Artificial Reefs
I have read Michael Moore and Mark Erdmann’s article, “EcoReefs: A New Tool for Coral Reef Restoration” (Summer 2002). My experience has made me a skeptic.
In the late 1970s, we worked on “Randall’s Reef,” made of concrete blocks by Jack Randall in 1960 on the south coast of St. John. It was […] Read More »
Books
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
Some books reviewed in our book review section are available through Amazon.com. To make your purchase easier we have included a link when available. When you purchase a book through this service on our website Conservation In Practice receives a portion of the purchase price.
Carnivore Conservation
Edited […] Read More »
Shark finning — chopping off the fins and tossing the rest — is increasing worldwide to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup. But tracking this trade is hard because isolated fins from different species generally look the same. Now there is a new way to identify shark species from just their fins.
“We have […] Read More »
By limiting human activity at sacred sites, many traditional societies serendipitously protected biodiversity there as well. New research shows that religion can still be a powerful force for conservation today: a religious association in southwest China is restoring sacred sites, bringing their plant diversity close to that of a nearby nature reserve.
“Conserving biodiversity based […] Read More »
Multi-species recovery plans are all the rage — but do they work? New research suggests that they are not yet delivering on their promise.
“As currently employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), multi-species recovery plans are less effective management tools than single-species plans,” say Alan Clark of the University of Washington in […] Read More »
While Columbia has more bird species than any other country worldwide, much of its habitat is also suitable for growing coca (Erythroxylum novogranatense and E. coca) and opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). New research shows that these illicit crops are expanding into forest remnants where threatened bird species live.
“Ultimately, the conservation of forests and forest-dependent […] Read More »
The impact of roads, pipe lines, and other human disturbances on caribou (Rangifer tarandus) migration is controversial but largely unknown. New research shows that the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Newfoundland, Canada, disrupted caribou migration and land use.
“The development caused a disruption of migrational timing during construction and longer-term diminished use of the […] Read More »
The breeding programs widely used to supplement fisheries and conserve endangered species may be flawed. The problem is that although animals usually choose their mates in the wild, they typically do not get a choice when bred in captivity. The benefits of mate choice can include increased resistance to disease among offspring, and new work […] Read More »
By Ross Freeman with William Bowerman and others
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
Under current ecological thinking, there is no goal nobler than restoring a river’s hydrologic connectivity by removing dams. Fish can access upstream spawning grounds, historic habitat is once again available, and the naturally fluctuating flow of nutrients and water is […] Read More »
By David Havlick
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
“Basically, I’m a road killer.”
When I heard that job description, I knew I ought to meet Mike Sanders. With degrees in both physics and geology, Sanders has been working as a hit man—taking out roads—for Redwood National Park since 1995. When it comes to […] Read More »
By Jonathan Adams, Frank Biasi, Colin Bibby, and Martin Sneary
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
Imagine that you are having chest pains. Concerned, you go immediately to a team of doctors who run a battery of tests. The results come back, and the doctors tell you that you have a serious condition that requires […] Read More »
By Alan Rabinowitz
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
“The time for great discoveries is passed,” said Louis Agassiz in 1867. “No student of nature goes out now expecting to find a new world.”1
Agassiz was wrong. Within the first ten years of his pronouncement, Nikolay Przhevalsky explored the Gobi Desert from end to […] Read More »
By Scott Norris with Martin Hall
Fall 2002 (Vol. 3, No. 4)
I’ve just finished another two-hour conversation with a man who considers it necessary that Pacific tuna fishers be allowed to set nets on dolphins. His outspoken and influential views have been controversial among some environmentalists. Yet there is some irony here. The […] Read More »
