biologists and mammalogists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

essential elephant book
This book complements Dr.Sukumar's other book, 'elephant days and nights'. Whereas that book is light reading and blends anecdotal information about elephants and the fun of doing research with megavertebrates, 'The asian elephant' is for the more advanced reader with specialist information about the ecological aspects of asian Elephant.

The complete ecology and biogeography of the asian elephant has hitherto been meagre and uninformative, being limited to few paragraphs in game books and wildlife journals. This book, for the most part focuses on the ecology of Asian elephants in India, though some references are made to other populations. It provides an excellent historical perspective of the status of elephants as semi-domesticated animals, in hindu mythology and its use in medieval kingdoms. Dr. Sukumars work is probably seminal in bringing out a whole suite of relevant ecological information about asian elephants and giving it a firm footing on the conservation map.

Overall good reading and essential for the serious elephant biologist and conservationalist. ... Read more

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This book presents the issues surrounding the conservation of wild species and ecosystems used by people. It is aimed at final year undergraduate and master's students taking courses in conservation, environmental management, ecological economics and related subjects, as well as conservation professionals, including managers, policy-makers and researchers. The structure of the book is ideal for a course in conservation, comprising a theoretical section written by the authors, and a set of ten contributed case studies intentionally diverse in discipline, geographical region and system of study. The theoretical section provides the knowledge that is needed to understand the issues, while the case studies can form the basis of seminars. Readers will emerge with a clear recognition of the difficulties of limiting the harvesting of biological resources to sustainable levels, and of the boundaries of sustainable use as a conservation tool.

The authors, an ecologist and an anthropologist, have both worked on the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife for several years, including the ivory and rhino horn trades.

• The first book to examine the issues underlying the sustainable use debate in a fully interdisciplinary manner. Both the theoretical section and the case studies approach the issues using methods from economics, ecology, anthropology and other fields
• Designed as a course textbook, combining a theoretical section with invited case studies written by expert practitioners in the field
• Outlines the new direction that conservation biology (and thus conservation biologists) must take if it is to be successful

Product Description
Knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms are beingtransformed in important and controversial ways. Investment inresearch and development has increased in response to recognition thatscientific productivity is tightly connected to economic dynamism.Patent protection has been expanded in order to stimulate higherlevels of private investment. Intellectual property rights held bypublic organizations and researchers are now increasingly transferredto private organizations to accelerate the diffusion and enhance thevalue of knowledge produced by public agencies and universities.Additionally, new institutions such as university offices oftechnology transfer, venture capital markets, and a variety ofconsortia in knowledge-intensive industries are being establishedthroughout the United States and in other parts of the world. Thesechanges have led to a repositioning of the state in systems ofinnovation and an increase in the proprietary character of technicalinformation. The purpose of this book is to review and analyze i) contemporarytransitions in agricultural knowledge generation and extensionarrangements from an empirical perspective, and ii) emerging andcontradictory perspectives as to how knowledge systems can be assessedeffectively. The authors aim to provide the reader with a betterunderstanding of+the implications of newbiotechnologies and new intellectual property rights regimes onpublic-private relations in science,+the extent to whichbenefits from scientific knowledge are being appropriated by privatesector actors,+the diversity and possible outcomes ofprivatization initiatives in extension, and+prospects forpublic goods production and ecological sustainability givencontemporary trends.The book presents contrasting views onthe degree of complementarity and substitution between private andpublic sector investments in research and extension. Recognizing thatthe labels `public' and `private' are incomplete and at timesmisleading descriptions of the structure and function of coordinatingbodies in social systems, the analyses highlight ways in which publicand private spaces and modes of functioning combine. In addition toillustrating a broad range of analytic methodologies useful forstudying organizational questions in knowledge systems, the authorsidentify the implications of a range of past and potentialinstitutional innovations. ... Read more

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This volume bridges the gap between ecology and natural resource management and, in particular, focuses on plant ecology as a foundation for vegetation and wildlife management. It describes how concepts and approaches used by ecologists to study communities and ecosystems can be applied to their management. Guy R. McPherson and Stephen DeStefano emphasize the importance of thoughtfully designed and conducted scientific studies to both the advancement of ecological knowledge and the application of techniques for the management of plant and animal populations. ... Read more

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The management of kangaroos is one of the most controversial issues in Australian wildlife management today - kangaroos are 'in plague proportions' or 'on the verge of extinction' depending on whom you spoke to last. This book examines the ecology and management of kangaroos and shows how they interact with their own environment and with that shaped by sheep grazing and the wool industry. It presents the results of intensive and detailed studies of feeding behaviour, movement and habitat utilisation, body condition and population dynamics, weather and plant growth. These are then synthesised to produce a clear picture of how kangaroos cope so successfully with the climatic extremes of the arid zone, how they and the sheep jointly affect each other's fortunes, and what the options are for the future management of kangaroos both within the national parks and on the sheep rangelands. ... Read more

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To achieve sustainable resource management, it is essential to obtain insightful guidance from emerging disciplines such as landscape ecology. This text addresses the links between landscape ecology and natural resource management, discussing these links in the context of various landscape types, diverse sets of resources, and broad ranges of management issues. A large number of landscape ecology concepts, principles, and methods are introduced. Critical reviews of past management practices and a number of case studies are presented. The text provides many guidelines for managing natural resources from a landscape perspective and offers useful suggestions for landscape ecologists to carry out research relevant to natural resource management. ... Read more

