This book provides a multi-disciplinary coverage of the broad fields of species, community and landscape conservation. The panel of contributors consider a range of topics in vegetation and biodiversity assessment, planning and management of conservation zones and protected areas, together with historical and social/legal issues of the environment and nature conservation. The book celebrates the life’s work of Professor Franco Pedrotti.

The history and science of a cluster of dinosaurs found in the Hungarian region and the story of the aristocrat who discovered them. At the end of the time of the dinosaurs, Transylvania was an island in what was to become southeastern Europe. The island’s limited resources affected the size and life histories of its animals, resulting in a local dwarfism. For example, sauropods found on the island measured only six meters long, while their cousins elsewhere grew up to five times larger. Here, David B. Weishampel and Coralia-Maria Jianu present unique evolutionary interpretations of this phenomenon. The authors bring together the latest information on the fauna, flora, geology, and paleogeography of the region, casting these ancient reptiles in their phylogenetic, paleoecological, and evolutionary contexts. What the authors find is that Transylvanian dinosaurs experienced a range of unpredictable successes as they evolved. Woven throughout the detailed history and science of these diminutive dinosaurs is the fascinating story of the man who first discovered them, the mysterious twentieth-century paleontologist Franz Baron Nopcsa, whose name is synonymous with Transylvanian dinosaurs. Hailed by some as the father of paleobiology, it was Nopcsa alone who understood the importance of the dinosaur discoveries in Transylvania; their story cannot be told without recounting his. Transylvanian Dinosaurs strikes an engaging balance between biography and scientific treatise and is sure to capture the imagination of professional paleontologists and amateur dinophiles alike. “It is rare to find a book on dinosaurs so literate, well-written, and full of insight and synthesis—particularly when the dinosaurs are so unusual. The authors lay them out for us, situate them beautifully in time, space, and cultural history, and then reassemble them and their world using all the tools of modern science. The result is a tour de force.” —Kevin Padian, University of California Museum of Paleontology “A fine example of something I always try, but rarely succeed, to articulate to colleagues in paleontology, evolutionary biology, and geology who don’t work on dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, within the context of their ecosystems and paleogeography, can tell us many neat things about how evolution works over long time scales.” —Stephen Brusatte, Priscum

This volume celebrates the contributions of Dr. Eugene Gaffney to the study of turtles, through a diverse and complementary collection of papers that showcases the latest research on one of the most intriguing groups of reptiles. A mix of focused and review papers deals with numerous aspects of the evolutionary history of turtles, including embryonic development, origins, early diversification, phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography. Moreover it includes reports on important but poorly understood fossil turtle assemblages, provides historical perspectives on turtle research, and documents disease and variation in turtles. With its broad scope, which includes descriptions of material and new taxa from Australia, Asia, and Europe, as well as North and South America, this work will be an essential resource for anyone interested in the morphology and evolution of turtles. “This volume’s breadth of time, geography, and taxonomic coverage makes it a major contribution to the field and a ‘must have’ for all vertebrate paleontologists.”, James F. Parham, California State University, CA, USA “A comprehensive and sweeping overview of turtle evolution by the top experts in the field that will interest everyone curious about these unique reptiles.” Jason S. Anderson, University of Calgary, Canada “An invaluable addition to the literature that covers the full spectrum of approaches toward understanding the evolution of these noble creatures.” Ann C. Burke, Wesleyan University, CT , USA “A truly comprehensive volume that both the student of fossil turtles, as well as the general reader interested in these enigmatic creatures, will find fascinating.” Tyler Lyson, Yale University, CT, USA​

Standard reference to the freshwater fishes of Europe covering 546 native and 33 introduced species. Includes diagnoses for all species with keys to genera and species, methods for identification, notes on habitat, biology, ecology, native, extirpated and introduced distributions, species conservation status (validated through IUCN procedures), uptodate taxonomy and nomenclature using modern methods and concepts. Included is a bibliography of more than 870 references.

Cumulative global transformations, occurring daily, affect important aspects of our life. Characteristic cultural and natural heritage, including sites of priceless value, is under constant threat. There are growing pressures, of both natural and human origin, such as wars, con icts, natural or technological disasters and the effects of global climate change. These provoke the continuous degradation of many sites included in the World Heritage List. In consequence, immediate strategic measures must be taken. Natural heritage is our legacy from the past, that we inherited from our ancestors and pass on to future generations. It is vital to realize its value and protect it by all possible means, enforcing innovative and sustainable action plans that promote global international co-operation. This book aims to address speci c natural heritage sites in Europe, from West to East. The six countries of study interest are Portugal, Malta, Greece, Italy, Romania and Turkey. For each case, the corresponding current status is presented. This is accompanied by recommended action plans for protection and conservation, tra- ing initiatives that improve the public awareness of natural heritage issues and efforts to estimate the natural/environmental value of the sites. The book is the overall result of an interregional initiative aiming to promote convergence, provoke public interest and recommend action for radical changes in our attitude towards heritage conservation.

This Open Access book explains that after long periods of prehistoric research in which the importance of the archaeological as well as the natural context of rock art has been constantly underestimated, research has now begun to take this context into focus for documentation, analysis, interpretation and understanding. Human footprints are prominent among the long-time under-researched features of the context in caves with rock art. In order to compensate for this neglect an innovative research program has been established several years ago that focuses on the merging of indigenous knowledge and western archaeological science for the benefit of both sides. The book gathers first the methodological diversity in the analysis of human tracks. Here major representatives of anthropological, statistical and traditional approaches feature the multi-layered methods available for the analysis of human tracks. Second it compiles case studies from around the globe of prehistoric human tracks. For the first time, the most important sites which have been found worldwide are published in a single publication. The third focus of this book is on firsthand experiences of researchers with indigenous tracking experts from around the globe, expounding on how archaeological sciencecan benefit from the ancestral knowledge. This book will be of interest to professional archaeologists, graduate students, ecologists, cultural anthropologists and laypeople, especially those focussing on hunting-gathering and pastoralist communities and who appreciate indigenous knowledge.--