What determines where a species lives? And what determines its abundance? This book takes a fresh approach to some of the classic questions in ecology. Despite great progress in the twentieth century much more remains to be done before we can provide full answers to these questions. The methods described and deployed in this book point the way forward. The core message of the book is that the key insights come from understanding what determines population growth rate, and that application of this approach will make ecology a more predictive science. Topics covered include population regulation, density-dependence, the ecological niche, resource and interference competition, habitat fragmentation and the ecological effects of environmental stress, together with applications to conservation biology, wildlife management, human demography and ecotoxicology. After a substantial introduction by the editors the book brings together contributions from leading scientists from Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe and the U.K.

Understanding wildlife population ecology is vital for all wildlife managers and conservation biologists. Leopold draws on 30 years of research and teaching experience to give students and natural resource professionals the foundation they need to effectively manage wildlife populations. He begins with the key statistical concepts and research approaches necessary to gain insight into various models of population dynamics. The many factors that influence wildlife populations are thoroughly explored and their consequences are investigated. In addition, the author presents techniques for analyzing wildlife harvest data and a lucid discussion of valuable wildlife census methods. Frequent examples of foundational literature supplement each chapter with applications of the theories and provide a concise compendium of fundamental concepts of population ecology. Abundant statistical exercises reinforce students’ learning throughout the text.

Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward reviews the science that underpins the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States, concluding that constructive changes could be implemented. The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros, to model the effects of management actions on the animals, or to assess the availability and use of forage on rangelands. Evidence suggests that horse populations are growing by 15 to 20 percent each year, a level that is unsustainable for maintaining healthy horse populations as well as healthy ecosystems. Promising fertility-control methods are available to help limit this population growth, however. In addition, science-based methods exist for improving population estimates, predicting the effects of management practices in order to maintain genetically diverse, healthy populations, and estimating the productivity of rangelands. Greater transparency in how science-based methods are used to inform management decisions may help increase public confidence in the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Professor L. Scott Mills has been named a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowby the board of trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim MemorialFoundation. Conservation of Wildlife Populations provides anaccessible introduction to the most relevant concepts andprinciples for solving real-world management problems in wildlifeand conservation biology. Bringing together insights fromtraditionally disparate disciplines, the book shows how populationbiology addresses important questions involving the harvest,monitoring, and conservation of wildlife populations. Covers the most up-to-date approaches for assessing factorsthat affect both population growth and interactions with otherspecies, including predation, genetic changes, harvest, introducedspecies, viability analysis and habitat loss andfragmentation. Is an essential guide for undergraduates and postgraduatestudents of wildlife biology, conservation biology, ecology, andenvironmental studies and an invaluable resource for practisingmanagers on how population biology can be applied to wildlifeconservation and management. Artwork from the book is available to instructors online at ahref="http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/mills"www.blackwellpublishing.com/mills/a.An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Pleasecontact our Higher Education team at ahref="mailto:[email protected]"[email protected]/afor more information.