An exciting new conservation biology textbook

An Introduction to

Conservation Biology

Richard B. Primack and Anna A. Sher

ABOUT THE BOOKSinauer Associates is pleased to announce the publication, this April, of a new undergraduate conservation biology textbook, An Introduction to Conservation Biology. New coauthor Anna Sher joins longtime Sinauer author Richard Primack in creating a book that combines the readability of Primack’s A Primer of Conservation Biology with the depth and coverage of his larger textbook, Essentials of Conservation Biology. The result is a book well suited for a wide range of undergraduate courses, as both a primary text for conservation biology courses and a supplement for ecological and environmental science courses.

Using the chapter framework of the current Primer as a springboard, the authors have added three chapters focused on population biology conservation tools (Chapter 7), restoration ecology (Chapter 10), and the future of conservation (Chapter 12). Sustainable development, ex situ conservation, and other key topics have been expanded and updated with hundreds of new examples, explanations, citations, and figures to enhance learning and excitement for the subject. Mining her experience teaching conservation biology with Dr. Primack’s texts for over a decade, Dr. Sher fine-tunes the presentation of difficult concepts, particularly in economics and politics. Coverage of recent conservation biology events in the news—such as the poaching of Cecil the lion, the first papal encyclical on the environment, and the international Paris Accord on climate

change—keepsthe content fresh and current.

The book’s twelve chapters (see Contents) focus successive-ly on biological diversity and its value; threats to biological diversity; conservation at the pop-ulation and species levels; protecting, managing, and restoring ecosystems; and sustainable development. Each chapter begins with general ideas and principles, beautifully illustrated in full color with diverse examples from the current literature. Chapters end with summaries, an annotated list of suggested readings, and discussion questions. Numerous sidebar summaries highlight key points in each chapter. Throughout, the authors maintain a focus on the active role that scientists, local people, conservation organizations, government, and the general public play in protecting biodiversity, even while providing for human needs.

April 2016 • 450 pages (est.) • 200 illustrations (est.)ISBN 978-1-60535-473-6 • paper$84.95 Suggested list price • $67.96 Net price to resellers

ABOUT THE AUTHORSRichard B. Primack is a Professor of Biology at Boston University. He received his B.A. at Harvard University in 1972 and his Ph.D. at Duke University in 1976, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury and Harvard University. He served as a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong, Tokyo University, and the Northeast Forestry University in China, and has received Harvard’s Bullard and Putnam Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and Germany’s Humboldt Fellowship. Dr. Primack was President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Conservation. Thirty-four foreign-language editions of his conservation text-books have been produced with local coauthors. He is an author of Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Com-parison (with Richard Corlett). Dr. Primack’s research interests include climate change; the loss of species; tropical ecology; and conservation education. He has recently completed a pop-ular book about the impacts of climate change, titled Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods.

Anna A. Sher is a Professor of Biology at the University of Denver, where she has taught Conservation Biology since 2003. She held a joint position as the Director of Research and Conservation at Denver Botanic Gardens from 2003–2010. Dr. Sher has published books and articles for academic, trade, and popular audiences on various topics within conservation biology, including restoration ecology, rare plant conservation, and climate change. She is one of the foremost experts on the ecology of invasive Tamarix trees and was the lead editor of the book Tamarix: A Case Study of Ecological Change in the American West (Oxford University Press, 2013). Dr. Sher received her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of New Mexico in 1998, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis and a Fulbright Scholar in Israel. She has taught as adjunct faculty at both a small liberal arts college, Earlham College, and a large state school, the University of New Mexico. Dr. Sher also led scientific study-abroad programs in East Africa, and is a contributing science writer for the Huffington Post blog.

CONTENTS1. Defining Conservation BiologyThis chapter presents the history and current dimensions and goals of the scientific disci-pline that is Conservation Biology, including its relationship with related, non-scientific fields, such as ecology and environmental science. The discipline has expanded rapidly in recent decades with many successes in its wake.

2. What Is Biodiversity?The different levels of diversity and their im-portance for preserving species are explained in the context of the ecological and genetic processes that produce them. This chapter describes ecosystem types with particularly high biodiversity, with specific examples from around the globe.

3. The Value of BiodiversityHere we explore the basic tenets of ecologi-cal economics and their relationship to Con-servation Biology as an applied discipline. Conceptual models are used to consider the importance of species and other aspects of biodiversity to humans on practical, philo-sophical, and ethical grounds.

4. Threats to BiodiversityThis chapter describes how habitat destruc-tion and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, overuse by humans, and climate change affect living organisms and impact species with examples across taxa and around the world. Threats from genetically modified organisms and disease are also explored.

5. Extinction Is ForeverBackground rates of extinction versus hu-man-caused extinction are explained in this chapter. Both quantitative and theoretical models are used to explain observed patterns and risk factors for extinction. Problems as-sociated with small populations are explored in some depth. Biogeography is introduced in the context of island extinctions and the species-area relationship.

6. Conserving Populations and SpeciesThis chapter explores the different ways that species and populations are studied and protected in the wild. The methods of population biology tools such as Population Viability Analysis (PVA) are explained. This information is then used in establishing priorities and policies for protecting species, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

7. Bringing Populations and Species Back from the BrinkResearch and examples are presented of how new populations of species are estab-lished in the wild to prevent extinctions and restore ecosystem balance. The role of zoos, aquaria, and botanic gardens in off-site or ex situ conservation is highlighted as part of an overall strategy.

8. Protected AreasIn this chapter, the types of protected areas and considerations for the establishment of new protected areas are explained. Related topics include how the design of protected areas has been influenced by biogeography theory, the value of conservation corridors, and the value of small versus large protected areas.

9. Conservation outside Protected AreasThe importance of land outside of protected areas for biodiversity conservation, includ-ing those that are dominated by humans, is explained here. We present ways that conser-vation in this context is accomplished, such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) and approaches for ecosystem management that include indigenous peoples, private land owners, and government agencies.

10. Restoration EcologyThis chapter introduces the applied scientific field of restoration ecology, with particular attention given to the restoration of wet-lands, aquatic systems, prairies, and forests. Controversies around the use of pesticides and biological control and the reintroduc-tion of long-absent species to accomplish restoration are explored.

11. The Challenge of Sustainable DevelopmentConservation policy that incorporates the long-term needs of people is the focus of this chapter, with presentations of key local, national, and international examples. The balance of development versus preservation is considered at these various scales, with a critical eye toward both costs and benefits.

12. The Future of ConservationThis final chapter considers the primary challenges and opportunities for conserva-tion biology going forward, both in terms of extinction threats, such as climate change, and the scientific field of study. It takes an unflinching view at the scale of the problems while also describing the opportunities for conservation biologists to protect the future of our planet’s biodiversity and contribute to society.

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FOR THE INSTRUCTORInstructor’s Resource Library (available to qualified adopters)

This resource includes all figures (line-art illustrations and photographs) and tables from the textbook, provided as both high- and low-resolution JPEGs. All have been formatted and optimized for excellent projection quality. Also included are ready-to-use PowerPoint® slides of all figures and tables.

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SAMPLE PAGES

7Establishing and Reinforcing

Populations 191

Ex Situ Conservation Strategies 199

Can Technology Bring Back Extinct Species? 205

European bison, wisent (Bison bonasus), at snow fall, Germany

Bringing Species Back from the Brink

On the cover: Golden Lion Tamarin, Leontopithecus rosalia. © Juan Carlos Muñoz/AGE Fotostock.