Conservation Biology

This book provides a thorough, up-to-date examination of conservation biology and the many supporting disciplines that comprise conservation science. In this, the Third Edition of the highly successful Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, the authors address their interdisciplinary topic as it must now be practiced and perceived in the modern world. 

 

Beginning with a concise review of the history of conservation, the authors go on to explore the interplay of conservation with genetics, demography, habitat and landscape, aquatic environments, and ecosystem management, and the relationship of all these disciplines to ethics, economics, law, and policy. An entirely new chapter, The Anthropocene: Conservation in a Human-Dominated Nature, breaks new ground in its exploration of how conservation can be practiced in anthropogenic biomes, novel ecosystems, and urban habitats. The Third Edition includes the popular Points of Engagement discussion questions used in earlier editions, and adds a new feature: Information Boxes, which briefly recap specific case histories described in the text. A concluding chapter offers insight into how to become a conservation professional, in both traditional and non-traditional roles.

 

The authors, Fred Van Dyke and Rachel Lamb, draw on their expertise as field biologists, wildlife managers, consultants to government and industry, and scholars of environmental law, policy, and advocacy, as well as their many years of effective teaching experience. Informed by practical knowledge and acquired skills, the authors have created a work of exceptional clarity and readability which encompasses both systemic foundations as well as contemporary developments in the field. Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications will be of invaluable benefit to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to working conservation scientists and managers.

 

This is an amazing resource for students, faculty, and practitioners both new and experienced to the field.

Diane Debinski, PhD

 

 

Unexcelled wisdom for living at home on Wonderland Earth, the planet with promise, destined for abundant life.
Holmes Rolston, PhD

 

 

Van Dyke and Lamb have maintained the original text’s emphasis on connecting classical ecological and environmental work with updated modern applications and lucid examples. But more importantly, the third edition contains much new material on the human side of conservation, including expanded treatments of policy, economics, and climate change.  
Tim Van Deelen, PhD

 

 

Fred Van Dyke and Rachel Lamb break new ground in both the breadth and depth of their review and analysis of this crucially important and rapidly changing field. Any student or other reader wishing to have acomprehensive overview and understanding of the complexities of conservation biology need look no further – this book is your starting point!

Simon N. Stuart, PhD

  

Anyone who teaches, talks or writes and works on Conservation Biology, needs this latest edition of Conservation Biology (Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 3rd edition) by Fred Van Dyke and Rachel L. Lamb. This will be useful to both beginners and experts as well. The authors included almost all important issues in relation to conservation biology. This is really an outstanding book.

Bidhan Chandra Das, Professor, Ecology Branch, Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh

“Anyone who teaches, talks or writes and works on Conservation Biology, needs this latest edition of a book, Conservation Biology (Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 3rd edition) by Fred Van Dyke and Rachel L. Lamb. This will be useful to both beginners and expert as well. The authors included almost all important issues in relation to conservation biology. This is really an outstanding book.” (Professor Bidhan Chandra Das, Ecology Branch, Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi) 

“Van Dyke and Lamb have produced a thoughtful and important third edition of Van Dyke’s successful and rigorous text on Conservation Biology (Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications). As befits a young science that is evolving quickly, Van Dyke and Lamb have maintained the original text’s emphasis on connecting classical ecological and environmental work with updated modern applications and lucid examples. But more importantly, the third edition contains much new material on the human side of conservation, including expanded treatments of policy, economics, and climate change. Conservation educators will want to check it out.” (Tim Van Deelen, PhD, Professor Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

“I have taught using both the first and second editions of Van Dyke’s Conservation Biology text because of the comprehensive interdisciplinary coverage of the field of conservation biology from its historic roots to the present. Van Dyke and Lamb’s third edition builds on that material, incorporating some of the most recent new perspectives with a broad set of examples from across the globe. This is an amazing resource for students, faculty, and practitioners both new and experienced to the field.” (Diane Debinski, PhD, Professor and Head, Department of Ecology, Montana State University) 

“A thorough introduction to values in environmental conservation, suitable for  undergraduates, excellent at placing environmental values in their deeper worldviews. Searches the academic literature, law, policy, and religious heritages, all facing challenging cases on the ground, better and worse. Unexcelled wisdom for living at home on Wonderland Earth, the planet with promise, destined for abundant life.” (Holmes Rolston, PhD, University Distinguished Professor Colorado State University)

“In this latest edition of Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, Fred Van Dyke and Rachel Lamb break new ground in both the breadth and depth of their review and analysis of this crucially important and rapidly changing field. Any student or other reader wishing to have a comprehensive overview and understanding of the complexities of conservation biology need look no further – this book is your starting point!” (Simon N. Stuart, PhD, Advisor to the Steering Committee IUCN Species Survival Commission; 2020 Blue Planet Award Recipient)

 

 

Fred Van Dyke is a conservation scientist, author, and consultant and former Executive Director of the Au Sable Institute, an environmental education and research organization located in northern Michigan, USA. Prior to his leadership of Au Sable, Fred served as Professor and Chair of the Biology Department at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, USA, and Director of Wheaton’s Environmental Studies Program. Fred received his Ph.D. in environmental and forest biology from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York-Syracuse. He has served as a wildlife biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a scientific and management consultant to the US National Park Service, and a consultant to government agencies and private industry in conservation research and management. His studies of wildlife ecology, plant ecology, restoration ecology, fire ecology and plant and animal response to environmental disturbance have been published innumerous international scientific journals and books

Contact email: vandykefred400@gmail.com

Rachel L. Lamb is a University Flagship Fellow, Harvey Fellow, and PhD Candidate in Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). She also holds a Master of Public Policy and Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from UMD. Rachel has worked for numerous agencies and organizations, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, A Rocha Peru, National Socio-Ecological Synthesis Research Center (SESYNC), Society for Conservation Biology, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her current work focuses on the socio-economic applications of NASA Carbon Monitoring System products to advance climate-smart land-use with benefits for biodiversity. During the summers, she serves as a member of the faculty of the Au Sable Institute as an Assistant Professor, teaching courses in environmental law and policy as well as land use and resources policy. In 2015, Rachel was named a White House Champion of Change by the Obama Administration for her efforts in protecting our environment and communities from the effects of climate change.

Contact email: rachlamb@umd.edu