Tropical Conservation Biology

Informationen zum Autor Navjot S. Sodhi is Professor at the National University of Singapore. An associate/subject editor of Conservation Biology, the Auk, and Biotropica, Navjot received his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. A recipient of National Geographic Society grants, he has also spent time as a Bullard Fellow at Harvard University, where he holds an adjunct associate position. Barry W. Brook is Professor and Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide, Australia. His research interests include climate change, global ecology and extinction dynamics. Barry serves on the editorial boards of Ecological Research and Raffles Bulletin of Zoology and is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts and F1000 Biology. In 2006 he was awarded the Fenner Medal by the Australian Academy of Sciences. Corey J. A. Bradshaw is Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University, Australia. He earned a doctoral degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand and has extensively researched marine and terrestrial vertebrate populations, with an emphasis on extinction modelling and ecological theory. Corey is an Associate Editor for Journal of Animal Ecology . Klappentext Nowhere in the world is biodiversity conservation and management more critical than in the highly biodiverse tropical regions. Although the temperate regions of the Earth have suffered severely from human encroachments in the ancient and recent past, the present-day (and future) biodiversity crisis looms largest in the tropics. This is especially important because it is in the tropics that the largest tracts of still-pristine habitat, the greatest species diversity, and the richest centres of endemism are found. The mounting threats to tropical biodiversity require conservation practitioners to make urgent conservation decisions. As such, it is critical to document the current state of tropical biodiversity, determine possible ways to protect it, and synthesize the vast body of scientific research relevant to tropical regions in a concise, yet comprehensive format. Tropical Conservation Biology is the first teaching textbook to examine the broad spectrum of conservation issues as they relate specifically to terrestrial and aquatic habitats of the tropics. The book has been written for senior undergraduate and graduate students, scientists, and managers with an interest in tropical habitat conservation and management. The book also includes short biographies of some of the world's most eminent conservation scientists followed by a brief set of questions and answers that focus on some of the most pertinent and pressing issues in tropical conservation biology today. It is hoped that current students will benefit from the knowledge and be inspired by the passion of these renowned biologists. Zusammenfassung This introductory textbook examines diminishing terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the tropics! covering a broad range of topics including the fate of the coral reefs; the impact of agriculture! urbanization! and logging on habitat depletion; and the effects of fire on plants and animal survival. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface ix Acknowledgements xii 1 Diminishing Habitats in Regions of High Biodiversity 1 1.1 Loss of native habitats 2 1.2 Drivers of habitat loss 16 1.3 Biodiversity hotspots 27 1.4 Summary 31 1.5 Further reading 32 2 Invaluable Losses 33 2.1 Environmental filters 33 2.2 Precipitation and temperature regulation 37 2.3 Water purification 37 2.4 Protecting catchments and soils 38 2.5 Forests and floods 38 2.6 Nitrogen flux 39...

Auteur

Navjot S. Sodhi is Professor at the National University of Singapore. An associate/subject editor of Conservation Biology, the Auk, and Biotropica, Navjot received his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. A recipient of National Geographic Society grants, he has also spent time as a Bullard Fellow at Harvard University, where he holds an adjunct associate position.

Barry W. Brook is Professor and Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide, Australia. His research interests include climate change, global ecology and extinction dynamics. Barry serves on the editorial boards of Ecological Research and Raffles Bulletin of Zoology and is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts and F1000 Biology. In 2006 he was awarded the Fenner Medal by the Australian Academy of Sciences.

Corey J. A. Bradshaw is Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University, Australia. He earned a doctoral degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand and has extensively researched marine and terrestrial vertebrate populations, with an emphasis on extinction modelling and ecological theory. Corey is an Associate Editor for Journal of Animal Ecology.

Texte du rabat

Nowhere in the world is biodiversity conservation and management more critical than in the highly biodiverse tropical regions. Although the temperate regions of the Earth have suffered severely from human encroachments in the ancient and recent past, the present-day (and future) biodiversity crisis looms largest in the tropics. This is especially important because it is in the tropics that the largest tracts of still-pristine habitat, the greatest species diversity, and the richest centres of endemism are found. The mounting threats to tropical biodiversity require conservation practitioners to make urgent conservation decisions. As such, it is critical to document the current state of tropical biodiversity, determine possible ways to protect it, and synthesize the vast body of scientific research relevant to tropical regions in a concise, yet comprehensive format.
Tropical Conservation Biology is the first teaching textbook to examine the broad spectrum of conservation issues as they relate specifically to terrestrial and aquatic habitats of the tropics. The book has been written for senior undergraduate and graduate students, scientists, and managers with an interest in tropical habitat conservation and management.

The book also includes short biographies of some of the world's most eminent conservation scientists followed by a brief set of questions and answers that focus on some of the most pertinent and pressing issues in tropical conservation biology today. It is hoped that current students will benefit from the knowledge and be inspired by the passion of these renowned biologists.

Résumé
This introductory textbook examines diminishing terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the tropics, covering a broad range of topics including the fate of the coral reefs; the impact of agriculture, urbanization, and logging on habitat depletion; and the effects of fire on plants and animal survival.

Contenu

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xii

1 Diminishing Habitats in Regions of High Biodiversity 1

1.1 Loss of native habitats 2

1.2 Drivers of habitat loss 16

1.3 Biodiversity hotspots 27

1.4 Summary 31

1.5 Further reading 32

2 Invaluable Losses 33

2.1 Environmental filters 33

2.2 Precipitation and temperature regulation 37

2.3 Water purification 37

2.4 Protecting catchments and soils 38

2.5 Forests and floods 38

2.6 Nitrogen flux 39

2.7 Eutrophication 40

2.8 Nature's pharmacy and goods 41

2.9 Human health and nature 41

2.10 Ecosystem services from nature 43

2.11 The direct economic value of nature 47

2.12 The role of nature in human culture 49

2.13 Loss of knowledge 49

2.14 Summary 52

2.15 Further reading 52

3 Broken Homes: Tropical Biotas in Fragmented Landscapes 53

3.1 Theoretical premises of fragmentation 53

3.2 Abiotic and geometric components of fragmentation 56

3.3 Biotic effects of fragmentation 56 …