An exciting new conservation biology textbook
An Introduction to
Conservation
Biology
Richard B. Primack and Anna A. Sher
ABOUT THE BOOK
Sinauer Associates is pleased to announce the publication, this
April, of a new undergraduate conservation biology textbook,
An Introduction to Conservation Biology. New coauthor Anna Sher
joins longtime Sinauer author Richard Primack in creating a
book that combines the readability of Primack’s A Primer of
Conservation Biology with the depth and coverage of his larger
textbook, Essentials of Conservation Biology. The result is a book
well suited for a wide range of undergraduate courses, as both a
primary text for conservation biology courses and a supplement
for ecological and environmental science courses.
Using the chapter framework of the current Primer as a
springboard, the authors have added three chapters focused on
population biology conservation tools (Chapter 7), restoration
ecology (Chapter 10), and the future of conservation (Chapter
12). Sustainable development, ex situ conservation, and other
key topics have been expanded and updated with hundreds of
new examples, explanations, citations, and figures to enhance
learning and excitement for the subject. Mining her experience
teaching conservation biology with Dr. Primack’s texts for
over a decade, Dr. Sher fine-tunes the presentation of difficult
concepts, particularly in economics and politics. Coverage of
recent conservation biology events in the news—such as the
poaching of Cecil the lion, the first papal encyclical on the
environment, and the international Paris Accord on climate
change—keeps
the content fresh
and current.
The book’s
twelve chapters
(see Contents)
focus successively on biological
diversity and its
value; threats to biological diversity; conservation at the population and species levels; protecting, managing, and restoring
ecosystems; and sustainable development. Each chapter begins
with general ideas and principles, beautifully illustrated in full
color with diverse examples from the current literature. Chapters
end with summaries, an annotated list of suggested readings,
and discussion questions. Numerous sidebar summaries
highlight key points in each chapter. Throughout, the authors
maintain a focus on the active role that scientists, local people,
conservation organizations, government, and the general
public play in protecting biodiversity, even while providing
for human needs.
April 2016 • 450 pages (est.) • 200 illustrations (est.)
ISBN 978-1-60535-473-6 • paper
$84.95 Suggested list price • $67.96 Net price to resellers
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Richard B. Primack is a Professor of Biology at Boston
University. He received his B.A. at Harvard University in 1972
and his Ph.D. at Duke University in 1976, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury and Harvard
University. He served as a visiting professor at the University
of Hong Kong, Tokyo University, and the Northeast Forestry
University in China, and has received Harvard’s Bullard and
Putnam Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and Germany’s
Humboldt Fellowship. Dr. Primack was President of the
Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and is
currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Conservation.
Thirty-four foreign-language editions of his conservation textbooks have been produced with local coauthors. He is an author
of Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison (with Richard Corlett). Dr. Primack’s research interests
include climate change; the loss of species; tropical ecology;
and conservation education. He has recently completed a popular book about the impacts of climate change, titled Walden
Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods.
Anna A. Sher is a Professor of Biology at the University
of Denver, where she has taught Conservation Biology since
2003. She held a joint position as the Director of Research and
Conservation at Denver Botanic Gardens from 2003–2010.
Dr. Sher has published books and articles for academic, trade,
and popular audiences on various topics within conservation
biology, including restoration ecology, rare plant conservation,
and climate change. She is one of the foremost experts on the
ecology of invasive Tamarix trees and was the lead editor of the
book Tamarix: A Case Study of Ecological Change in the American
West (Oxford University Press, 2013). Dr. Sher received her
Ph.D. in Biology at the University of New Mexico in 1998, and
was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis
and a Fulbright Scholar in Israel. She has taught as adjunct
faculty at both a small liberal arts college, Earlham College, and
a large state school, the University of New Mexico. Dr. Sher
also led scientific study-abroad programs in East Africa, and is
a contributing science writer for the Huffington Post blog. STUDENTS SAVE!
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FOR THE
INSTRUCTOR
Instructor’s Resource Library
(available to qualified adopters)
This resource includes all
figures (line-art illustrations
and photographs) and tables
from the textbook, provided as
both high- and low-resolution
JPEGs. All have been formatted
and optimized for excellent
projection quality. Also included
are ready-to-use PowerPoint®
slides of all figures and tables.
