Conservation Biology

1. Front Matter

   Pages N1-xxix

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2. The Natural Order

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Species Richness in Plant Communities

      • Peter S. Ashton

      Pages 3-22

   3. Hierarchies of Cause: Toward an Understanding of Rarity in Vascular Plant Species

      • Peggy L. Fiedler, Jeremy J. Ahouse

      Pages 23-47

   4. Peasant Farming Systems, Agricultural Modernization, and the Conservation of Crop Genetic Resources in Latin America

      • Miguel A. Altieri, M. Kat Anderson

      Pages 49-64

   5. The New Paradigm in Ecology: Implications for Conservation Biology Above the Species Level

      • Steward T. A. Pickett, V. Thomas Parker, Peggy L. Fiedler

      Pages 65-88

3. Processes and Patterns of Change

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89

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   2. Reptilian Extinctions: The Last Ten Thousand Years

      • Ted J. Case, Douglas T. Bolger, Adam D. Richman

      Pages 91-125

   3. Loss of Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Evidence from Fish Faunas

      • Peter B. Moyle, Robert A. Leidy

      Pages 127-169

   4. Threats to Invertebrate Biodiversity: Implications for Conservation Strategies

      • John E. Hafernik Jr.

      Pages 171-195

   5. Forest Fragmentation and the Conservation of Biological Diversity

      • Larry D. Harris, Gilberto Silva-Lopez

      Pages 197-237

   6. Issues of Scale in Conservation Biology

      • Reed F. Noss

      Pages 239-250

4. The Biology and Genetics of Populations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 251-251

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   2. Stochastic Modeling of Extinction in Plant Populations

      • Eric S. Menges

      Pages 253-275

   3. The Effects of Inbreeding on Isolated Populations: Are Minimum Viable Population Sizes Predictable?

      • Robert C. Lacy

      Pages 277-296

   4. Conservation of Asian Primates: Aspects of Genetics and Behavioral Ecology that Predict Vulnerability

      • Mary Pearl

      Pages 297-320

   5. Genetic and Demographic Considerations in the Sampling and Reintroduction of Rare Plants

      • Edward O. Guerrant Jr.

      Pages 321-344

5. The Practice of Nature Conservation, Preservation, and Management

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 345-345

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   2. Ecological Management of Sensitive Natural Areas

      • C. Ronald Carroll

      Pages 347-372

   3. Park Protection and Public Roads

      • Christine Schonewald-Cox, Marybeth Buechner

      Pages 373-395

• • • John Harper • • • Nature conservation has changed from an idealistic philosophy to a serious technology. Ecology, the science that underpins the technol­ ogy of conservation, is still too immature to provide all the wisdom that it must. It is arguable that the desire to conserve nature will in itself force the discipline of ecology to identify fundamental prob­ lems in its scientific goals and methods. In return, ecologists may be able to offer some insights that make conservation more practicable (Harper 1987). The idea that nature (species or communities) is worth preserv­ ing rests on several fundamental arguments, particularly the argu­ ment of nostalgia and the argument of human benefit and need. Nostalgia, of course, is a powerful emotion. With some notable ex­ ceptions, there is usually a feeling of dismay at a change in the sta­ tus quo, whether it be the loss of a place in the country for walking or rambling, the loss of a painting or architectural monument, or that one will never again have the chance to see a particular species of bird or plant.

• conservation biology
• ecology
• nature conservation
• science

• Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA

  Peggy L. Fiedler

• Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, USA

  Subodh K. Jain

Policies and ethics