Conservation of Wildlife Populations: Applications of Ecological, Evolutionary, and Genetic Concepts

Applied population ecology has matured into a sophisticated science with considerable potential to help conserve wild populations in a rapidly changing world. And yet, much of the practical power of wildlife population ecology has been isolated in specialized texts and so remains underappreciated. This third edition is a major revision of ‘Conservation of Wildlife Populations.’ It begins with core fundamentals of estimating, describing, and projecting dynamics of fluctuating populations, including varying responses across individuals, populations, species, and communities. It then covers the intersection of population dynamics with genetic structure, predation, inbreeding, climate change, population viability analysis, multiple population dynamics, structured decision-making, and harvest. Quantitative aspects and non-intuitive concepts are explained throughout with attention to clarity and applications. References and case studies have been thoroughly updated and expanded in global scope, and fish and fisheries are now included, but this third edition maintains its readable and approachable style with one voice (as opposed to edited volumes). By the end students should have the confidence to advance both conservation management and research by effectively using scientific data, models, and the literature to address pressing questions. At the same time, Conservation of Wildlife Populations (Third Edition) will provide to practitioners in the field—in one place and with plenty of practical examples—the scientific basis to make efficient and effective conservation decisions based on the latest advances in the ecological, evolutionary, and genetic aspects of population ecology.