Wildlife Issues in a Changing World, Second Edition

Book Description

Students of conservation encounter some of the most complex issues on our planet. The resolution of existing problems become more complex when humans create further stresses on the natural balance. Moulton and Sanderson brought the challenging issues in wildlife conservation into greater clarity in Wildlife Issues in a Changing World. The Second Edition of this definitive reference focuses more closely on the causes of wildlife issues. The examination of Jared Diamond's "Evil Quartet" (the four principal causes of extinction) provides a framework for categorizing and resolving these issues. The authors encourage the use of the scientific method basis for resolution - especially where environmental laws have failed. The three new chapters provide further counterpoints to preconceived notions. A two-part history of wildlife in the U.S. shows how wildlife had already been decimated by the year 1900. "Can Humans Manage Wildlife?" questions efforts to revive endangered species, acts which may inadvertently jeopardize the survival of other life. Viewing the natural order from prehistoric times to the present, Wildlife Issues in a Changing World, Second Edition gives students and instructors an all-encompassing introduction to past relations between humans and nature; explorations of current threats to species and their habitats; and recent "novel solutions," where humanity and industry have made adjustments to protect the natural order. Professionals will also find invaluable reminders of the importance of their work - the continuation and endurance of wildlife everywhere on Earth.

Customer Reviews:

A textbook, with pluses and minuses.......2006-09-30

Wildlife Issues in a Changing World is a textbook on... wildlife issues! There is an emphasis on the United States, but there are a good number of international examples as well. I really like the chapters on the Evil Quartet, what is wildlife, and what are wildlife issues. As I use this book in my courses, I depend on it as a source of wildlife issue examples, supplemented with DVDs and videos (to "bring" wildlife into the classroom).

It is, in general, a hard book for students. I don't mean hard in terms of the materials. It is well-written, and rather easy to read. It is hard to use to study for tests. I tell students that it compliments the lectures, and doesn't repeat them. Students tend to complain that it has too many examples, so the "themes" that they are tested on are difficult to find.

I still find it the best text for my purposes for a general course with primarily non-natural resource students. I like it for its price as well.

Average customer rating:

An amazing read and a sobering view of the fate of nature...
Great look at lots of aspects of the elephant crisis!
This book was the absolute best book I have have ever read!!
Absolutely fantastic

The Fate of the Elephant
Douglas Chadwick
Manufacturer: Random House, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Elephants: Majestic Creatures of the Wild (Mighty Creature Series)

ASIN: 0871566354
Release Date: 1992-10-06

Amazon.com

It's no longer news that animals are being driven to extinction at an astonishing rate, with some scientists now estimating that 1,000 species disappear each year. What is news is that the species are increasingly familiar to us: lions, grizzly bears, gorillas, whales, black terns--and elephants. In the 19th century, writes Douglas Chadwick in this superb journalistic study, Africa boasted more than 10 million of the giant pachyderms; there are fewer than half a million today, a situation mirrored in Asia. The slaughter is largely the result of the illegal ivory trade, conducted through such nations as Japan and Singapore, which ignore international conventions to keep the barbarous supply rolling. Sanctions on those nations are needed, says Chadwick--but so is much more. This sobering book offers an encyclopedic look at the life history of the African and Asian elephants, which, unless something is done now, may not be long for the world.

Customer Reviews:

An amazing read and a sobering view of the fate of nature..........2001-03-03

While Douglas H. Chadwick's extraordinary book is titled "The Fate of the Elephant" and does an incredible job of presenting the decidedly bleak future of this magnificent animal in the face of an incredible human-induced onslaught, it does more than just examine that issue. At its heart, this book is about the fate of the "natural world"; that is, the world as it was/is before it has been shaped by human contact. The explosion in the human population is increasingly reducing and destroying the habitat of not just elephants, but other animal species in general, and Chadwick recognizes this. Chadwick's book is thoroughly researched, decidedly well-written, and a joy to read. As stated by another reviewer, as clear as it is that Chadwick's sympathies lie with the elephant itself, he shows remarkable restraint in not condemning those who make the future of the elephant so bleak. As such, the book makes the reader realize that while it is quite easy to sit in our comfortable homes and condemn those who are forcing these elephants into fewer and fewer numbers, there are real problems and concerns on the other side of the coin as well. Without stealing any of the author's thunder, I would just say that this is easily one of the best books I have ever read, and while my sympathies are definitely on the side of the elephants, this book was a sobering and tremendously informative look at the full scope of the problem that elephants and animal species in general face. Furthermore, the best thing this book did, in my opinion, was force me to really think about humankind, its relationship to the other species on the planet, how certain dominant views of that relationship have led us to the where we are today, and what might need to be done in order to prevent large scale extinctions in this upcoming century (which is where I personally fear we might be headed).

Great look at lots of aspects of the elephant crisis!.......1999-04-10

In a mere 475 pages, Douglas Chadwick's The Fate of the Elephant manages to thoroughly cover a range of subjects almost as large as the elephants that serve as its focus. Originally assigned by National Geographic as a piece on "elephants of the world," each chapter in the book opens in a new setting, from the elephant enclosure at an American zoo, to the parts of Africa and Asia where elephants can still be found in the wild. From the workshop of Japanese ivory artisans to a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference in Switzerland, he also journeys to elephantless areas where their presence is still felt.

Knowing a little about man's history with elephants, I assumed-even daresay expected-that at least some parts of the book would be dedicated to the kind of finger-pointing induction of guilt that has come to be seen as a means to inspire action on the part of the general public. Refreshingly, there is none of that to be found here, yet the final emotions that the reader comes away with are no less strong. Chadwick does not trivialize the fact that, for him, writing The Fate of the Elephant was as much a personal exploration of a subject of lifetime interest as a travel adventure undertaken for the sake of National Geographic. His frankly portrayed moments of sheer joy and of utter frustration become highs and lows for the reader as well.

