Animals' Influence on the Landscape and Ecological Importance
Animals' Influence on the Landscape and Ecological Importance

Author: Friedrich-Karl Holtmeier

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-10-22

Total Pages: 547

ISBN-13: 9401792941

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In its first English-language edition, this book introduces the many-faceted interactions of animal populations with their habitats. From soil fauna, ants and termites to small and large herbivores, burrowing mammals and birds, the author presents a comprehensive analysis of animals and ecosystems that is as broad and varied as all nature. Chapter 2 addresses the functional role of animals in landscape ecosystems, emphasizing fluxes of energy and matter within and between ecosystems, and the effects of animals on qualitative and structural habitat change. Discussion includes chapters on the role of animal population density and the impacts of native herbivores on vegetation and habitats from the tropics to the polar regions. Cyclic mass outbreaks of species such as the larch bud moth in Switzerland, the mountain pine beetle and the African red-billed weaver bird are described and analyzed. Other chapters discuss Zoochory – the dispersal of seeds by ants, mammals and birds – and the influence of burrowing animals on soil development and geomorphology. Consideration extends to the impact of feral domestic animals. Chapter 5 focuses on problems resulting from introduction of alien animals and from re-introduction of animal species to their original habitats, discusses the effects on ecosystems of burrowing, digging and trampling by animals. The author also addresses keystone species such as kangaroo rats, termites and beavers. Chapter 6 addresses the role of animals in landscape management and nature conservation, with chapters on the impact of newcomer species such as animals introduced into Australia, New Zealand and Europe, and the consequences of reintroduction of species to original habitat. It also discusses the carrying capacity of natural habit, public attitudes toward conversation and more. The final section ponders the effects of climate on interactions between animals and their habitats.

Trends in Antarctic Terrestrial and Limnetic Ecosystems
Trends in Antarctic Terrestrial and Limnetic Ecosystems

Author: D.M. Bergstrom

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-06-04

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1402052774

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The Antarctic provides a suite of scenarios useful for investigating the range of climate change effects on terrestrial and limnetic biota. The purpose of the book is to provide, based on the most up to date knowledge, a synthesis of the likely effects of climate change on Antarctic terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems and, thereby, to contribute to their management and conservation, based on the information.

Recovering Australian Threatened Species
Recovering Australian Threatened Species

Author: Stephen Garnett

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2018-03

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1486307426

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Australia’s nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoing existence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity, many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to the challenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. This dedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, of populations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts. Recovering Australian Threatened Species showcases successful conservation stories and identifies approaches and implementation methods that have been most effective in recovering threatened species. These diverse accounts – dealing with threatened plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals – show that the conservation of threatened species is achievable: that it can be done and should be done. They collectively serve to inform, guide and inspire other conservation efforts. This is a book of hope and inspiration. It shows that with dedication, knowledge and support, we can retain and restore our marvellous natural heritage, and gift to our descendants a world that is as diverse, healthy and beautiful as that which we have inherited.

Looking South
Looking South

Author: Lorne K. Kriwoken

Publisher: Federation Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781862876576

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Australia has a long, rich and significant history in Antarctic affairs. Since 1933 Australia has asserted a claim to 42 per cent of the continent as the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australia was an original signatory to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and has subsequently played an active role in international governance of Antarctica under the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Almost half a century after the adoption of the Antarctic Treaty, and in the first decade of the 21st century, Antarctica is better known but is still not completely understood to science. It has been designated a natural reserve devoted to peace and science and whilst some matters, such as mining, have been put on hold, other issues present both continuing and new challenges. These challenges include the implications for Antarctica of global climate change, and indeed the continent's role in the generation of the world's weather; the environmental, political and ethical implications of increasing human activity in the region; and the goals of maintaining or developing the most appropriate governance mechanisms given the complex legal circumstances. There had been no contemporary analysis of Australia's involvement in Antarctic matters until 1984 when "Australia's Antarctic Policy Options", edited by Professor Stuart Harris, brought together a diverse and intellectually powerful array of Australians focussed on Antarctic law, policy and the social sciences. This volume provided a benchmark by which to measure the tenor of Australia's Antarctic agenda and as such has been of great assistance to the development of Looking South. Consequently, 20 years on Looking South explores how the issues identified have developed, what significant new issues have emerged and how Antarctica is placed in the current political Australian agenda.

Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change
Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change

Author: Josep G. Canadell

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-06-19

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 303071330X

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Human-driven greenhouse emissions are increasing the velocity of climate change and the frequency and intensity of climate extremes far above historical levels. These changes, along with other human-perturbations, are setting the conditions for more rapid and abrupt ecosystem dynamics and collapse. This book presents new evidence on the rapid emergence of ecosystem collapse in response to the progression of anthropogenic climate change dynamics that are expected to intensify as the climate continues to warm. Discussing implications for biodiversity conservation, the chapters provide examples of such dynamics globally covering polar and boreal ecosystems, temperate and semi-arid ecosystems, as well as tropical and temperate coastal ecosystems. Given its scope, the volume appeals to scientists in the fields of general ecology, terrestrial and coastal ecology, climate change impacts, and biodiversity conservation.

