Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation 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. Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation 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.
Part I. Concepts
1 Redirections in Conservation Biology Luciano M. Verdade, Carlos I. Pina, and Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge
2 Historical Ecology and the Explanation of Diversity: Amazonian Case Studies William Balee
3 Phylogenetic diversity and the sustainable use of biodiversity Daniel P. Faith and Laura Jo Pollock
4 Adaptation and Evolution in Changing Environments Luiz Miguel Rosalino, Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge, and Luciano M. Verdade
5 Biodiversity loss and infectious diseases Kevin D. Lafferty
6 The conservation value of agricultural landscapes Luciano M. Verdade, Marli Penteado, Carla Gheler-Costa, Graziella Dotta, Luis Miguel Rosalino, Vania Regina Pivello, Carlos I. Pina, and Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge
Part II. Innovation
7 The use of molecular tools in ecological studies of mammalian carnivores Francisco Palomares and Begona Adrados
8 The Role of Abundance Estimates in Conservation Decision-Making James D. Nichols
9 Wildlife surveys in agricultural landscapes: Terrestrial medium- to large-sized mammals Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge, Carla Gheler-Costa, Carlos Ignacio Pina, Luiz Miguel Rosalino, and Luciano M. Verdade
10 Point Counts Method for Bird Surveys in Agroecosystems of the State of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil Marli Penteado, Wesley R. Silva, and Luciano M. Verdade
11 The use of stable isotopes analyses in wildlife studies Thiago S. Marques, Neliton R.F. Lara, Plinio B. Camargo, Luciano M. Verdade, and Luiz A. Martinelli
Part III. Governance
12 Multi-taxa surveys: integrating ecosystem processes and user demands William E. Magnusson, Ben Lawson, Fabricio Baccaro, Carolina Volkmer de Castilho, J. Guy Castley, Flavia Costa, Debora P. Drucker, Elizabeth Franklin, Albertina P. Lima, Regina Luizao, Fernando Mendonca, Flavia Pezzini, Juliana Schietti, Jose Julio Toledo, Ana Tourinho, Luciano M. Verdade, and Jean-Marc Hero
13 Who's in conflict with whom? Human dimensions of the conflicts involving wildlife. Silvio Marchini
14 BIOTA/FAPESP - The Biodiversity Virtual Institute: translating research on biodiversity and ecosystem services into policies in a megadiverse country. Carlos A. Joly