Along these same lines, Chadwick skillfully avoids simplifying those engaged in the struggle over what should be done with elephants into "good guy" and "bad guy" camps. Though having just seen the body of a faceless and bloody young bull elephant lying in the bush, he does not celebrate when reports of killed poachers come across his radio. Likening poaching to the illegal drug trade, he knows that the crises of a burgeoning population have pushed many of those living on the margins into these high-risk jobs, while those orchestrating it all sit out of the way in relative safety. The ever-growing human population also drives habitat degradation, the other main threat to African wildlife. It comes as a shot of realism when Chadwick points out that these days, even Africans have to go to parks and zoos to see African wildlife.

Describing the World War I bolt-action guns with which many park rangers must ridiculously face off against AK-47-toting poachers, Chadwick highlights one of the great challenges to wildlife conservation: economics. Not only does poaching rob resources from local economies, but even legal industries such as tourism pay few monetary returns at the local level. He advocates the need to make conservation economically viable to local people, not just something imposed by the government of the moment.

Chadwick integrates scientific concepts in a subtle way that guarantees that even those simply looking for a good "animal tale" will come away as more knowledgeable armchair naturalists. Judging from the brevity of his bibliography relative to the amount of material packed into the book, this integrated approach may be the same way that Chadwick picked up much of his technical knowledge of elephants-not by purely poring over scientific texts as much as by living alongside some of the best in the field, in the field.

The only missing element in Chadwick's work seems to be information about the time period in which he was in each place. While perhaps intended as a testament to the timeless quality of life spent in elephants' presence, it seemed most peculiar in a book whose message was a sense of urgency, that time was of the utmost importance.

This book was the absolute best book I have have ever read!!.......1998-11-15

It has a lot of good information on poaching in North Africa and a lot of other places in the world that elephants were poached at. It really makes you see the world like an elephant as though you were an elephant. it brings out your greatest fantasies about elephants that you would never dream of. This book was just really great.

Absolutely fantastic.......1998-10-18

Incredibly detailed reporting and an easy, conversational writing style make this one of the most rewarding books I have ever read. The author writes of travelling the world, observing human and elephant interactions in dozens of different countries; part travelogue, part eco-primer, and wholly absorbing. And Chadwick makes a convincing case for keeping the African elephant on the endangered species list. This book is perhaps even more important now than when it was published _ only recently CITES (the UN group that makes the endangered species list) decided to allow some southern African countries to sell ivory again. I'd love to see the author's thoughts on these new developments. Anyone concerned with conservation or animal welfare should read this book. Personally, I found Chadwick's work so interesting and educational that after reading it I booked a trip to Africa to see these great beasts _ before the opportunity is gone forever

Sampling Rare or Elusive Species: Concepts, Designs, and Techniques for Estimating Population Parameters

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Very useful and illustrative!

Sampling Rare or Elusive Species: Concepts, Designs, and Techniques for Estimating Population Parameters

Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1559634510

Book Description

Information regarding population status and abundance of rare species plays a key role in resource management decisions. Ideally, data should be collected using statistically sound sampling methods, but by their very nature, rare or elusive species pose a difficult sampling challenge.

Sampling Rare or Elusive Species describes the latest sampling designs and survey methods for reliably estimating occupancy, abundance, and other population parameters of rare, elusive, or otherwise hard-to-detect plants and animals. It offers a mixture of theory and application, with actual examples from terrestrial, aquatic, and marine habitats around the world.

Sampling Rare or Elusive Species is the first volume devoted entirely to this topic and provides natural resource professionals with a suite of innovative approaches to gathering population status and trend data. It represents an invaluable reference for natural resource professionals around the world, including fish and wildlife biologists, ecologists, biometricians, natural resource managers, and all others whose work or research involves rare or elusive species.

Customer Reviews:

Very useful and illustrative!.......2007-01-19

I usually work with very elusive animals like wild big cats, that's why I consider this book very useful and ilustrative if you are planning to work with rare species; in special the experimental desing section. Also the cited bibliography is a great tool to expand knowledge in this subjet. I really recomend it!!

Christian Estrada
Wildlife Biologist

Primates in Fragments: Ecology and Conservation

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Great addition to conservation biology!

Primates in Fragments: Ecology and Conservation

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0306476967

Book Description

This volume addresses several key questions regarding primates in fragments. It is divided into sections based on broad categories of research in primates in fragments. In the genetics and population dynamics section, the authors cover topics in viability, metapopulation and species that remain in remnant forests. In the behavioral ecology section, authors take a closer look at feeding, ranging and other behaviors that allow primates to remain in or disperse between fragments. In conservation and management, authors bring knowledge of species who remain in fragments together with plans to implement strategies for their long term viability. Finally, in the integration and future directions section, authors synthesize the information in this volume and make recommendations for future and continued work in this field.

Customer Reviews:

Great addition to conservation biology!.......2003-11-04

I think this is a great new addition not only to the study of primates in critical habitats but for the science of conservation biology. I recommend this book for anyone who is intersted in what is going on the the tropics.

Average customer rating:

Tigers. I love them. And judging by this book, they must think snow is fun.
Left with mixed feelings.....
This book is quite boring!
Tigers in the Snow Book Review Hour 1 Pawinski Biology
Tigers in the Snow Book Review

Tigers in the Snow
Peter Matthiessen
Manufacturer: North Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0865475768

Amazon.com

Indigenous to Asia, and once widely distributed across the continent, the tiger is yet another of the world's creatures to come perilously close to extinction in the last century. Where a hundred years ago the population of Panthera tigris and its cousins stood at more than 100,000, a 1995 census put the total at less than 5,000. And, writes Peter Matthiessen, a longtime student and champion of endangered wildlife, "most biologists and conservationists ... would set that number even lower."

Working with the noted wildlife biologist and photographer Maurice Hornocker, Matthiessen recounts his travels into the Russian Far East and Manchuria in search of one of the rarest of the big cats, Panthera tigris altaica, the Siberian tiger. Once shielded, and not by design, by Communist policies that restricted travel in and development of its wilderness habitat, the Siberian tiger is increasingly threatened throughout much of its range as the dense old-growth forests of the Pacific seaboard fall to Japanese logging companies; at the same time, the tiger is still hunted for parts used by Chinese apothecaries (drinking the essence of a tiger is thought to bring renewed sexual vigor to aging men). Matthiessen, whose text brims with a righteous rage on the tiger's behalf, is able to report a few success stories, as Russian, Chinese, and American biologists work to conserve habitat in the wild country memorialized by V.K. Arseniev's Dersu the Trapper, a memoir that informs Matthiessen's own book. But his book is also full of tragedy, of terrible stories that help press a case for why the Siberian tiger should be protected everywhere in its domain.