Antarctic Futures
Antarctic Futures

Author: Tina Tin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-10-04

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 9400765827

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At the beginning of the 21st century, Antarctica is poised at the edge of a warmer and busier world. Leading Antarctic researchers examine the needs and challenges of Antarctic environmental management today and tomorrow. Through: (i) investigating the impacts of human activities on specific ecosystems and species, (ii) examining existing environmental management and monitoring practices in place in various regions and (iii) interrogating stakeholders, they address the following questions: What future will Business-As-Usual bring to the Antarctic environment? Will a Business-As-Usual future be compatible with the objectives set out under the Antarctic Treaty, especially its Protocol on Environmental Protection? What actions are necessary to bring about alternative futures for the next 50 years? This volume is an outcome of the International Polar Year (2007-2009) Oslo Science Conference (8-12, June, 2010).

Plant Invasions in Protected Areas
Plant Invasions in Protected Areas

Author: Llewellyn C. Foxcroft

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-27

Total Pages: 661

ISBN-13: 9400777507

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This book is the first comprehensive global review of all aspects of alien plant invasions in protected areas. It provides insights into advances in invasion ecology emanating from work in protected areas, and the link to locally relevant management support for protected areas. The book provides in-depth case studies, illuminating interesting and insightful knowledge that can be shared across the global protected area network. The book includes the collective understanding of 80 ecologists and managers to extract as much information as possible that will support the long-term management of protected areas, and the biodiversity and associated ecosystem services they maintain. “This outstanding volume draws together pretty much all that can be said on this topic, ranging from the science, through policy, to practical action”. Dr. Simon N. Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission, UK. "This important and timely volume addresses two of the most serious problems affecting biodiversity conservation today: assessing the extent to which protected areas are impacted by biological invasions and the complex problems of managing these impacts. Written by leading specialists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the issues and gives detailed examples drawn from protected areas across the world". Professor Vernon H. Heywood, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK

Antarctic Ecosystems
Antarctic Ecosystems

Author: Alex D. Rogers

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-02-28

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1444347225

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Since its discovery Antarctica has held a deep fascination for biologists. Extreme environmental conditions, seasonality and isolation have lead to some of the most striking examples of natural selection and adaptation on Earth. Paradoxically, some of these adaptations may pose constraints on the ability of the Antarctic biota to respond to climate change. Parts of Antarctica are showing some of the largest changes in temperature and other environmental conditions in the world. In this volume, published in association with the Royal Society, leading polar scientists present a synthesis of the latest research on the biological systems in Antarctica, covering organisms from microbes to vertebrate higher predators. This book comes at a time when new technologies and approaches allow the implications of climate change and other direct human impacts on Antarctica to be viewed at a range of scales; across entire regions, whole ecosystems and down to the level of species and variation within their genomes. Chapters address both Antarctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and the scientific and management challenges of the future are explored.

Free-ranging Cats
Free-ranging Cats

Author: Stephen Spotte

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-07-16

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1118884027

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Feral and stray domestic cats occupy many different habitats. They can resist dehydration for months by relying exclusively on the tissue water of their prey allowing them to colonize remote deserts and other inhospitable places. They thrive and reproduce in humid equatorial rainforests and windswept subantarctic islands. In many areas of the world feral cats have driven some species of birds and mammals to extinction and others to the edge, becoming a huge conservation concern. With the control of feral and stray cats now a top conservation priority, biologists are intensifying efforts to understand cat behaviour, reproductive biology, use of space, intraspecies interaction, dietary requirements, prey preferences, and vulnerability to different management strategies. This book provides the most comprehensive review yet published on the behavior, ecology and management of free-ranging domestic cats, whether they be owned, stray, or feral. It reviews management methods and their progress, and questions several widely accepted views of free-ranging cats, notably that they live within dominance hierarchies and are highly social. Insightful and objective, this book includes: a functional approach, emphasizing sensory biology, reproductive physiology, nutrition, and space partitioning; clear treatment of how free-ranging cats should be managed; extensive critical interpretation of the world's existing literature; results of studies of cats in laboratories under controlled conditions, with data that can also be applied to pet cats. Free-ranging Cats: Behavior, Ecology, Management is valuable to ecologists, conservation scientists, animal behaviorists, wildlife nutritionists, wildlife biologists, research and wildlife veterinarians, clinical veterinarians, mammalogists, and park and game reserve planners and administrators.