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The management of the elk population at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been the subject of a long-standing controversy among wildlife biologists, with critics of the winter feeding program predicting that such intervention would result in overpopulation, habitat destruction, disease and chaos. After more than 75 years in which hay has been provided during the winter months in most years, the elk population is flourishing and is for good measure one of the most intensively studied and managed wildlife populations in North America. This detailed study of migration, population dynamics, harvesting strategies, winter feeding programs and range relationships in the Jackson elk herd provides a classic study in wildlife management. As such it will have wide appeal to professionals and students in wildlife biology, resource management and applied ecology. ... Read more

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This volume comprises the proceedings of the Second International Rangelands Congress held in Adelaide, Australia in May 1984, and includes some 350 contributions drawn from 43 different countries. The Congress addressed the problem of the conflict between land-users and the degradation of this valuable resource. Some 40% of the Earth's land surface is and or alpine and therefore unsuitable for agricultural cultivation. Collectively, these lands are known as rangelands and in their natural state they constitute a habitat for grazing animals, both domestic and wild. Despite their low productivity, rangelands have been used for thousands of years as a source of food and fibre, but other uses such as mining, tourism, recreation and conservation are exerting increasing demands. The result is often conflict between land-users and degradation of the resource. ... Read more

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During the 4th ESA-Congress, held in the Netherlands, 7-11 July 1996, a new perspective for agronomy emerged. Various contributions demonstrate the need for a new role of agronomy and its tools. In recent decades, agriculture has evolved from an activity with mainly productivity aims, into an issue conciliating environmental, agricultural, and economic and social objectives. Placing agriculture in such a broadened perspective requires a different agronomy, with new tools and approaches at a range of aggregration levels. It calls for detailed knowledge concerning the functioning, productivity and ecological relationships of agricultural plants and crops. In addition, it calls for a constant update and synthesis of existing and newly generated knowledge, the design of new ideotypes and genotypes, new production technologies, cropping systems, farming systems and agro-ecological land use systems.

This proceedings book presents a set of case studies illustrating the various agronomic tools that can be used for specific agronomic questions. The case studies are grouped in sections illustrating relevant subquestions in developing an agriculture with broadened objectives. The book starts with an introductory paper on the role of agronomy in research and education in Europe. The second section deals with agricultural land use, food security and environment. This is followed by a set of papers describing experimental research and modeling approaches used to design new ideotypes of crops, including physiological properties in relation to growth factors such as radiation, CO2, temperature and water.

Sustained soil fertility directly links to nutrient cycling and soil organic matter. A selected set of papers addresses the improvements in resource use efficiency and as such their contribution towards economic, environmental and agricultural objectives. The final section addresses the design of integrated and ecological arable farming systems. It highlights the role of prototyping interaction with leading-edge farmers, as promising tools to design, implement and test new farming systems.

It is hoped that the activities of the European Society for Agronomy and the Proceedings of its 4th Congress will stimulate to serve the new perspectives of agronomy, i.e. to adopt ecological principles, to optimally manage the use of resources and to meet social and economic objectives. ... Read more

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Arthropods are the most diverse group of organisms on our planet, and the tropical rainforests represent the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems. This volume provides an overview of data collected during recent studies in Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America. The contributions focus on the distribution of arthropods and their use of resources in the rainforest canopies, providing a basis for comparison between the forest ecosystems of the main biogeographical regions. The temporal dynamics of arthropod communities, habitats and food selection are examined within and among tropical tree crowns, as are the effects of forest disturbance. ... Read more

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This book presents the official record of the conference on Antarctic Resources Policy, organised by the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile in October 1982. The system of international cooperation in the Antarctic has been evolving rapidly since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. Inextricably linked to this cooperation is the question of the rational management of Antarctic resources, both the living species and the minerals. The major themes covered by the papers include: the state of Antarctic knowledge at this point in the 80s, the policy for the conservation of living species, the exploitation of minerals, legal issues and the prospects for future cooperation. This review will attract a wide readership among people and institutions with a professional interest in Antarctic affairs. ... Read more

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The vast area of swamp and wetlands of the Southern Sudan, the Sudd, absorbs and dissipates by evaporation about half the inflow from the upper catchment of the White Nile. Ways and means of reducing these losses by canalisation have been under engineering investigation since the beginning of the twentieth century, the objective being to provide additional water for irrigation and hydro-electric power in Egypt and the northern Sudan. Construction of the Jonglei Canal began in 1977; at the end of 1983 it was halted by civil war, 260 kilometre from its outfall and 100 kilometres short of completion. In the area through which it passes it will, if ever completed, have varied local effects; it will reduce the seasonally river-flooded grasslands, which are of crucial importance to the pastoral sector of the local economy and cut the line of seasonal migration of man, livestock and wildlife. Yet it will bring benefits and opportunities as well as adverse effects. Based on scientific studies of the area carried out in the early 1950s and again between 1978 and 1983, the aim of the book is to present a multi-disciplinary survey of the very complex interrelated hydrological, ecological, biological and human problems involved. ... Read more

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Research and policy toward sustainable forest management have often paidincomplete attention to the well being of local populations and their activities as forest managers.Where there has been recognition of local communities, the roles of marginalized groups andwomen are usually not well understood. This is despite evidence that equity and socialrelationships, including gender roles, are important factors in the ways that communities manageforest resources overall and adapt to change.

The Equitable Forest provides in-depth analyses of equity and social roles within thecontext of community-focused, adaptive collaborative management. An essential goal of adaptivecollaborative management is to use the knowledge and capacity of groups in local communitiesto enhance the health and well being of forests and the people who live in and around them.Based on long-term research in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, this book providesdescriptive, analytical, and methodological tools for improving forest management.

A copublication with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). . ... Read more