Matching a thoughtful, well-crafted text with remarkable photographs of tigers in the wild, this is a book that, with luck, will help spur renewed interest in making the world safe for wildlife of all kinds. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

No more than a few thousand tigers now survive in pockets of Asia, a continent they once roamed far and wide. The largest of them, the Siberian tiger, is today almost entirely confined to the little-populated Russian Far East. Nearly extirpated before World War 11, Panthera tigris altaica made a comeback in subsequent decades. When poaching and habitat depredation following the implosion of the Soviet Union once again threatened extinction, a group of American wildlife biologists led by Maurice Hornocker joined with their Russian counterparts in founding the Siberian Tiger Project to study and protect this besieged race.

Peter Matthiessen journeyed to the Russian Far Fast and other remaining tiger territory to witness for himself the species' present condition and to understand its possible fates. Bringing to his subject his deep knowledge and the instinct for the natural world that have made classics of his previous books, he allows us to participate in the battle for the future of one of the earth's most awesome creatures. Along the way, he tells the story of the species' origin and evolution, evoking as well its crucial, often totemic role in the cultures and mythologies of the peoples who came in contact with it. He has made of the tiger's dilemma not a manifesto but a drama - underscoredby Hornocker's stirring photographs - that conveys powerfully what a loss to our collective imagination the disappearance of these great cats would be.

Customer Reviews:

Tigers. I love them. And judging by this book, they must think snow is fun........2005-09-22

This is a good book. As you know, I love tigers and think they are both cool and beautiful. I loved the photos and the way many people tried to help the tiger rather than kill or hurt it. Oh, and to the insensitive jerk who said he did not feel sorry for the cubs in two brothers or those who did feel sorry about it? A message to him-I HOPE YOU F---ING FRY IN HELL, YOU A--HOLE! I HOPE SATAN PLUNGES A MACHETE INTO YOUR EYE! Oh, back to the book. There is a lot of good information and many great stuff. I hate the poaching, but this is still a great book. Worthy of the tigers I admire and adore.

Left with mixed feelings............2003-10-29

Matthiessen can leave you mesmerised with his writing and story telling;but except for a few pages in this book,he has failed to do it this time.The subject matter was there,but I got the sense the book was cranked out,possibly with the help of research staff padding it with filler material.The passion in Peter's writing was missing.
Writing about vanishing species,efforts to preserve,dealing with social conditions,bureaucracies,self-serving and disonest people can never be satisfying.On top of that, in cultures where deceit and victimization theory are the norm,attempts to do the right thing must make one feel hopeless and discouraged; however,that seems to be the lot of conservationalists.
I found the book disjointed;the photography was generally excellent,but many seemed inserted randomly and without captions.
I guess what really bothered me was the victim beliefs, that are the result of socialism,as expressed on pg.104,"Life is very different now.It's not just the economy.Everyone is living for the moment and looking out for thrmselves.Our life is out of control-it's chaos","Today nobody will lift a finger unless they are given money".This is the result of buying into theories "that you can't take care of yourself,let us do it for you." Until people believe that their misfortune is their own problem to solve, things won't improve.In other words,Helen Keller had problems;so,what's yours?

This book is quite boring!.......2002-12-20

My interest in this book was limited. Most of the book was very informational, and that did not captivate my interests at all. It was quite boring to say the least, though I was quite interested by the collar tracking devices and learning about the poaching and near distinction of Siberian tigers.
This book relates to my studies in school because of the genetics of tigers mentioned. "...gene flow among tigers has been so extensive until recent times that it is hard to isolate distinct genetic groups...since the mitochondrial DNA type of the island tigers is identical to that of the mainland forms...`genetic drift' a condition caused by random loss of genes...only a few skins and scraps from which DNA can be extracted have survived..." Although these examples of heredity and genetics are above my head, they touch upon the basics of what I learned about in Biology class.
I've never really heard about Siberian tigers before. I knew of them but not about them or at least not as much as I know after reading Tigers in the Snow. I wasn't familiar with the poaching or near extinction of Siberian tigers. It is sad how little we Americans know of the wildlife in other parts of the world. For instance, I have only seen tigers in the Zoo.
I learned a lot about the Siberian tiger species and what animals go through when they are facing loss of habitat and extinction. This book has taught me how much human's industry and over hunting can affect an animal's survival, more than any other natural factor. It has taught me that it is up to the people to save the tiger as well as any other endangered animal from extinction. I have learned that the tiger is making a slow comeback because the countries are keeping the poaching under control. The book often times discussed the population of tigers in certain areas. I now have a better understanding of the tiger's population dilemma by using my knowledge of immigration, emigration, mortality, and natality. Overall, I thought this book was very educational and worth reading if you are at all interested in tigers or the effort being made to save them.
However, this book jumped around a lot from place to place, and was somewhat hard to follow. I personally didn't enjoy the majority of the book, because it doesn't keep you interested and isn't very exciting to read. If you were researching tigers, then this would be a great book to read. But I wouldn't recommend it for a reader's enjoyment.
Overall this book has been very influential and an interesting read. It has changed my views on many issues, and tigers as a whole. This issue of the tiger population being depleted is a major issue in the world today; I believe that if the tiger population were removed from the world, the food chain would be distorted because the prey of the tiger would become overpopulated. Hopefully, the tiger population will be refreshed within the next decades so we won't have to find out what happens if the tiger population diminishes. In conclusion, Tigers In The Snow is a very informative read, and if you want to know in great detail about the world of the tiger, you should read this book.

