Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology

Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology

Author: Michael L. Morrison

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1421440725

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Practical guidance for wildlife professionals working to improve study design, data analysis, and the application of results to habitat and population management. Winner of the Wildlife Society Publications Book Award by The Wildlife Society Despite major advances in sampling techniques and analytical methods, many animal ecologists conduct research that is primarily relevant to a specific time and place. They also tend to focus more on the statistical analyses and nuances of modeling than actual study design. Arguing that studies of animal ecology should always begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms, including how they form into distinct biological populations, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology takes a fresh and critical look at the field. Building from its companion volume, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology, this practical book presents readers with the principal methods used to observe animal behavior. Teaching them to assess resource abundance categories of species-environmental relationships models, it also explores • major aspects of measuring animal habitat: what to measure and how to measure it; • common sampling and estimation methods to assess population parameters; • when to measure and how to analyze data; • problems that will confront ecologists in the coming years—and how to gather information to adequately address them; and • how the experimental approach can be used to advance the science of animal ecology. Throughout the book, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they assert, 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. They also provide a selection of suggested research projects, cautions, and caveats. A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife–habitat relationships, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to natural resource management professionals and practitioners, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.


Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology

Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology

Author: Michael L. Morrison

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2020-10-13

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1421439204

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A look at how wildlife professionals can modernize their approaches to habitat and population management with a fresh take on animal ecology. 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 reenvision 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 • the limitations of classic approaches to the study of animal ecology • how organisms organize into collections, such as breeding pairs, flocks, and herds • how the broader biotic and abiotic environment shapes animal populations, communities, and ecosystems • factors underlying the distribution and abundance of species through space and time • the links between habitat and population • why communication between researchers and managers is key • specific strategies for managing wild animal populations and habitats in an evolutionary and ecosystem context 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.


Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats

Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats

Author: Brenda McComb

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2010-03-11

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1420070584

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In the face of so many unprecedented changes in our environment, the pressure is on scientists to lead the way toward a more sustainable future. Written by a team of ecologists, Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide provides a framework that natural resource managers and researchers can use to design monitoring programs that will benefit future generations by distilling the information needed to make informed decisions. In addition, this text is valuable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses that are focused on monitoring animal populations. With the aid of more than 90 illustrations and a four-page color insert, this book offers practical guidance for the entire monitoring process, from incorporating stakeholder input and data collection, to data management, analysis, and reporting. It establishes the basis for why, what, how, where, and when monitoring should be conducted; describes how to analyze and interpret the data; explains how to budget for monitoring efforts; and discusses how to assemble reports of use in decision-making. The book takes a multi-scaled and multi-taxa approach, focusing on monitoring vertebrate populations and upland habitats, but the recommendations and suggestions presented are applicable to a variety of monitoring programs. Lastly, the book explores the future of monitoring techniques, enabling researchers to better plan for the future of wildlife populations and their habitats. Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide furthers the goal of achieving a world in which biodiversity is allowed to evolve and flourish in the face of such uncertainties as climate change, invasive species proliferation, land use expansion, and population growth.


Research Techniques in Animal Ecology

Research Techniques in Animal Ecology

Author: Luigi Boitani

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2000-06-01

Total Pages: 668

ISBN-13: 0231501390

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The present biodiversity crisis is rife with opportunities to make important conservation decisions; however, the misuse or misapplication of the methods and techniques of animal ecology can have serious consequences for the survival of species. Still, there have been relatively few critical reviews of methodology in the field. This book provides an analysis of some of the most frequently used research techniques in animal ecology, identifying their limitations and misuses, as well as possible solutions to avoid such pitfalls. In the process, contributors to this volume present new perspectives on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. Research Techniques in Animal Ecology is an overarching account of central theoretical and methodological controversies in the field, rather than a handbook on the minutiae of techniques. The editors have forged comprehensive presentations of key topics in animal ecology, such as territory and home range estimates, habitation evaluation, population viability analysis, GIS mapping, and measuring the dynamics of societies. Striking a careful balance, each chapter begins by assessing the shortcomings and misapplications of the techniques in question, followed by a thorough review of the current literature, and concluding with possible solutions and suggested guidelines for more robust investigations.


Research Techniques in Animal Ecology

Research Techniques in Animal Ecology

Author: Luigi Boitani

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 477

ISBN-13: 0231113412

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This book provides an analysis of frequently used research techniques in animal ecology, identifying their limitations and misuses, as well as possible solutions to avoid such pitfalls. The contributors provide an overarching account of central theoretical and methodological controversies. The editors have forged comprehensive presentations of key topics in animal ecology, such as territory and home range estimates, habitation evaluation, population viability analysis, GIS mapping, and measuring the dynamics of societies.


Wildlife Management and Conservation

Wildlife Management and Conservation

Author: Paul R. Krausman

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2022-09-20

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 1421443961

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"The book contains the essential information that wildlife biologists and managers use to manage wildlife populations today, and it gives students the information they need to pursue a profession in wildlife management and conservation"--


Applied Wildlife Habitat Management, Second Edition

Applied Wildlife Habitat Management, Second Edition

Author: Roel R. Lopez

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2023-12-14

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 1648431666

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Applied Wildlife Habitat Management, Second Edition, provides a practical guide for users with many levels of expertise in wildlife habitat management and an interest in land conservation planning. Topics are presented so the reader can develop a component of a wildlife management plan through the completion of each chapter—wildlife habitat planning, wildlife habitat relationships, environmental measurements, wildlife habitat analyses, habitat management techniques, common planning approaches, and emerging issues. The work introduces the basic tools to understand, plan, implement, measure, analyze, and document efforts to improve habitat for wildlife using science-based decision-making approaches. Providing a step-by-step guide that is adaptable to a range of environmental settings, the authors first lay out the ecological principles applicable to any project. They take the reader through various sampling designs, measurement techniques, and analytical methods required to develop and complete a habitat project, including the creation of a report or management plan. End-of-chapter summaries emphasize key management concepts with exercises putting ecological principles into practice. This guide is an invaluable reference for students, land managers, and landowners who are developing and implementing management plans for habitat modification and improvement on both private and public lands.


Wildlife Study Design

Wildlife Study Design

Author: Michael L. Morrison

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-03-21

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 0387755276

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We developed the first edition of this book because we perceived a need for a compilation on study design with application to studies of the ecology, conser- tion, and management of wildlife. We felt that the need for coverage of study design in one source was strong, and although a few books and monographs existed on some of the topics that we covered, no single work attempted to synthesize the many facets of wildlife study design. We decided to develop this second edition because our original goal – synthesis of study design – remains strong, and because we each gathered a substantial body of new material with which we could update and expand each chapter. Several of us also used the first edition as the basis for workshops and graduate teaching, which provided us with many valuable suggestions from readers on how to improve the text. In particular, Morrison received a detailed review from the graduate s- dents in his “Wildlife Study Design” course at Texas A&M University. We also paid heed to the reviews of the first edition that appeared in the literature.