This book is devoted to the Little Bustard, a medium sized Paleartic steppe bird whose distribution ranges from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia. At present, the European population is suffering a severe decline mainly due to agricultural intensification, although its status and concerns in non-European countries are relatively unknown. In spite of this dramatic situation, the Little Bustard is an interesting model species for topics as varied as phylogeny, life history evolution and demographic traits, sexual selection and lekking behavior, habitat selection, intra- and interspecific relationships, or interaction with farming and other anthropogenic disturbances. This book provides an updated, interdisciplinary, and worldwide review of the most recent information of this crucial species in the Palearctic steppe-bird community, from specific biological aspects and traits to research-focused management. Some of the most prominent scientists from different fields (systematics, breeding ecology, behavior, competence, predation, population dynamics, farming, conservation) update and synthesize the existing information on a singular, threatened and vulnerable species.

The general interest and attention paid to the use of the renewable natural resources of the world have increased greatly during the last decades. This is due to the environmental dilemma into which mankind has got itself by the total disregard of ecological facts and laws, the underprizing of natural resources and the overemphasis on economic develop ment, coupled with unimpeded rapid population growth and the preponderance of material istic consumption-oriented attitudes. The management and use of natural resources such as forests, grasslands, rivers and lakes were formerly considered purely in a financial context, whereas latterly, a consciousness of their social function and the indirect economic benefits which can be derived from them has developed. Thus, as regards these traditional resources, multi-use concepts comprising eco nomically oriented utilisation as well as recreational, educational and social use have be come widely accepted. Conservation of natural resources for sustainable consumptive as well as non-consumptive uses has been recognised as a key element for maintaining eco nomic development all over the world. Fortunately, the industrialised countries have started to apply this principle themselves and in their technical and financial aid to the developing Third World countries. This is manifest from policy documents such as the World Bank Policy on Development of Wild Lands, issued in 1987.

Find out where the world's heaviest flying bird lives, how it stays safe from enemies, and how the young learn to fly.