A Primer of Conservation Biology FIFTH EDITION Richard B. Primack Boston University Sinauer Associates, Inc. Publishers Sunderland, MA U.S.A.
Contents Chapter 1 Defining Coservation Biology 3 The New Science of Conservation Biology 4 The philosophical roots of conservation biology 7 Conservation biology s international scope 9 The interdisciplinary approach: A case study with sea turtles 10 Conservation Biology s Ethical Principles 13 Achievements and Challenges 15 Summary 16 Chapter 2 What is Biodiversity? 19 Species Diversity 21 What is a species? 21 Measuring species diversity 24 Genetic Diversity 25 Ecosystem Diversity 27 Species interactions 28 Food chains and food webs 32 Keystone species and resources 32 Ecosystem dynamics 34 Biodiversity Worldwide 35 How many species exist? 35 Where is the world s biodiversity found? 38 The distribution of species 41 Summary 43
Contents vii Chapter 3 The Value of Biodiversity 47 Ecological Economics and Environmental Economics 49 Direct Economic Values 52 Consumptive use value 53 Productive use value 54 Indirect Economic Values 56 Ecosystem productivity 57 Water and soil protection 59 Climate regulation 61 Species relationships and environmental monitors 61 Amenity value 63 Educational and scientific value 64 Multiple uses of a single resource: A case study 66 The Long-Term View: Option Value 66 Existence Value 69 Environmental Ethics 72 Ethical arguments supporting preservation 72 Deep ecology 75 Summary 76 Chapter 4 Threats to Biodiversity 79 Human Population Growth and Its Impact 80 Habitat Destruction 83 Threatened rain forests 85 Other threatened habitats 88 Habitat Fragmentation 92 Threats posed by fragmentation 94 Edge effects 95 Environmental Degradation and Pollution 98 Pesticide pollution 99 Water pollution 100
viii Contents Air pollution 103 Global Climate Change 104 Warmer waters, acidification, and rising sea levels 108 The overall effect of global warming 109 Overexploitation 110 International wildlife trade 112 Commercial harvesting 114 Invasive Species 116 Invasive species on islands 119 Invasive species in aquatic habitats 120 The ability of species to become invasive 122 Control of invasive species 123 Genetically modified organisms 125 Disease 126 A Concluding Remark 129 Summary 130 Chapter 5 Extinction is Forever 135 The Meaning of Extinct 137 Rates of Extinction 138 Extinction rates in aquatic environments 141 Extinction rates on islands 141 Island biogeography and extinction rate predictions 142 Local extinctions 144 Vulnerability to Extinction 146 Problems of Small Populations 150 Minimum viable population (MVP) 150 Loss of genetic variation 153 Effective population size 158 Demographic and environmental stochasticity 161 The extinction vortex 165 Summary 166
Contents ix Chapter 6 Conserving Populations and Species 169 Applied Population Biology 170 Methods for studying populations 171 Monitoring populations 172 Population viability analysis 176 Metapopulations 178 Conservation Categories 180 Legal Protection of Species 184 National laws 184 The U.S. Endangered Species Act 185 International agreements 188 Establishing New Populations 191 Considerations for animal programs 193 New plant populations 196 The status of new populations 198 Ex Situ Conservation Strategies 199 Zoos 200 Aquariums 205 Botanical gardens 206 Seed banks 208 Summary 210 Chapter 7 Protected Areas 213 Establishment and Classification of Protected Areas 214 Marine protected areas 217 The effectiveness of protected areas 217 Prioritization: What should be protected? 219 Measuring effectiveness: Gap analysis 226 Designing Protected Areas 229 Protected area size and characteristics 230 Networks of protected areas 234
x Contents Landscape Ecology 238 Managing Protected Areas 239 Managing sites 242 Monitoring sites 244 Management and people 246 Zoning as a solution to conflicting demands 246 Challenges to Park Management 249 Summary 250 Chapter 8 Conservation Outside Protected Areas 255 Unprotected Public and Private Lands 256 Human-dominated landscapes 257 Ecosystem Management 260 Working with Local People 263 In situ agricultural conservation 266 Extractive reserves 266 Community-based initiatives 267 Payments for ecosystem services 268 Evaluating conservation initiatives 269 Restoring Damaged Ecosystems 270 Approaches to ecosystem restoration 274 Targets of major restoration efforts 275 The future of restoration ecology 278 Summary 280
Contents xi Chapter 9 The Challenge of Sustainable Development 283 Sustainable Development at the Local Level 285 Local and regional conservation regulations 286 Land trusts 286 Enforcement and public benefits 289 Conservation at the National Level 290 International Approaches to Sustainable Development 292 International conservation agreements 293 International summits 296 Funding for Conservation 297 The World Bank and international NGOs 298 Environmental trust funds 300 Debt-for-nature swaps 300 How effective is conservation funding? 301 Conservation Education 303 The Role of Conservation Biologists 305 Summary 308 Appendix: Selected Environmental Organizations and Sources of Information 311 Glossary 315 Chapter Opening Photograph Credits 325 Bibliography 327 Index 353 About the Author 365