Tigers in the Snow Book Review Hour 1 Pawinski Biology.......2002-01-02

... This book is about the studies and observations of the depleting tiger populations in Asia that was at one time thriving. This book is about Matthiessen's journey to Asia's Far East areas, and her studies of tigers there. Periodically through the book he also explains what people are doing to try and save this precious population of tigers.
This book relates to many of the things on both a biological and ecological level. On one side the things that we are doing to the environment are greatly harming the tiger populations, and even though this issue is beginning to look better, it may be to late. But on the other hand, the things that are done to harm to tigers also toy with the food chains and such. Although this book could be placed in both sections I believe that it would mostly end up under the biological context, because the main topic in this book is the depleting tiger population and how that is affecting other things.
This book jumped around a lot from place to place, and was very hard to follow, but the main points were very clear. Peter traveled to Asia and its tiger reserves to study the Tiger populations; while he was there they developed a new way of recording information about tigers with little trackers that they place on the tigers' neck. This helped them greatly in their study of these wild animals. Their first tiger to be caught and "tagged" was named Lena, this tiger lived throughout most of the book. After this they caught and tagged various tigers, but none were more talked about than Lena. During this book Peter explains the histories of all the tigers he explains, it is unbelievable how much prominence these creatures have in the mythical ring. He also explains the origins and evolution of the tigers that he encounters on his journey. In many spiritual tribes the Tiger was believed to be a God, and was a major sin to kill or harm one, and if one did harm a tiger there was to be a major price to pay. This book also stated that the tiger population as a whole is making a slow comeback into the world, this is because of better-enforced laws about poaching tigers. This book was very, very informative about tigers, and it showed not only the hard facts of tigers today, but also where the tiger's population has been and where it is headed.
I believe this work accurately represents the population of tigers and what is happening to them. In class we studied Biomes of the World and the issues of these specific biomes. In this book the issues of the biomes plays a major role in what happens to the tigers in Asia. Many of the problems that are reducing the tiger population of Asia, are also affecting the Biomes the same way. One of the main problems was humans in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they were shooting tigers for a prophet because there was no law against it. They could make lots of money off this, but did not realize the damage it could do to the tiger population as a whole, or how it could affect the same tiger population in the future.
Overall this book has been very influential and a great read. It has changed my views on many issues, and tigers as a whole. This issue of the tiger population going down is a major issue in the whole scheme of things; I believe that if the tiger population were removed from the world, many things would start to go bad. Many other populations of animals that are related to the tiger in the food chains would be badly affected. Hopefully, the tiger population will be refreshed within the next decades so that we don't have to find out what happens if the tiger population diminishes...

Tigers in the Snow Book Review.......2002-01-02

The book that I chose to read was titled Tigers in the Snow, written by Peter Matthiessen. Tigers in the Snow was published by North Point Press, in 2000. It is 174 pages long. In this book the author takes us with him on a journey through Asia trying to save the tigers. He writes about his experiences in the Siberian Tiger Project, founded in 1989. Peter Matthiessen writes to show people how important tigers are in the world and how close we are to losing them. This book is very factual and detailed it gave me the true picture of the tiger's cultural history and how close we are to losing them forever.
This book is written from both an ecological and biological stance. Ecologically, he explains how tigers interact with other animals. They interact with the elk and other prey such as wild pig by hunting them. They indirectly interact with humans by hunting the same prey as human hunters do. They also interact with humans because human industries destroy the tiger's and its prey's habitat. Biologically, the book proves that tigers live a very strenuous life. At all times they are in danger of being hilled by poachers. Tiger's pray is very scarce making it hard for them to survive, especially ones with cubs. Their pray is so scarce because hunters over hunt tiger's main food sources which include large animals such as elk and wild pig. The number of human attacks by tigers increase along with the lack of prey. This is because the tiger will only attack a human if they are starving. Despite the tigers size and strength it fails in about 90% of its hunts.
This book discusses many aspects of the tiger. It addressed where they live, how many are left, and their hunting patterns. Tigers were once plentiful throughout Siberia, China, Korea, and South East Asia. Now, the 3,000 remaining wild tigers are mostly confined to small parks and reserves throughout the tiger world. Tigers are poached relentlessly for their fur and body parts which are often used for Asian folk medicines. Male tigers need large amounts of wooded territory. Several female tiger's territories often overlap a male's territory. Tigers have very unique hunting patterns. They use their excellent sight and hearing to hunt animals instead of their sense of smell like most carnivores do. Often times, they hide the carcass of their prey and return multiple times to eat. In order to convince governments that better tiger protection plans were needed scientists needed to extensively research the tiger. To do so the author, as a part of the Siberian Tiger Project, captured and radio collared the tigers. This way they could monitor movement and behavior without human influence. "From monitoring theses tigers-some for 7 years now- we know how much food they require, what they eat, how they react to human activities, and what makes for good tiger habitat," Matthiessen states in this book. He tells about his experiences studying the tigers. He traveled all around Asia to different reserves researching the tigers and their activities.
I think that this book has taught me a lot and that I can relate what I've learned to what we have discussed in class. It taught me about the tiger's niche in the environment, and we have studied niches of different organisms in class. I could also incorporate population studies into this book. The book often times discussed the population of tigers in certain areas. I have a better understanding of the tiger's population dilemma by using my knowledge of immigration, emigration, mortality, and natality. Overall, I thought this book was very educational and worth reading if you are at all interested in tigers or the effort being made to save them.
What I learned about the tiger can be applied to other animals facing loss of habitat and extinction. The book has taught me how much human's industry and over hunting can affect an animal's survival, more than any other natural factor. It has taught me that it is up to us to save the tiger from extinction and that is true for all endangered animals....

Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series)

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A close connection
Fascinating account of gorilla vets at work
You'll feel like you're there
Exploring an Endangered Species

Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series)
Pamela S. Turner
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Snake Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series)

ASIN: 0618445552

Book Description

Mountain gorillas are playful, curious, beautiful, and fiercely protective of their families. They are also one of the most endangered species in the world. For many years, mountain gorillas have faced the threat of t death at the hands of poachers. Funds raised by "gorilla tourism'bringing people into the forest to see these majestic animalshave helped protect gorillas. This tourism is vital, but close contact between gorillas and people has brought a new threat to the mountain gorillas: human disease. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project is a group of courageous and talented scientists working to save the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda and Uganda. The "Gorilla Doctors" study the effects of human exposure, document the daily lives of the gorillas, provide emergency care to injured animals, and even act as foster parents to an orphaned gorilla baby named Fearless. Through engaging text and stunning photographs, Pamela Turner takes readers on an exploration like no other in this gripping tale of science, nature, and conservation.

