Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation

Review: Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation By Marco Festa-Bianchet and Marco Apollonio (Eds.) Reviewed by Emily J. Plec Western Oregon University, USA Marco Festa-Bianchet and Marco Apollonio (Eds.). Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003. 380pp. ISBN 1- 55963-958-X (cloth); 1-55963-959-8 (paper). US$70.00 cloth; US$35.00 paper. Recycled, acid-free paper. Animal behaviorists have long argued that their research has significant implications for conservation initiatives. In November of 2000, researchers gathered in Erice, Sicily, at a workshop on Animal Behavior and Conservation to investigate the ways in which their work could be applied in order to better the management of wildlife populations and habitats. In Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation, Festa-Bianchet and Apollonio compile papers from that workshop, as well as other essays on resource- use, wildlife management, and individual variability within populations. Together, these essays provide insight into both the potential and the limitations of conservation in an era of increasing human encroachment into wild areas. The scope of the book ranges from general principles regarding animal behavior and ecosystem maintenance to specific examinations of the genetic and behavioral variability of different species. The chapters are organized into five major sections. The introductory section links the study of animal behavior to the goals of conservation. The second section consists of five chapters that examine, respectively, the impact of carnivore dispersal behavior on conservation, the challenges posed by migratory marine turtles, bird species' responses to habitat fragmentation in boreal forests, reproductive behavior in response to habitat loss and fisheries management, and foraging behavior in herbivore reintroduction programs. The authors grouped together in Part III of the book address the impact of wildlife management and the human harvest of wild species, primarily through sport hunting, on animal behavior. The essays in this section demonstrate a more general shift from wildlife management focused primarily on population dynamics to approaches that focus on individual differences and species-specific behavior. The limitations of the quantitative frameworks that govern traditional management approaches and philosophies are highlighted by methodological concerns (Gaillard et al.) and


Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation
The importance of both a behavioural and evolutionary approach to the study and conservation of wildlife is not a new theme and has recently been dealt with in other edited volumes (Caro 1998, Gosling & Sutherland 2000. This book complements those important works, and declares its own niche within the field to be focusing on the importance of individual differences among members of a population. In addition, it is clear that the editors have stressed to each author the importance of bringing scientific research back to the practical worlds of land management and population management, which in turn are largely dictated by the social and political concerns of the people these managers serve. The volume provides useful case studies and 'lessons learned1 about applications of behavioural ecology to conservation, not only for endangered or vulnerable species, but also for species actively managed. Thus, this book attempts, generally successfully, to speak not merely to aca demics, but also to those who possess power over wildlife's future. The book consists of 17 individually-authored chapters, most of which owe their gen esis to a workshop held in Sicily, Italy, in November, 2000.
As is often the case in such edited volumes, the individual chapters vary in their tone and level of detail. All the authors are recognized authorities in their specialties, and thus it is not surprising that most largely review their own, previously published work. That in itself is a contribution, because it allows readers who may not be familiar with each specialty to obtain a cap sule summary of what each author has contributed over the years. In addi tion, a few authors take advantage of the venue to provide a bit more thoughtprovoking speculation and integrative discussion than is usually allowed in the journal articles that contain their original findings.
After general introductions to the importance of behavioural ecology to wild life conservation and management by Leonard Gosling and co-editor Marco Festa-Bianchet, the volume treats the general themes of spatio-temporal variation of resource-use by specific groups of various taxa. Noteworthy in this section are the contributions by Andres Derochers on the ways in which individual differences may affect conventional wisdom about habitat frag mentation, and by Norman Owen-Smith, who provides case studies that are instructive in understanding how translocation of large mammals (an increas ingly attractive conservation option in many places) frequently encounters frustration, at least in its early stages. Owen-Smith suggests that, typically, there is a delay in the introduced animals' ability to take advantage o f avail able forage resources, but that once learning has occurred, the initial failure may turn into success.
The book's third main section delves into the implications of individual dif ferences for genetic conservation. These contributions tend to be a bit narrower in scope, and generally of use to those interested in predicting or modelling genetic loss of small populations. Contributions by Brian Steele and Jack Hogg as well as by Peter Arcese provide the field biologist with useful back ground information on the possible ways to document and quantify individ ual differences, which may be applicable in increasingly sophisticated pop ulation-genetic models.
Sandwiched between these two sections are five contributions given the omnibus label 'Wildlife Management', that share little beyond their obvious application to real-life wildlife conservation issues. Yet these five alone are worth the purchase price, and will likely be of the most interest to practising managers and applied researchers. Both Jean-Michel Gaillard (along with fre quent co-authors Anne Loison and Carole Toïgo) and Marco Apollonio draw upon their extensive experience with European ungulates to provide use ful lessons. Joel Berger and colleagues discuss and summarize their recent research on the behavioural, demographic and ecological ('cascading') effects of recent predator removals, and their even more recent recovery in many places. Jon Swenson, liberated from the shackles of overdemanding editors, provides a much-needed exploration of his recent writings on the possible implications of sexually-selected infanticide for management of large carnivores. Marco Festa-Bianchet challenges both hunting managers and the larger group of stake holders of managed species to reassess their assumptions and objectives regarding human harvest. His thesis, namely that the potential for human exploitation to fundamentally change the very animals we wish to conserve is real and that therefore focused research on this should be allotted higher priority than it usually is, is provided legitimacy by the author's experience in both Europe and North America as well as by his ability to live and work in both the academic and applied domains.
Although most readers will naturally find themselves more interested in some chapters than others, this book should be useful to a wide array o f researchers, students and managers.