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.
