Short, compelling, but mostly thought-provoking essys that encompass many of the central issues shaping ecology and conservation in the changing world
- Collected essays from one of the best known ecologists and conservationists in the world
- Includes all issues at the cutting edge of the interface between ecology and conservation
- Attractive to a broad audience of ecologists, conservationists, natural resource managers, policy makers, and naturalists
Table of Contents:
Preamble: Why this book?
Acknowledgments xiii
Essay 1 How did I get here? 1
Essay 2 Found! The survivor in the swamps (2005) 4
Essay 3 In defense of footnotes (2014) 7
Part I: Change, the challenge
Chapter 1 Conservation and change 13
Chapter 2 A digression on paradigms 18
Essay 4 The power of paradigms (2014) 23
Essay 5 Patterns, paradigms, and preconceptions (2013) 29
Essay 6 Fat times, lean times, and competition among predators (1993) 33
Chapter 3 Equilibrium, stability, and change 39
Essay 7 From our southern correspondent(s) (2011) 44
Essay 8 Boom and bust: lessons from the outback (2014) 51
Chapter 4 A digression on disturbance 57
Essay 9 Oil, oil, everywhere…(2010) 60
Part II: The forces of change
Chapter 5 Climate change and sea-level rise 71
Essay 10 Polar bears, golden toads, and conservation futures (2008) 76
Chapter 6 Land-use change 79
Essay 11 Will land-use change erode our conservation gains? (2007) 85
Essay 12 Landscape ecology: the science and the action (1999) 88
Chapter 7 Distributional changes: invasive species 91
Chapter 8 Societal, cultural, and political change 96
Essay 13 Wildlife, people, and water: who wins? (2012) 100
Chapter 9 Population growth 105
Chapter 10 Linkages among changes 109
Part III: Conservation conundrums
Chapter 11 Variation and history 117
Essay 14 The eclipse of history? (2008) 122
Essay 15 From our southern correspondent(s): which history? (2013) 125
Chapter 12 A digression on baselines and targets 129
Essay 16 Shooting at a moving target (2011) 133
Chapter 13 Ecological thresholds 138
Essay 17 Tipping points in the balance of nature (2010) 144
Chapter 14 Ecological resilience 149
Chapter 15 Dealing with novelty 154
Essay 18 Black swans and outliers (2012) 160
Essay 19 Moving outside the box (2009) 164
Chapter 16 Uncertainty: a boon or a bane? 167
Essay 20 Taking risks with the environment (2012) 172
Essay 21 Uncertainty and the relevance of ecology (2008) 176
Chapter 17 Prioritization and triage 180
Essay 22 Talking about triage in conservation (2015) 188
Chapter 18 Protected areas: where the wild things are 191
Essay 23 Build it and they will come (2013) 197
Essay 24 The dangers of black-and-white conservation (2007) 203
Chapter 19 Ecosystem services and the value of nature 206
Essay 25 What’s so new about ecosystem services? (2007) 211
Part IV: Doing conservation
Chapter 20 What is it we are trying to conserve? 217
Essay 26 Be careful what you wish for (2014) 222
Essay 27 Concluding comments: Are bird communities real? (1980) 227
Essay 28 A metaphor meets an abstraction: the issue of "Healthy Ecosystems" (2015) 230
Chapter 21 Numbers, numbers, numbers 237
Essay 29 Is "monitoring" a dirty word? (2009) 241
Essay 30 The place of long-term studies in ornithology (1984) 244
Essay 31 What use is small data in a big data world? (2013) 247
Chapter 22 A digression on words 251
Essay 32 Word processing versus writing (1983, 2011) 254
Chapter 23 Debates in ecology and conservation 257
Essay 33 On skepticism and criticism in ornithology (1981) 264
Essay 34 The demise of wildness? (2007) 267
Chapter 24 What lies behind the debates? Philosophy, values, and ethics 270
Chapter 25 A digression on advocacy in conservation 275
Essay 35 Scientific responsibility and responsible ecology (1997) 280
Part V: Concluding comments
Chapter 26 Whither ecology and conservation in a changing world? 287
Essay 36 "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" (2009) 292
Essay 37 Being green isn’t easy (2010) 295
Essay 38 Stewart Udall and the future of conservation (2010) 298
References 301
Scientific names of species mentioned in the text 319
Index 323
About the Author :
Professor John Wiens, PRBO Conservation Science, California, USA
Professor Wiens is currently Chief Conservation Science Officer at PRBO Conservation Science, California, and a visiting faculty member of the University of Western Australia in Perth, where he collaborates with colleagues on restoration ecology. He held positions at Oregon state University, the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University before leaving academia in 2002 to join The Nature Conservancy as Lead Scientist. He has published over ten books and 250 scientific papers. At PRBO Professor Wiens develops guidance for assessing how landscapes are likely to change and how management practices can help to mitigate or adapt to the changes.
