Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Biology

Behavioural ecologists study the strategies that individual animals use to maximize their genetic representation in future generations; conservation biologists study small populations and attempt to stem the tide of species extinctions. In the last few years, a handful of behavioural ecologists, increasingly concerned about species losses, have begun to address issues in conservation biology. Using data collected in the course of their fieldwork on mating systems, foraging behaviour, or habitat preferences, or simply by working on an endangered species, they have started to apply their findings to models of population growth and effective population size, hands-on management, and developing conservation strategies. This edited volume is the first attempt to link these disciplines formally.

Readership: Graduate level seminars in conservation biology, animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, and applied ecology.

Edited by Tim Caro, Professor, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California at Davis

Preface
Introduction
1: Tim Caro: The Significance of Behavioral Ecology for Conservation Biology
Part I: Baseline Behavioral Ecological Data and Conservation Problems. Introduction
2: Peter McGregor and Tom Peake: The Role of Individual Identification in Conservation Biology
3: Alexander Harcourt: Ecological Indicators of Risk for Primates, as Judged by Susceptibility to Logging
4: Joel Berger: Future Pry: Some Consequences of the Loss and Restoration of Large Carnivores
Part II: Baseline Behavioral Ecological Data and Conservation Intervention. Introduction
5: Sarah Durant: A Minimum Intervention Approach to Management: The Influence of Social Structure
6: Nadja Wielebnowski: Contributions of Behavioral Studies to Captive Management and Breeding of Rare and Endangered Mammals
7: Eberhard Curio: Behavior as a Tool for Management Intervention in Birds
Part III: Mating Systems and Conservation Problems. Introduction
8: Andy Dobson and Joyce Poole: Conspecific Aggregation and Conservation Biology
9: Amanda Vincent and Yvonne Sadovy: Reproductive Ecology in the Conservation and Management of Fishes
10: Scott Creel: Social Organization and Effective Population Size in Carnivores
Part IV: Mating Systems and Conservation Intervention. Introducton
11: Correigh Greene, James Umbanhowar, Marc Mangel, and Tim Caro: Animal Breeding Systems, Hunter Selectivity, and Consumptive Use in Wildlife Conservation
12: John Eadie, Paul Sherman, and Brad Semel: Conspecific Brood Parasitism, Population Dynamics, and the Conservation of Cavity-nesting Birds
13: Mats Grahn, Asa Langefors, and Torbiorn von Schantz: The Importance of Mate Choice in Improving Viability of Captive Populations
Part V: Dispersal and Inbreeding Avoidance. Introduction
14: Dirk van Vuren: Mammalian Dispersal and Reserve Design
15: Bruce Waldman and Mandy Tocher: Behavioral Ecology, Genetic Diversity, and Declining Amphibian Populations
Part VI: Human Behavioral Ecology. Introduction
16: Clare FitzGibbon: The Management of Subsistence Hunting: Behavioral; Ecology of Hunters and their Mammalian Prey
17: Michael Alvard: Indigenous Hunting in the Neotropics: Conservation or Optimal Foraging?
18: Margo Wilson, Martin Daly, and Stephen Gordon: The Evolved Psychological Apparatus of Decision-making is one Source of Environmental Problems
Dan Rubenstein: Afterword: Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Policy: On Balancing Science, Applications and Advocacy
Tim Caro: Epilogue: How do we refocus Behavioral Ecology to Address Conservation Issues More Directly