Welcome to the Polk State College library guide for conservation research topics. Below you will find suggested books/ebooks and recommended databases. If you need help, click the link for Ask a Librarian.
Conservation Techniques
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"This book fosters the recognition of options for making progress toward increased environmental conservation through an understanding of the underlying science and practice of a variety of conservation techniques." Description taken from the authors' About the Book section
Saving Endangered Species
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The amazing true stories of the greatest wildlife champions of our time. Wildlife conservation is at a critical juncture. While large, charismatic mammals may be the first animals that come to mind--the mere 3,000 wild tigers still in existence, the giraffes declared endangered for the first time just last year--it is not only these magnificent keystone species disappearing. A full third of all studied birds, reptiles, and mammals have suffered devastating population losses, and a third of all insects are now endangered, including crucial pollinators that sustain worldwide food supply. Over 15,000 animal species are now considered to be threatened with extinction. There are, however, bright spots that provide optimism--many of them due to the efforts of a small group of scientists and activists. In Saving Endangered Species, Robert W. Shumaker brings together ten conservation heroes, seven of them winners of the Indianapolis Prize, three of them recipients of the Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award. With moving immediacy, each wildlife defender offers their unique perspective on the state of wildlife conservation and the future of the natural world. Bringing to life their work in the field, each contributor also explains key concepts in wildlife conservation, reveals why they are important, and discusses what kinds of work can be done to address biodiversity loss. Contributors sharing their stories in their own words include * George Schaller, one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, who conducted the field work that resulted in the establishment of the world's largest wildlife preserve, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge * Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who is widely credited with developing the metrics and methods that stemmed the tide of elephant poaching for ivory in Africa * Steven Amstrup, who discovered the disturbing truth that the sea ice polar bears rely on for traveling, hunting, and raising their young was disappearing * Russell Mittermeier, who has discovered over 20 new animal species, conducted field work in more than 30 countries around the globe, and authored 15 books on biodiversity * Harrison Ford, Academy Award-winning actor, who has been a passionate wildlife advocate and board member of Conservation International for over 25 years * Sigourney Weaver, three-time Academy Award nominee, whose work with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has helped save thousands of gorillas in Rwanda and Congo This unique book aims to win new recruits, inspire biologists and conservationists already in the field, and illustrate the profession's fundamental scientific tenets through wildlife champions' own exciting narratives. Covering issues from reproduction and prey-predator relationships to population dynamics and community engagement, Saving Endangered Species also addresses such thorny topics as overhunting, retaliatory killing by farmers, development-driven habitat loss, and the illegal wildlife trade. By encompassing a broad spectrum of subjects, this volume ultimately gives readers a first-person look into what it takes to dedicate oneself to the crucial field of wildlife conservation. Contributors: Jane Alexander, Steven C. Amstrup, George Archibald, Michael I. Crowther, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Harrison Ford, Carl Jones, Russell Mittermeier, George B. Schaller, Robert W. Shumaker, Sigourney Weaver, Patricia Chapple Wright
The Truth about Nature
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How should we share the truth about the environmental crisis? At a moment when even the most basic facts about ecology and the climate face contestation and contempt, environmental advocates are at an impasse. Many have turned to social media and digital technologies to shift the tide. But what if their strategy is not only flawed, but dangerous? The Truth about Nature follows environmental actors as they turn to the internet to save nature. It documents how conservation efforts are transformed through the political economy of platforms and the algorithmic feeds that have been instrumental to the rise of post-truth politics. Developing a novel account of post-truth as an expression of power under platform capitalism, Bram Büscher shows how environmental actors attempt to mediate between structural forms of platform power and the contingent histories and contexts of particular environmental issues. Bringing efforts at wildlife protection in Southern Africa into dialogue with a sweeping analysis of truth and power in the twenty-first century, Büscher makes the case for a new environmental politics that radically reignites the art of speaking truth to power.
The Truth about Nature
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How should we share the truth about the environmental crisis? At a moment when even the most basic facts about ecology and the climate face contestation and contempt, environmental advocates are at an impasse. Many have turned to social media and digital technologies to shift the tide. But what if their strategy is not only flawed, but dangerous? The Truth about Nature follows environmental actors as they turn to the internet to save nature. It documents how conservation efforts are transformed through the political economy of platforms and the algorithmic feeds that have been instrumental to the rise of post-truth politics. Developing a novel account of post-truth as an expression of power under platform capitalism, Bram Büscher shows how environmental actors attempt to mediate between structural forms of platform power and the contingent histories and contexts of particular environmental issues. Bringing efforts at wildlife protection in Southern Africa into dialogue with a sweeping analysis of truth and power in the twenty-first century, Büscher makes the case for a new environmental politics that radically reignites the art of speaking truth to power.