Customer Reviews:

A close connection.......2006-03-03

From the compelling portrait on the front cover, the photographs are one of the strongest features of this book. There are full-page photos of gorilla hands and feet that would be wonderful for actual comparison to a young readers' hands and feet. And this comparison would support one of the key messages of this book: humans and gorillas are very much alike. Sometimes that similarity is not such a good thing; for example, as humans and gorillas come into closer contact, the apes are catching human diseases which are hard for them to fight. Gorilla Doctors describes the work of veterinarians and other scientists who are struggling to keep the great apes safe in the wild. The language is very accessible, and could even work for a read-aloud to a younger child who's particuarly interested in gorillas.

Fascinating account of gorilla vets at work.......2005-07-05

This engaging book follows staff members of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as they provide medical care to endangered gorillas in Rwanda. Turner combines compelling stories of individual gorillas with clear explanations of how diseases are transferred between species. Kids will be intrigued by the detective work required to diagnose gorillas from a distance. Highly recommended.

You'll feel like you're there.......2005-06-07

A vivid portrayal of important work being done by gorilla vets in Rwanda. Written by a science writer who is also a skilled storyteller, it gives the reader a first-hand look at the plight of gorillas and what is being done to help them. Accounts of charming individual animals bring emotion to the fact-packed text.

Exploring an Endangered Species.......2005-05-31

GORILLA DOCTORS takes readers into the amazing world of gorillas and introduces us to a group of dedicated veterinarians who are passionate about saving this endangered species. Pamela Turner does a fabulous job of explaining the problems the doctors face, while giving readers a sense of place for that part of the world that most of us will never see. Well illustrated with touching and informative photos of the scientists and apes.

The Ecology, Exploitation and Conservation of River Turtles (Enviromental Science)

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This title does belong on the shelf
An important new book in herpetological conservation

The Ecology, Exploitation and Conservation of River Turtles (Enviromental Science)
Don Moll , and Edward O. Moll
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195102290

Book Description

The underlying theme of this book is that a widespread, taxonomically diverse group of animals, important both from ecological and human resource perspectives, remains poorly understood and in delcine, while receiving scant attention from the ecological and conservation community. This volume proposes a comprehensive overview of the world's river turtles' ecology, conservation, and management. It begins with a categorization of taxa which inhabit flowing water habitats followed by information on their evolutionary and physical diversity and biogeography. Within the framework of ecology, the authors discuss the composition of river turtle communities in different types of lotic habitats and regions, population dynamics, movements, reproductive characteristics and behavior, predators, and feeding relationships. In a conservation and management section, the authors identify and evaluate the nature and intensity of factors which threaten river turtle survival--almost all of which involve direct human exploitation or indirect effects of human induced habitat alteration and degradation. They then list and evaluate the various schemes which have been proposed or employed to halt declines and restore populations, and make recommendations for future management plans for specific species and regions. In closing, they state their viewpoint concerning future research directions and priorities, and an evaluation of future prospects for survival of the world's river turtle species.

Customer Reviews:

This title does belong on the shelf.......2005-10-10

of every individual with an investment or interest in freshwater turtle biology and conservation. "The Ecology, Exploitation, and Conservation of River Turtles" is a nice extension of the entry on the topic these authors contributed in Michael Klemens' "Turtle Conservation" (Smithsonian, 2000).

The outlay of the book is very functional, the many research references made are well-chosen, and the tone of the text intersperses encouragement for change and hope throughout. It must be noted that exploitation and conservation measures are much more heavily discussed than is ecology, which is even less uniform across the species covered than the former two aspects. Case studies do figure heavily in this book, which makes it somewhat biased towards species considered, but this can only be expected due to the paucity of literature on actual implementations (for direct river turtle exploitation and conservation).

The third chapter alone, which features major river turtle guilds of the world, is worth the purchase price in and of itself. The functional summarization-nature of this book, as with the previous title of paralleled nature noted above, will likely cause it to remain an important volume for decades to come.

One star was subtracted in this review, mostly to get your attention. The "technical" reason is because of the confusion that will potentially be created in lieu of the authors attempting to make the work more accessible. Scientific names and "common" English names are used interchangeably. In most cases, the scientific name is given once in company of the common name, and then the common name is used through the remainder of the book. For a work of this nature that deals with many species foreign and cryptic enough to elude use of common English names (which, in many cases, are so similar from one species to the next as to cause confusion - Mexican mud, Mexican rough-footed mud, Mexican giant musk, etc.), it would have been far simpler for the sake of clarity to have stuck with scientific names throughout, regardless of the dificulty in pronunciations and seeming lack of characterization. That minor, personal opinion-rooted shortcoming aside, the book's delivery mandates its inclusion in the book list of every individual concerned with this topic.

An important new book in herpetological conservation.......2005-03-09

Don Moll and Ed Moll's book has a welcome focus on freshwater turtles-the great majority, after all, of the world's turtle species live in freshwater-and is further focused on those species that inhabit the medium to large rivers where many of the world's most spectacular species and most diverse assemblages are found. Unfortunately, as this book makes all too clear, these species are among those most endangered, both by direct exploitation and by anthropogenic modification of their habitats. As the authors point out, the global decline in river turtle species is just as dire a situation as the much-ballyhooed global decline in amphibians, only in the case of turtles there is less uncertainty about the underlying causes. The brothers Moll bring extensive experience with river-dwelling turtle faunas to their effort. In addition to having both worked many years with turtles in the Midwestern United States, Don Moll has worked with sliders in Costa Rica and narrow-headed softshells in Thailand, while Ed Moll has been most active in his work with various Asian species, in particular the river terrapin, which figures prominently in this book. Some of their experiences form the basis for the "profiles" that begin each chapter, short entertaining vignettes on river turtle assemblages of the past and the present. The book begins with an introduction to the major riverine turtle assemblages of the world, a nice complement to past geographic reference works like John Iverson's 1992 book of range maps, in that turtle biologists now have a source to consult to quickly identify the species that co-occur in any of the major rivers of the world. A short chapter on exploitation of turtle populations in traditional societies is followed by a much lengthier chapter on current trends in exploitation of turtles for meat and other uses. Overexploitation of Asian, South American, and North American species is extensively covered, while information on African species is notably sparser, although perhaps not due to fault of the authors. The next chapter, on indirect threats to river turtles, focuses on alterations to rivers and their catchment basins that cause declines in native fauna, but also includes a short section on the role of exotic species in altering river turtle habitats. The book concludes with a thoughtful analysis of in situ and ex situ conservation techniques that are being applied to river turtles around the world. The authors describe a conservation philosophy that emphasizes the primacy of the former while still finding accessory roles for the latter. Overall, the book is an engaging and thoughtful look at the current conservation status of turtles in medium and large rivers, with much information not readily available in other sources. It is bound to be referenced frequently in coming years by workers in freshwater turtle ecology and conservation.