To request an
examination copy,
visit our website:
sinauer.com
CONTENTS
1. Defining Conservation Biology
This chapter presents the history and current
dimensions and goals of the scientific discipline that is Conservation Biology, including
its relationship with related, non-scientific
fields, such as ecology and environmental
science. The discipline has expanded rapidly
in recent decades with many successes in its
wake.
7. Bringing Populations and Species Back
from the Brink
Research and examples are presented of
how new populations of species are established in the wild to prevent extinctions and
restore ecosystem balance. The role of zoos,
aquaria, and botanic gardens in off-site or ex
situ conservation is highlighted as part of an
overall strategy.
2. What Is Biodiversity?
The different levels of diversity and their importance for preserving species are explained
in the context of the ecological and genetic
processes that produce them. This chapter
describes ecosystem types with particularly
high biodiversity, with specific examples
from around the globe.
8. Protected Areas
In this chapter, the types of protected areas
and considerations for the establishment of
new protected areas are explained. Related
topics include how the design of protected
areas has been influenced by biogeography
theory, the value of conservation corridors,
and the value of small versus large protected
areas.
3. The Value of Biodiversity
Here we explore the basic tenets of ecological economics and their relationship to Conservation Biology as an applied discipline.
Conceptual models are used to consider the
importance of species and other aspects of
biodiversity to humans on practical, philosophical, and ethical grounds.
4. Threats to Biodiversity
This chapter describes how habitat destruction and fragmentation, pollution, invasive
species, overuse by humans, and climate
change affect living organisms and impact
species with examples across taxa and
around the world. Threats from genetically
modified organisms and disease are also
explored.
5. Extinction Is Forever
Background rates of extinction versus human-caused extinction are explained in this
chapter. Both quantitative and theoretical
models are used to explain observed patterns
and risk factors for extinction. Problems associated with small populations are explored
in some depth. Biogeography is introduced
in the context of island extinctions and the
species-area relationship.
6. Conserving Populations and Species
This chapter explores the different ways
that species and populations are studied
and protected in the wild. The methods of
population biology tools such as Population
Viability Analysis (PVA) are explained. This
information is then used in establishing
priorities and policies for protecting species,
including the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
and the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES).
9. Conservation outside Protected Areas
The importance of land outside of protected
areas for biodiversity conservation, including those that are dominated by humans, is
explained here. We present ways that conservation in this context is accomplished, such
as payments for ecosystem services (PES)
and approaches for ecosystem management
that include indigenous peoples, private land
owners, and government agencies.
10. Restoration Ecology
This chapter introduces the applied scientific
field of restoration ecology, with particular
attention given to the restoration of wetlands, aquatic systems, prairies, and forests.
Controversies around the use of pesticides
and biological control and the reintroduction of long-absent species to accomplish
restoration are explored.
11. The Challenge of Sustainable
Development
Conservation policy that incorporates the
long-term needs of people is the focus of
this chapter, with presentations of key local,
national, and international examples. The
balance of development versus preservation
is considered at these various scales, with a
critical eye toward both costs and benefits.
12. The Future of Conservation
This final chapter considers the primary
challenges and opportunities for conservation biology going forward, both in terms of
extinction threats, such as climate change,
and the scientific field of study. It takes an
unflinching view at the scale of the problems
while also describing the opportunities for
conservation biologists to protect the future
of our planet’s biodiversity and contribute to
society.
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NEW AND COMING THIS SPRING!
An Introduction to Conservation Biology | Richard B. Primack and Anna A. Sher
Look inside for more detail.
7
Bringing Species
Back from the Brink
Establishing and Reinforcing
Populations 191
Can Technology Bring Back
Extinct Species? 205
Ex Situ Conservation
Strategies 199
European bison,
wisent (Bison bonasus),
at snow fall, Germany
On the cover: Golden Lion Tamarin, Leontopithecus rosalia. © Juan Carlos Muñoz/AGE Fotostock.
SAMPLE PAGES