What Works in Conservation
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What are the best means of reducing illegal hunting of primates? Does changing the type of livestock benefit heathland vegetation? Does removing the upper layer of peat enhance peatland restoration? Is flame treatment effective for dealing with invasive floating pennywort? What Works in Conservation has been created to provide practitioners with answers to these and many other questions about practical conservation. This book provides an assessment of the effectiveness of 1277 conservation interventions based on summarized scientific evidence. The 2018 edition contains new chapters covering practical global conservation of primates, peatlands, shrublands and heathlands, management of captive animals as well as an extended chapter on control of freshwater invasive species. Other chapters cover the global conservation of amphibians, bats, birds and forests, conservation of European farmland biodiversity and some aspects of enhancing natural pest control, enhancing soil fertility and control of freshwater invasive species. It contains key results from the summarized evidence for each conservation intervention and an assessment of the effectiveness of each by international expert panels. The accompanying website www.conservationevidence.com describes each of the studies individually, and provides full references.
A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet
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A scientist's manifesto addressing a soil loss crisis accelerated by poor conservation practices and climate change This book by celebrated biologist Jo Handelsman lays bare the complex connections among climate change, soil erosion, food and water security, and drug discovery. Humans depend on soil for 95 percent of global food production, yet let it erode at unsustainable rates. In the United States, China, and India, vast tracts of farmland will be barren of topsoil within this century. The combination of intensifying erosion caused by climate change and the increasing food needs of a growing world population is creating a desperate need for solutions to this crisis. Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Handelsman celebrates the capacities of soil and explores the soil-related challenges of the near future. She begins by telling soil's origin story, explains how it erodes and the subsequent repercussions worldwide, and offers solutions. She considers lessons learned from indigenous people who have sustainably farmed the same land for thousands of years, practices developed for large-scale agriculture, and proposals using technology and policy initiatives.
Conservation: a People Centred Approach
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This primer provides an introduction to the ideas of modern conservation biology, and the issues that constrain us from achieving sustainability.Opening with a consideration of ecology and conservation as a science, and the notion of different processes happening at different scales, the primer goes on to discuss the importance of populations and life histories. It also emphasises interactions between different species, a key area ofunderstanding for getting to grips with ecology. With a step up in scale, it then introduces the idea of ecosystem services, and the dependence of human life and well-being on these services. The long history of the impact of humans on the landscape leads to a discussion of myths such as the"balance of nature" and "pristine environments". These concepts are crucial to understanding modern ideas of the right way to conserve our world.Using the South Sinai in Egypt as a case study throughout, the primer explores explore the issues of how indigenous people can maintain their traditions in the modern world, and the relationship between their traditions and biodiversity. These form the key to understanding how humans can livesustainably with the natural world.
The Ark and Beyond
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Scores of wild species and ecosystems around the world face a variety of human-caused threats, from habitat destruction and fragmentation to rapid climate change. But there is hope, and it, too, comes in a most human form: zoos and aquariums. Gathering a diverse, multi-institutional collection of leading zoo and aquarium scientists as well as historians, philosophers, biologists, and social scientists, The Ark and Beyond traces the history and underscores the present role of these organizations as essential conservation actors. It also offers a framework for their future course, reaffirming that if zoos and aquariums make biodiversity conservation a top priority, these institutions can play a vital role in tackling conservation challenges of global magnitude. While early menageries were anything but the centers of conservation that many zoos are today, a concern with wildlife preservation has been an integral component of the modern, professionally run zoo since the nineteenth century. From captive breeding initiatives to rewilding programs, zoos and aquariums have long been at the cutting edge of research and conservation science, sites of impressive new genetic and reproductive techniques. Today, their efforts reach even further beyond recreation, with educational programs, community-based conservation initiatives, and international, collaborative programs designed to combat species extinction and protect habitats at a range of scales. Addressing related topics as diverse as zoo animal welfare, species reintroductions, amphibian extinctions, and whether zoos can truly be "wild," this book explores the whole range of research and conservation practices that spring from zoos and aquariums while emphasizing the historical, scientific, and ethical traditions that shape these efforts. Also featuring an inspiring foreword by the late George Rabb, president emeritus of the Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo, The Ark and Beyond illuminates these institutions' growing significance to the preservation of global biodiversity in this century.
Biodiversity and Conservation
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Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is vital to the health of the planet. But overdevelopment and deforestation have threatened biodiversity, as have pollution, overfishing, and hunting and poaching. Conservation efforts must be intensified in order to avoid collapse of our valuable ecosystems. The viewpoints in this volume address the importance of biodiversity and what has contributed to its loss, examples of crises in different parts of the world, and what can be done to ensure the biodiversity of the planet is preserved.
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