World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation

Average customer rating:

Valuable reference
Good Overview of Apes and Conservation
Most comprehensive great ape conservation book available

World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation
Julian Caldecott , and Lera Miles
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520246330

Book Description

Despite the dedicated efforts of many individuals and organizations, the great apes--our closest living relatives--are on the very edge of extinction. This sweeping atlas provides a comprehensive overview of what is currently known about all six species of great apes--chimpanzee, bonobo, Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, eastern gorilla, and western lowland gorilla. Created in association with The Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP), this book gives a thorough background on ape behavior and ecology for each species, including detailed habitat requirements, the apes' ecological role, and the possible consequences of their decline. World Atlas of Great Apes also offers a full description of the threats, current conservation efforts, and additional protection needed for each species across its entire range. Many full-color maps and illustrations make the abundance of information accessible to a broad readership, from specialists and policymakers to general readers concerned about the survival of these charismatic primates.
This book represents the work of a dynamic alliance of many of the world's leading great ape research and conservation organizations. Bringing together United Nations agencies, governments, foundations, and private-sector interests, the project aims to raise the international profile of great ape conservation and to build the political will for further action. Readers learn about work being done by specific organizations in support of great ape conservation, and where conservation is most needed and most likely to be effective.

¥Covers all six species of great apes
¥Provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive data available
¥More than 150 full-color photos
¥More than 50 full-color maps and diagrams

Customer Reviews:

Valuable reference.......2007-05-10

The World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation is a welcomed and appreciated publication. The material contained within is well researched and well presented, making it an invaluable reference for anyone wanting to know about the biology of great apes, their distribution, threats to their survival and actions being taken with respect conservation of Great Apes. The title has many applications - from those working in fields of zoology through to those wanting to develop educational information about Great Apes. It also provides insight into those factors that contribute to the success of conservation endeavours. I'd have no hestitation in recommending this reference.

Good Overview of Apes and Conservation.......2006-03-14

This book contains good information for anyone who is interested in an overview of apes and conservation. It provides behavioral descriptions of the different ape species, and gives a good analysis of the many different issues affecting conservation in today's ape environments. I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in either apes or conservation efforts around the world.

Most comprehensive great ape conservation book available.......2006-03-01

This book is amazing. It is the most comprehensive and up-to-date great ape conservation book available. It is easy to understand even if you aren't a biologist and filled with wonderful photos and maps. I recommend this book to anyone with a love for great apes or the environment in general. Plus, royalties go to the Great Apes Survival Project so you feel good when you buy the book.

King Of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run Of Salmon

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Say Goodbye to Salmon
Capitalism can't protect the Salmon
How to Save Salmon - Lessons from History

King Of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run Of Salmon
David R. Montgomery
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813342996
Release Date: 2004-12-28

Book Description

A passionate recounting of the natural history of the rise and fall of salmon in England, New England, and the Pacific Northwest-with recommendations for bringing the salmon back.

The salmon that symbolize the Pacific Northwest's natural splendor are now threatened with extinction across much of their ancestral range. In studying the natural and human forces that shape the rivers and mountains of that region, geologist David Montgomery has learned to see the evolution and near-extinction of the salmon as a story of changing landscapes. Montgomery shows how a succession of historical experiences -first in the United Kingdom, then in New England, and now in the Pacific Northwest -repeat a disheartening story in which overfishing and sweeping changes to rivers and seas render the world inhospitable to salmon. In King of Fish, Montgomery traces the human impacts on salmon over the last thousand years and examines the implications both for salmon recovery efforts and for the more general problem of human impacts on the natural world. What does it say for the long-term prospects of the world's many endangered species if one of the most prosperous regions of the richest country on earth cannot accommodate its icon species? All too aware of the possible bleak outcome for the salmon, King of Fish concludes with provocative recommendations for reinventing the ways in which we make environmental decisions about land, water, and fish.

Customer Reviews:

Say Goodbye to Salmon.......2005-09-13

I read this book with great interest and I am saddened by what I learned. I was raised in a town on the Columbia River and as a young fisherman, heard stories of large historic Salmon runs described in near myth-like terms. Back then I was taught to blame the tribes, gill netters and other commercial fisherman for the diminished runs. If only the problem were that simple. As Montgomery clearly describes, through an interesting comparative analsis, Salmon runs have historically been driven into extinction, first in Europe, then England, then New England, and now the Pacific Northwest in more or less the same fashion. As the areas around native salmon waters became populated and developed, our society has made certain choices, economic v. environmental, which not surpisingly have nearly always favored the economic. As a result, salmon runs were decimated by the construction of dams, overfishing, pollution, misguided hatchery programs, the clearing and diking of streams, destruction of wetlands, logging practices, and simply by population growth and development, which Montgomery describes as a death by a thousand cuts. Presently, salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest are at just 6-7% of their historical numbers. As the region's population is expected to double within this generation, conditions will likely only get worse. While Montgomery identifies steps than can be taken to revive these runs, it seems doubtful there is enough public sentiment or political will to effect these changes. If anything, this books is a sad commentary on our society's ability to manage its resources. Salmon, which are a symbol of the great Pacific Northwest, will soon be gone for good.

