Conservation biology relies not only on the general concepts, but on the specific methods, of population ecology to both understand and predict the viability of rare and endangered species and to determine how best to manage these populations. The need to conduct quantitative analyses of viability and management has spawned the field of "population viability analysis," or PVA, which, in turn, has driven much of the recent development of useful and realistic
population analysis and modeling in ecology in general. However, despite calls for the increased use of PVA in real-world settings--developing recovery plans for endangered species, for example--a
misperception remains among field-oriented conservation biologists that PVA models can only be constructed and understood by a select group of mathematical population ecologists.Part of the reason for the ongoing gap between conservation practitioners and population modelers has been the lack of an easy-to-understand introduction to PVA for conservation biologists with little prior exposure to mathematical modeling as well as in-depth coverage of the underlying theory and
its applications. Quantitative Conservation Biology fills this void through a unified presentation of the three major areas of PVA: count-based, demographic, and multi-site, or metapopulation, models.
The authors first present general concepts and approaches to viability assessment. Then, in sections addressing each of the three fields of PVA, they guide the reader from considerations for collection and analysis of data to model construction, analysis, and interpretation, progressing from simple to complex approaches to answering PVA questions. Detailed case studies use data from real endangered species, and computer programs to perform all described analyses accompany the
text.The goal of this book is to provide practical, intelligible, and intuitive explanations of population modeling to empirical ecologists and conservation biologists. Modeling methods that do not
require large amounts of data (typically unavailable for endangered species) are emphasized. As such, the book is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students interested in quantitative conservation biology, managers charged with preserving endangered species, and, in short, for any conservation biologist or ecologist seeking to better understand the analysis and modeling of population data.RESOURCESDownloadable MATLAB programs
included as boxes in the text are available to students and instructors.
Conservation biology relies not only on the general concepts, but on the specific methods, of population ecology to both understand and predict the viability of rare and endangered species and to determine how best to manage these populations. The need to conduct quantitative analyses of viability and management has spawned the field of "population viability analysis," or PVA, which, in turn, has driven much of the recent development of useful and realistic
population analysis and modeling in ecology in general. However, despite calls for the increased use of PVA in real-world settings--developing recovery plans for endangered species, for example--a
misperception remains among field-oriented conservation biologists that PVA models can only be constructed and understood by a select group of mathematical population ecologists.Part of the reason for the ongoing gap between conservation practitioners and population modelers has been the lack of an easy-to-understand introduction to PVA for conservation biologists with little prior exposure to mathematical modeling as well as in-depth coverage of the underlying theory and
its applications. Quantitative Conservation Biology fills this void through a unified presentation of the three major areas of PVA: count-based, demographic, and multi-site, or metapopulation, models.
The authors first present general concepts and approaches to viability assessment. Then, in sections addressing each of the three fields of PVA, they guide the reader from considerations for collection and analysis of data to model construction, analysis, and interpretation, progressing from simple to complex approaches to answering PVA questions. Detailed case studies use data from real endangered species, and computer programs to perform all described analyses accompany the
text.The goal of this book is to provide practical, intelligible, and intuitive explanations of population modeling to empirical ecologists and conservation biologists. Modeling methods that do not
require large amounts of data (typically unavailable for endangered species) are emphasized. As such, the book is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students interested in quantitative conservation biology, managers charged with preserving endangered species, and, in short, for any conservation biologist or ecologist seeking to better understand the analysis and modeling of population data.RESOURCESDownloadable MATLAB programs
included as boxes in the text are available to students and instructors.
PREFACE
1. What Is Population Viability Analysis, and How Can It Be Used in
Conservation Decision-Making?
2. The Causes and Quantification of Population Vulnerability
3. Count-based PVA: Density-independent Models
4. Count-based PVA: Incorporating Density Dependence, Demographic
Stochasticity, Correlated Environments, Catastrophes and
Bonanzas
5. Accounting for Observation Error in Count-based PVAs
6. Demographic PVAs: Using Demographic Data to Build Stochastic
Projection Matrix Models
7. Demographic PVAs: Using Projection Matrices to Assess Population
Growth and Viability
8. Demographic PVAs Based on Vital Rates: Removing Sampling
Variation and Incorporating Large Variance, Correlated
Environments, Demographic Stochasticity, and Density Dependence
into Matrix Models
9. Using Demographic PVA Models in Management: Sensitivity
Analysis
10. Population Dynamics across Multiple Sites: the Interaction of
Dispersal and Environmental Correlation
11. Methods of Viability Analysis for Spatially Structured
Populations
12. Critiques and Cautions: When to Perform (and When Not to
Perform) a Population Viability Analysis
William F. Morris is a Professor in the Biology Department at Duke
University.
Daniel F. Doak is a Professor in the Environmental Studies Program
at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
"This book is unique because it is written much like a tutorial
that describes the process of PVA in a well-organized and
easy-to-follow manner and does so in sufficient detail (with
specific real-world examples) to serve as a starting point for more
detailed treatments. The book is sure to appeal to a wide audience
and should serve as a useful resource for those who wish to better
understand PVAs, as well as for more experienced theoreticians and
conservation
practitioners."
--Carlyle Brewster, American Entomologist
"William Morris and Daniel Doak have written a comprehensive volume
on population viability analyses (PVA) that integrates the theory
of population ecology with the analytical tools necessary to
synthesize observational data on the dynamics of populations. The
book is a thorough, quantitative treatment and should be
approachable by conservation biologists and ecologists with an
interest in learning the details and application of PVA."
--William R. Clark, Landscape Ecology
"This is a book we've needed for a decade. PVA is not only a bridge
between science and policy, it is the flagship technology of
conservation biology. When applied to strongly interacting species,
it is also a foundational tool of ecosystem conservation. Thank
goodness, therefore, that this book is readable. Morris and Doak
draw on a treasury of experience and eschew complexity except where
necessary. Their book is truly the definitive step in making
PVA
accessible to students and practitioners. Hooray!"
--Michael Soulé, The Wildlands Project
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