Marine Bycatch
In addressing the tuna-dolphin issue in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) Ocean as a case study in bycatch, the authors of “Thinking like an Ocean” (Fall 2002) incorrectly attribute the fishery’s problems to efforts to protect dolphins. For starters, contrary to the authors’ assertion, the ETP purse seine tuna fishery is, in terms […] Read More »
Books
Winter 2003 (Vol. 4, No. 1)
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.
Conservation Medicine: Ecological […] Read More »
Turtles and roads are a bad combination. Nearly half of the 55 turtle species native to the U.S. are declining, and new research suggests that collisions with cars and trucks are partly to blame.
“Our work provides a compelling explanation for the bewildering decline of turtles, particularly the mobile land turtles and semi-aquatic species,” says […] Read More »
Doing what comes naturally can work against wildlife in an unnatural world. Animals use environmental cues to choose habitats and guide their behavior — but altered environments can “trap” animals into making wrong choices. To fix traps, managers need to understand the cues that lead wildlife into them.
“Ecological and evolutionary traps… can potentially result […] Read More »
California is a hotspot of amphibian declines — half of the state’s frogs and toads are in trouble — and new research suggests that agricultural pesticides may be one of the biggest reasons.
“Declines of four…species were strongly associated with the amount of upwind agricultural land use, suggesting that wind-borne agrochemicals may be a factor,” […] Read More »
Most of us don’t pay much attention to earthworms but maybe we should. New research suggests that nonnative earthworms are radically changing the forest floor in the northern U.S., threatening the goblin fern (Botrychium mormo) and other rare plants.
This is “the first research to show that exotic earthworms are harmful to rare native vegetation […] Read More »
Wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest are in trouble — 26 populations are listed as threatened or endangered — and many conservationists fear hatcheries are a big part of the problem. In support of this belief, new research suggests that hatchery-reared steelhead are a threat to wild chinook in the Snake River.
“Our work suggests […] Read More »
We ask a lot of our rivers, expecting both natural ecosystems and uninterrupted water and hydropower supplies. Although meeting these conflicting mandates may seem impossible, new research identifies ways to find common ground between them.
“How do we save the salmon and still have electricity? How do we save the Delta smelt and still have […] Read More »
By Douglas Fox
Winter 2003 (Vol. 4, No. 1)
It’s a typical November morning on Rodrigues Island, a tiny speck in the Indian Ocean 560 kilometers northeast of Mauritius and just south of the equator. Sweat oozes from a chorus of pores across my back, soaking my shirt, turning my backpack into a sponge.
Mary […] Read More »
By David Stokes and Peter Morrison
Winter 2003 (Vol. 4, No. 1)
Geographic Information System (GIS) models have a seductive quality. With their vivid map outputs and appearance of objectivity, they convey a sense of reality, regardless of the analyses and data used to construct them. The model, as such, becomes a persuasive voice. But […] Read More »
By Peter Zahler
Winter 2003 (Vol. 4, No. 1)
Imagine that your local parks and wildlife administration is defined by three men sitting in a single room at a single table with no vehicles at their disposal, no computers, no fax, not even a telephone.
Now imagine that this scenario describes your country’s entire […] Read More »
By John and Terese Hart
Winter 2003 (Vol. 4, No. 1)
The small plane that brought us from the Okapi Reserve to the airstrip in eastern Congo left its motor running as we stepped out to clear immigration. The soldier flipping through our passports could not have been more than 13 years old, but […] Read More »
For people, being well connected means who you know. For wildlife, it means where they can go. New research shows that the connectivity of fragmented habitat may determine whether its species thrive or die out: populations of an Australian wren can increase in well connected fragments but will drop in those that are not.
Lesley […] Read More »