Capitalism can't protect the Salmon.......2004-05-22

Dr. Montgomery shows that if the toxic and human waste poured into the rivers of the industrial revolution did not poison Salmon, the incipient capitalist institution of commercial fishing would swallow most of them.. Montgomery quotes records from the holder of fishing rights on a specific part of the Thames river. The records of this particular holder shows he caught 66 salmon in 1801, 18 in 1812 and only 2 in 1821....by the 1960's, the annual salmon catch of England and Wales was a quarter of that a century earlier. He quotes an account of MP Robert Wallace about parliament blocking effective salmon protection laws at the behest of the commercial fishing industry, dam operators, etc.

He quotes accounts from the early 19th century including from Henry David Thoreau about the severe depletion of salmon stocks in Northeast U.S. rivers caused by the disruption of salmon spawning beds by the transportion of boats and logs down the river, dams, factory poisons and so on.

Salmon stocks continued to decline to near extinction in Eastern U.S. waters. The Danish government agreed to ban its fisherman from engaging in their highly destructive open ocean fishing off the coast of Greenland, where salmon from Britain, the U.S, and Canada often converge for their sojourns in the Ocean, in 1972. However Danes continued to fish heavily near the Greenland shore, and used vessels under other nation's flags to circumvent their salmon catch quota under the 1972 agreement.

Montgomery shows how salmon have been sacrificed since the Great Depression in favor of the dams which have provided water and electricity in the Eastern Pacific Northwest from the Snake and Colombia Rivers. In 1937, U.S. fisheries commissioner Franklin Bell let it be known that he wasn't going to strain himself too much on behalf of the Salmon. "Aside from blind restriction" of commercial fishing, he explained, "the protection of individual runs menaced by virtual extinction must be left to chance."

Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest thrived on salmon for subsistence, and to preserve the run, would commonly allow half of the run to pass through its nets. But with the coming of commercial fishing dominated by whites, Indian livelihood was wiped out. They could not compete in commercial fishing, lacking the wealth to purchase the sophisticated boats and nets increasingly becoming common. Indians became a racist scapegoat for the depletion of salmon stocks. He notes He notes though that state records that the entire Indian fishing catch from 1935 to 1950 was less than the total commercial catch during a typical year.

Washington State had always claimed that on traditional Indian fishing grounds based on treaties made regarding Colombian basin rivers in the 1850's, Indians merely had the same rights as whites to exploit salmon. But in 1970, federal district court judge George Boldt ruled that the treaties actually reserved for Indians half of the annual salmon supply. In 1975, the Supreme Court upheld Boldt's decision. In 1980, Federal Judge William Orrick declared that under the old treaties, maintaining decent habitat for salmon spawning fell to Washington state. Shortly thereafter a three-judge panel of the 9th circuit overturned the decision. The issue of maintaining the habitat has not been resolved. He points out that native Americans have not been given "special rights" in fishing, as white fisherman and the demagogues inflaming them have claimed but the treaties, signed as they were under pressure, were grants by the Indians to the White man on the Indian's land. Not grants by the white man to the Indian.

, Hatcheries were promoted as the catchall solution to salmon shortages. Huge investments were made in this new technology by Washington and Oregon governments beginning the late 19th century. However, writes Montgomery, in the long term, hatcheries have clearly failed. Salmon cannot simply adapt to any stream or river. They seem genetically programmed to operate in limited regions. Hatcheries salmon are selected from a very limited gene pool i.e. lack of genetic diversity and can produce defective offspring with their wild brethren. The hatchery salmon are found to be much more aggressive than their wild counterparts in eating up the food supply, thus making the wild ones lose out in the survival of the fittest. In particular hatchery fish, can introduce deadly diseases to their wild brethren. In the mid-70's a parasite from hatchery fish wiped out restored wild salmon stocks in Norwegian rivers.
By the early 1990's, while the Colombia river held an estimated 11 to 16 million salmon before the arrival of Europeans, by then it had dwindled to around 2 million wild fish. Yet the number of hatchery fish in the river was estimated at the time to be around a hundred million.

Likewise, on the East coast, salmon produced in "farms" i.e. maintained in cages at sea, sometimes accounted for the majority of spawning salmon in a river. An estimate of the National Research Council declares that 180,000 fish a year escape from their farms in Maine. They spread disease to wild salmon and mate with them, creating large numbers of genetically limited salmon. According to Montgomery, those 180,000 fish are ten times the number of wild salmon left in New England. In Europe, he notes, the amount of farm salmon being produced was 100 times the catch of wild salmon.

He advocates strictly enforced moratoriums on fishing, increased preservations of wetlands to allow for the creation of flood produced salmon-friendly side-channels, strictly enforced regulations on placing passageways for salmon in dams, regulations to prevent salmon waterways from being polluted and to make sure that salmon do not end up as carcasses on farmland after being swallowed through irrigation pumps. The economic actors involved continue to block serious efforts to protect the salmon as they always have. He notes how the Bush administration has blocked efforts to address over-fishing.

How to Save Salmon - Lessons from History.......2004-03-20

Montgomery's book is centered on the notion that we are failing to learn from history when it comes to the Pacific salmon crisis. In England, eastern North America, and now the Pacific Northwest, human actions that inevitably destroy the "king of fish" have been repeated. Overfishing, blocking salmon from their spawning habitat, and causing the deterioration of habitat quality through pollution, land clearing, and simplification of the river are the culprits. Montgomery also tells why hatcheries are not the solution and never have been. He closes with a clear and, to me, indisputable analysis of what we must do to preserve and recover this most amazing of creatures. The book is quite accessible to a layperson; you don't need a scientific background, or even any knowledge of the problems facing Pacific salmon, in order to enjoy and learn from the book.

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 17501920 (Studies in Environment and History)

Average customer rating:

Serving the Interests of the Dominant Culture; A critical perspective
A new view on the bison's demise
Important contribution to the field of environmental history
The Big Picture
a pleasure to read

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 17501920 (Studies in Environment and History)
Andrew C. Isenberg
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521003482

Book Description

The Destruction of the Bison explains the decline of the North American bison population from an estimated 30 million in 1800 to fewer than 1000 a century later. In this wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study, Andrew C. Isenberg argues that the cultural and ecological encounter between Native Americans and Euroamericans in the Great Plains was the central cause of the near extinction of the bison. Drought and the incursion of domestic livestock and exotic species such as horses into the Great Plains all threatened the Western ecosystem, which was further destabilized as interactions between Native Americans and Euroamericans created new types of hunters in both cultures: mounted Indian nomads and white commercial hide hunters. In the early twentieth century, nostalgia about the very cultural strife that first threatened the bison became, ironically, an important impetus to its preservation.

