How can we maximize the probability that a species of wild animal will persist into the future? This audacious book proposes that advancing animal ecology'and conservation itself'demands that we re-envision our basic understanding of how animals interact with their environments and with each other.
Synthesizing where we are and where we need to go with our studies of animals and their environs, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology asserts that studies of animal ecology should begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms. The book examines
Throughout, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they argue, will help ecologists translate science into meaningful and lasting actions in the environment. Taking the perspective of the organism of interest in developing concepts and applications, the authors always keep the potentially biased human perspective in focus.
A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife-habitat relationships, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to professionals and practitioners in natural resource management in public and private sectors, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.
Preface1. Operating Concepts for Animal Ecology2. The Study of Habitat: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective3. Heterogeneity and Disturbance4. The Evolutionary Perspective: Linking Habitat to Population5. Species Occurrence in Time and Space: Synthesis and advancement6. Managing Wild Animal Populations and Habitats in an Evolutionary and Ecosystem Context7. Putting Concepts into Practice: Guidelines for developing study plans
