David W. Macdonald & Katherine J. Willis 
Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2 

Following the much acclaimed success of the first volume of
Key Topics in Conservation Biology, this entirely new second
volume addresses an innovative array of key topics in contemporary
conservation biology. Written by an internationally renowned
team of authors, Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2 adds
to the still topical foundations laid in the first volume
(published in 2007) by exploring a further 25 cutting-edge issues
in modern biodiversity conservation, including controversial
subjects such as setting conservation priorities, balancing the
focus on species and ecosystems, and financial mechanisms to value
biodiversity and pay for its conservation. Other chapters, setting
the framework for conservation, address the sociology and
philosophy of peoples’ relation with Nature and its impact on
health, and such challenging practical issues as wildlife trade and
conflict between people and carnivores. As a new development, this
second volume of Key Topics includes chapters on major ecosystems,
such as forests, islands and both fresh and marine waters, along
with case studies of the conservation of major taxa: plants,
butterflies, birds and mammals. A further selection of topics
consider how to safeguard the future through monitoring, reserve
planning, corridors and connectivity, together with approaches to
reintroduction and re-wilding, along with managing wildlife
disease. A final chapter, by the editors, synthesises thinking on
the relationship between biodiversity conservation and human
development.

Each topic is explored by a team of top international experts,
assembled to bring their own cross-cutting knowledge to a
penetrating synthesis of the issues from both theoretical and
practical perspectives.

The interdisciplinary nature of biodiversity conservation is
reflected throughout the book. Each essay examines the fundamental
principles of the topic, the methodologies involved and, crucially,
the human dimension. In this way, Key Topics in Conservation
Biology 2, like its sister volume, Key Topics in Conservation
Biology, embraces issues from cutting-edge ecological science
to policy, environmental economics, governance, ethics, and the
practical issues of implementation.

Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2 will, like its
sister volume, be a valuable resource in universities and colleges,
government departments, and conservation agencies. It is aimed
particularly at senior undergraduate and graduate students in
conservation biology and wildlife management and wider ecological
and environmental subjects, and those taking Masters degrees in any
field relevant to conservation and the environment. Conservation
practitioners, policy-makers, and the wider general public eager to
understand more about important environmental issues will also find
this book invaluable.

Table of Content

Contributors

Preface

Part 1: The Framework

1. Conservation priorities: Identifying need, taking action and evaluating success
Andrew Pullin, Bill Sutherland, Toby Gardner, Val Kapos and John Fa

2. Levels of Approach: on the appropriate scales for conservation interventions and planning
Jonathan Baillie, David Raffaelli and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri

3. Five Paradigms of Collective Action Underlying the Human Dimension of Conservation
Laurent Mermet, Katherine Homewood, Andrew Dobson and Raphaël Billé

4. Economic instruments for nature conservation
Christopher Barrett, Erwin Bulte, Paul Ferraro and Sven Wunder

5. Tackling unsustainable wildlife trade
Adam Dutton, Brian Gratwicke, Cameron Hepburn, Emilio Herrera and David Macdonald

6. Leadership and Listening: Inspiration for Conservation Mission and Advocacy
Andrew Gosler, Shonil Bhagwat, Stuart Harrop, Mark Bonta and Sonia Tidemann

7. The importance of the human dimension in addressing conflict with large carnivores
Amy Dickman, Silvio Marchini and Michael Manfredo

8. Citizen Science and nature conservation
Jonathan Silvertown, Christina Buesching, Susan Jacobson and Tony Rebelo

9. Nature as a source of health and well-being: is this an ecosystem service that could pay for conserving biodiversity?
Joelene Hughes, Jules Pretty and David Macdonald

Part 2: Habitat Case Studies

10. Ocean conservation: current challenges and future opportunities
Alex Rogers, Dan Laffoley, Nick Polunin and Derek Tittensor

11. Lost in muddy waters: freshwater biodiversity
Nic Pacini, David Harper, Peter Henderson, and Tom Le Quesne

12. Habitat case studies: Islands
Kim King, Mark Lomolino, Gary Roemer and Brendan Godley

13. Conservation of tropical forests: maintaining ecological integrity and resilience
Owen Lewis, Robert Ewers, Margaret Loman and Yadvinder Malhi

Part 3. Taxonomic Case Studies

14. A Global Perspective on Conserving Butterflies and Moths and their Habitats
Thomas Merckx, Blanca Huertas, Yves Basset and Jeremy Thomas

15. Bird Conservation in Tropical Ecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities
Joseph Tobias, Çadan Dekerciodlu and Hernan Vargas

16. Conserving Large Mammals: are they a special case?
David Macdonald, Luigi Boitani, Eric Dinerstein, Herve Fritz and Richard Wrangham

17. Plant conservation: the seeds of success
Tim Walker, Stephen Harris and Kingsley Dixon

Part 4. Safeguarding the Future

18. The ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of monitoring for conservation
Julia Jones, Greg Asner, Stu Butchart and Ullas Karanth

19. Effective conservation depends upon understanding human behaviour
Freya St. John, Aidan Keane and E.J. Milner-Gulland

20. Designing effective solutions to conservation planning problems
Andrew T. Knight, Ana. S.L. Rodrigues, Niels Strange, Tom Tew and Kerrie A. Wilson

21. Biological Corridors and Connectivity
Samuel Cushman, Brad Mc Rae, Frank Adriaensen, Paul Beier, Mark Shirley and Kathy Zeller

22. Righting past wrongs and ensuring the future: challenges and opportunities for effective reintroductions amidst a biodiversity crisis
Axel Moehrenschlager, Debra Shier, Tom Moorhouse, Mark Stanley Price

23. Re-wilding
Chris Sandom, Josh Donlan, Jens-Christian Svenning and Dennis Hansen

24. Disease Control
Peter D. Walsh

Part 5: A Synthesis

25. Key Topics -Elephants in the room: tough choices for a maturing discipline
David W. Macdonald and Kathy Willis

Index

About the author

David W. Macdonald CBE FRSE is Professor of Wildlife
Conservation at the University of Oxford. Founder and Director of
Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (Wild CRU), and a
Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. In addition to his
conservation research, he is heavily involved in the practice and
policy of conservation, and is also known through his films and
books on wildlife.

Katherine J. Willis is the Tasso Leventis Professor of
Biodiversity at the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford
Martin School Biodiversity Institute (BIO) in the Department of
Zoology, and a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. She is also an
adjunct Professor in Biology at the University of Bergen, Norway.
Her work within the Biodiversity Institute falls under three key
research areas: biodiversity beyond protected areas; ecological and
evolutionary processes responsible for biodiversity; and
biodiversity technologies. She is also heavily involved in the
development of smartphone and web-based decision support tools to
facilitate the transfer of knowledge on biodiversity science and
ecosystem services into conservation, management and policy.