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Customer Reviews:

Serving the Interests of the Dominant Culture; A critical perspective.......2006-07-22

As all the other reviews are positive, I will add a much needed critical perspective.

The central argument of this book is that:

"The combination of Indian predation and environmental change decimated the bison" (Isenberg, p.3).

As such, this book contradicts massive amounts of primary historical sources that show, un-arguably, that the destruction and near extinction of the Bison herds was a direct result of Anglo predation in a direct attempt to destroy the resource base of the Plains Tribes in order to force them onto reservations.

As the other reviewers have pointed out, it is true that the Plains Tribes were not nomadic hunters for all of their history. It is true that the Tribes adopted nomadic hunting as a primary subsistence strategy only after being forced to do so by Anglo aggression and encroachment.

But from that truth, Isenberg moves on to a series of unproven theories based on questionable ecological assumptions that are rooted in the "new ecology" - an ecological theory that describes nature as a disordered, chaotic and individualistic struggle for survival (For info on the "new ecology" see my review of "Discordant Harmonies: A new ecology for the 21st century).

For example, Isenberg bases one of his arguments on the un-proven theory that early Tribal Peoples, thousands of years ago, hunted to extinction many species of large land mammals.

But the story of the Bison is not a pre-historic story. It is a story of modern history and Isenberg presents no historical proof that the Tribes were responsible for the near extinction of the Bison.

Rather, he makes subjective philosophical arguments against "romanticizing" wilderness and Native American cultures.

From there Iverson uses these arguments as a backdrop to a series of environmental statistical analyses.

Basically, Iverson lays out an exponential statistical model where by he argues that, given the estimated number of Bison deaths necessary to sustain the Plains Tribes, eventually the Bison would have been rendered extinct by the Tribes at some point in the future.

The problem is that this can never be proven because it never happened!

What happened, and it is documented in massive amounts of printed primary historical sources, was that the Bison were deliberately slaughtered by greedy Anglo hunters for their skins and tongues.

The United States Army was in on it as well, as is documented by many sources showing that the Bison herds were decimated in a deliberate attempt to make it impossible for the Tribes to remain living free on the Plains.

Isenberg's book is one that must be extremely comforting to those forces that continue to destroy what wild animals and lands we have left here in North America.

A new view on the bison's demise.......2003-10-17

Andrew Isenberg, professor of History at Princeton University, has produced a brilliant monograph documenting the relationship between the Plains Indians, whites and the bison that once thrived on the Great Plains.
Isenberg carefully presents the ecology of the Great Plaines, demonstrating how tenuous the environment is to begin with: drought and fires can easily destroy the short grass that the bison depend on, causing sudden fluctuations in the herds. Given the already sensitive nature of the bison population, Isenberg then discusses the effect of human hunting.
Many readers, accostomed to thinking of the Plains Indians as ancient cultures, practicing a lifestyle as old as time, will be surprised to learn that the tribes of the great plains were largly recent developments. The introduction of the horse in the late 17th century dramatically altered the lifesyles of the plains tribes. Now that horses could be used to follow the bison herds year round, many groups abandoned agriculture and became full time bison hunters.
Isenberg documents the rise of trade networks, and the material wealth that Indians were able to accumulate in the beaver and bison pelt trade. Isenberg argues that Indians increasingly exploited the bison in a non-substainable fashion, thus dramatically weakening the bison population by the mid 19th century. Thus white hunting, which escalated in the 1870s to fill the demand for bison leather machine belts, was merely a coup de grace for the already decimated herds.
Isenberg's thesis rather explodes the old myth that Indians were always ecologically sensitive people who cared meticulously for their rescources. Yet in the end, his message is one of environmental responsibility, as he narrates a tragic case study of unsubstainable environmental exploitation. The book is well crafted and highly readable, and recommended for all interested in the American West.

Important contribution to the field of environmental history.......2002-03-16

Andrew Isenberg's "The Destruction of the Bison" shows that the interaction between ecology, culture and economy contributes the the destruction of bison. Unlike most historians who contributes the environmental degradation to Euro-Americans, Isenberg shows that Native Americans also play a role in modifying the ecology. He is able to show how introduction of horses, made Native Americans became more mobile and therefore were able to hunt the bison while riding their horses.

Initially, the Natives hunted for subsistence but later were drawn into the market-oriented economic system and were trading the bison's skin for other European products. Gradually, bison became nearly decimated.

This is an incredible book in this survey of the history of the North American bison population and is very well-written. He organizes this book well and is very readable. Even if readers who do not have prior knowledge of bison or is unfamiliar with the field of environmental history, this book will not pose any difficulty for understanding the complex relationship between human and the environment around them.

The Big Picture.......2001-08-19

So often, we tend to think of the near-extinction of the Bison as having been solely caused by overhunting by the fur trade. This book shows the intensely interwoven cause and effect relationships that led to massive changes, not only for the Bison, but for the Native Americans as well. The scope of this book is so much larger than just the destruction of the Bison - it addresses the full range of effects that Westward Expansion had on the plains. To gain a better understanding of the ecological dynamics at play between the Bison, the indigenous tribes, the settlers and the environment - this book is a must.

a pleasure to read.......2001-03-21

You don't have to be a Princeton professor to enjoy this book. Isenberg, who is in fact a professor of history at Princeton, is erudite without being arcane. I am looking forward to his next book, on the social and environmental consequencs of the California Gold Rush. Meanwhile, do read Destruction of the Bison. Here is a book in which everything is interconnected, just as it is in real life. Everything the Indians do affects the settlers, and the Indians lives are shaped by economic developments far from the great plains. If you enjoy, Isenberg's style, you might also want to read, Diana Muir's Bullough's Pond, a book that interweaves complex and disparate events in a satisfying narrative.

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