Tropical Conservation Biology

Navjot S. Sodhi is Professor at the National University of Singapore. An associate/subject editor of Conservation Biology, the Auk, and Biotropica, Navjot received his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. A recipient of National Geographic Society grants, he has also spent time as a Bullard Fellow at Harvard University, where he holds an adjunct associate position. Barry W. Brook is Professor and Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide, Australia. His research interests include climate change, global ecology and extinction dynamics. Barry serves on the editorial boards of Ecological Research and Raffles Bulletin of Zoology and is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts and F1000 Biology. In 2006 he was awarded the Fenner Medal by the Australian Academy of Sciences. Corey J. A. Bradshaw is Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University, Australia. He earned a doctoral degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand and has extensively researched marine and terrestrial vertebrate populations, with an emphasis on extinction modelling and ecological theory. Corey is an Associate Editor for Journal of Animal Ecology.

• Preface ixAcknowledgements xii1 Diminishing Habitats in Regions of High Biodiversity 11.1 Loss of native habitats 21.2 Drivers of habitat loss 161.3 Biodiversity hotspots 271.4 Summary 31                                                1.5 Further reading 322 Invaluable Losses 332.1 Environmental filters 332.2 Precipitation and temperature regulation 372.3 Water purification 372.4 Protecting catchments and soils 382.5 Forests and floods 382.6 Nitrogen flux 392.7 Eutrophication 402.8 Nature’s pharmacy and goods 412.9 Human health and nature 412.10 Ecosystem services from nature 432.11 The direct economic value of nature 472.12 The role of nature in human culture 492.13 Loss of knowledge 492.14 Summary 522.15 Further reading 523 Broken Homes: Tropical Biotas in Fragmented Landscapes 533.1 Theoretical premises of fragmentation 533.2 Abiotic and geometric components of fragmentation 563.3 Biotic effects of fragmentation 563.4 Long-term fate of fragments 623.5 Edge effects 633.6 Vulnerability to fragmentation 663.7 Importance of matrix 693.8 Increasing fragment connectivity 693.9 Summary 713.10 Further reading 714 Burning Down the House 724.1 Forest fires 724.2 Burning savannas 824.3 Tropical fires in the global context 854.4 Fire modelling and mitigation 864.5 Summary 884.6 Further reading 885 Alien Invaders 895.1 What are invasive species? 895.2 Invasive species in tropical realms 945.3 Managing and controlling invasive species 1045.4 Summary 1105.5 Further reading 1106 Human Uses and Abuses of Tropical Biodiversity 1116.1 Bush meat crisis 1116.2 Captivity trade 1296.3 Medicinal and other uses 1336.4 Commercial exploitation 1376.5 Nuisance control 1446.6 Summary 1456.7 Further reading 1457 Threats in Three Dimensions: Tropical Aquatic Conservation 1467.1 Tropical fisheries exploitation 1467.2 Coral reefs in peril 1557.3 Marine reserves 1647.4 Megafauna 1697.5 Tropical freshwater ecosystems – water for life 1757.6 Where marine and freshwater habitats merge: coasts and estuaries 1837.7 Summary 1857.8 Further reading 1858 Climate Change: Feeling the Tropical Heat 1878.1 Overwhelming evidence for human-mediated climate change 1878.2 Past evidence for climate change effects on tropical biodiversity 1898.3 Effects of recent and projected anthropogenic climate change on tropical biotas 1908.4 Fighting climate change 2058.5 Summary 2068.6 Further reading 2079 Lost Without a Trace: the Tropical Extinction Crisis 2089.1 Defining ‘extinction’ 2089.2 Historic extinctions 2099.3 Extinction rates 2099.4 Case studies of tropical extinctions 2129.5 Extinction lags 2139.6 Extinction drivers 2149.7 Extinction proneness 2199.8 Extinction and the perturbation of ecological processes 2289.9 Biotic resilience 2329.10 The future of tropical biodiversity 2379.11 Summary 2389.12 Further reading 23810 Lights at the End of the Tunnel: Conservation Options and Challenges 23910.1 Protected areas are critical for tropical conservation 23910.2 Poor governance as a threat to tropical biodiversity 24910.3 Improving logging practices 25210.4 Livelihoods and conservation 25510.5 Conservation education and advocacy 25610.6 Better technologies 26010.7 Good examples of tropical conservation 26010.8 Organizations assisting with tropical conservation 26110.9 Restoration, reintroductions and urban management 26210.10 Role of sound biological science in tropical conservation 26510.11 Summary 26610.12 Further reading 267References 268Index 319

"This is by far the best introduction to conservation biology in the broadest sense that I have yet encountered." (Biodivers Conserv, 2011) "It is simply a good, detailed, and up-to-date book that belongs on the shelves of scholars in tropical biology, ecology, conservation biology, and the environmental sciences.” (Ecology, April 2009)"This is the most up-to-date and informative reference on the wrongs of conservation of biodiversity in the tropics." (Environmental Conservation, December 2008)