A new book that I’m proud to have had a hand in writing is just about to come out with Oxford University Press called Conservation Biology for All. Edited by the venerable Conservation Scholars, Professors Navjot Sodhi (National University of Singapore) and Paul Ehrlich (Stanford University), it’s a powerhouse of some of the world’s leaders in conservation science and application.
The book strives to “…provide cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership”. In short, it’s written to bring the forefront of conservation science to the general public, with OUP promising to make it freely available online within about a year from its release in early 2010 (or so the rumour goes). The main idea here is that those in most need of such a book – the conservationists in developing nations – can access the wealth of information therein without having to sacrifice the village cow to buy it.
I won’t go into any great detail about the book’s contents (mainly because I have yet to receive my own copy and read most of the chapters!), but I have perused early versions of Kevin Gaston‘s excellent chapter on biodiversity, and Tom Brook‘s overview of conservation planning and prioritisation. Our chapter (Chapter 16 by Barry Brook and me), is an overview of statistical and modelling philosophy and application with emphasis on conservation mathematics. It’s by no means a complete treatment, but it’s something we want to develop further down the track. I do hope many people find it useful.
I’ve reproduced the chapter title line-up below, with links to each of the authors websites.
- Conservation Biology: Past and Present (C. Meine)
- Biodiversity (K. Gaston)
- Ecosystem Functions and Services (C. Sekercioglu)
- Habitat Destruction: Death of a Thousand Cuts (W. Laurance)
- Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change (A. Bennett & D. Saunders)
- Overharvesting (C. Peres)
- Invasive Species (D. Simberloff)
- Climate Change (T. Lovejoy)
- Fire and Biodiversity (D. Bowman & B. Murphy)
- Extinctions and the Practice of Preventing Them (S. Pimm & C. Jenkins)
- Conservation Planning and Priorities (T. Brooks)
- Endangered Species Management: The US Experience (D. Wilcove)
- Conservation in Human-Modified Landscapes (L.P. Koh & T. Gardner)
- The Roles of People in Conservation (A. Claus, K. Chan & T. Satterfield)
- From Conservation Theory to Practice: Crossing the Divide (M. Rao & J. Ginsberg)
- The Conservation Biologist’s Toolbox – Principles for the Design and Analysis of Conservation Studies (C. Bradshaw & B. Brook)
As you can see, it’s a pretty impressive collection of conservation stars and hard-hitting topics. Can’t wait to get my own copy! I will probably blog individual chapters down the track, so stay tuned.
ConservationBytes.com 
[…] book published by Oxford University Press and edited by Navjot Sodhi and Paul Ehrlich called Conservation Biology for All in which Barry Brook and I wrote a chapter entitled The conservation biologist’s toolbox – […]
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See also here for free downloads of each chapter or the entire book.
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This excellent book has now been released as a free ebook:
Click to access aConservation_Biology_for_All.pdf
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Thanks, Alex
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[…] the end of 2009 I highlighted a new book edited by good mates Navjot Sodhi and Paul Ehrlich, Conservation Biology for All, in which Barry Brook and I had written a chapter. Now, despite my vested interest, I thought (and […]
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[…] Sodhi & Paul Ehrlich‘s book, Conservation Biology for All, has just been reviewed in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. I’ve blogged about the book […]
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Hi Corey, I can’t wait to read the book. I lived in the Amazon and learned first hand about the demise of biodiversity, in the rainforest back in the 1970s, long before climate change came into play. Happy Tonics collaborates with Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College (LCOOCC), in Hayward, Wisconsin, USA, in cosponsoring events re: Environmental Education Film Festivals.
Schuyler Houser, (deceased in 2009), former President of LOOOCC gave a talk on possible consequences of climate change on tribal people in 2003, the year I graduated from LCOOCC. The name of the book is Climate Change Impacts on the United States – The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.
Biodiversity is crucial to tribal people in order for them to continue their cultural relationship to nature. If you haven’t read this book, Schuyler Houser and others wrote Chapter 12 Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for Native Peoples and Homelands. It is insightful. I feel certain I will also learn more from Conservation Biology for All.
Thank you.
Best wishes, Mary Ellen
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