Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation

This book provides both the conceptual basis and technological tools that are necessary to identify and solve problems related to biodiversity governance. The authors discuss intriguing evolutionary questions, which involve the sometimes surprising adaptive capacity of certain organisms to dwell in altered and/or changing environments that apparently lost most of their structure and functionality. Space and time heterogeneities are considered in order to understand the patterns of distribution and abundance of species and the various processes that mold them. The book also discusses at which level-from genes to the landscape, including individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems-men should intervene in nature in order to prevent the loss of biodiversity.

Redirections in Conservation Biology.- Historical Ecology and the Explanation of Diversity: Amazonian Case Studies.- Phylogenetic Diversity and the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity.- Adaptation and Evolution in Changing Environments.- Biodiversity Loss and Infectious Diseases.- The Conservation Value of Agricultural Landscapes.- The Use of Molecular Tools in Ecological Studies of Mammalian Carnivores.- The Role of Abundance Estimates in Conservation Decision-Making.- Wildlife Surveys in Agricultural Landscapes: Terrestrial Medium- to Large-Sized Mammals.- Point Counts Method for Bird Surveys in Agroecosystems of the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil.- The Use of Stable Isotopes Analyses in Wildlife Studies.- Multi-taxa Surveys: Integrating Ecosystem Processes and User Demands.- Who's in Conflict with whom? Human Dimensions of the Conflicts Involving Wildlife.- BIOTA/FAPESP - The Biodiversity Virtual Institute: Translating Research on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services into Policies in a Megadiverse Country.