Conservation of Wildlife Populations

L. Scott Mills is a Professor in the Wildlife Biology Program at the University of Montana. His research and teaching integrates field studies with population models and genetic analyses to understand effects of human perturbations on wildlife populations.

List of boxes. List of symbols. Preface. Acknowledgments. PART I: Background to applied population biology. 1. The Big Picture: Human population dynamics meets applied population biology. Introduction. Population ecology of humans. Extinction rates of other species. Humans and sustainable harvest. The big picture. Further reading. 2. Designing studies and interpreting population biology data: how do we know what we know?. Introduction. Obtaining reliable facts through sampling. Linking observed facts to ideasmind leads to understanding. Ethics and the wildlife population biologist. Summary. Further reading. 3. Genetic concepts and tools to support wildlife population biology. Introduction. What is genetic variation?. Genetic markers used in wildlife population biology. Insights into wildlife population biology using genetic tools. Summary. Further reading. 4. Estimating population vital rates. Estimating abundance and density. Survival estimation. Estimation of reproduction. Sex ratio. Summary. Further reading. PART II: POPULATION PROCESSES: THE BASIS FOR MANAGEMENT. 5. The simplest way to describe and project population growth: exponential and geometric change. Introduction. Fundamentals of geometric or exponential growth. Causes and consequences of variation in population growth. Quantifying population growth in a stochastic environment. Summary. Further reading. 6. Density dependent population change. Introduction. Negative density dependence. Positive density dependence. The logistic: one simple model of negative density-dependent population growth. Some counterintuitive dynamics: limit cycles and chaos. Summary. Further reading. 7. Accounting for age and sex-specific differences: population projection models. Introduction. Anatomy of a population-projection matrix. How timing of sampling affects the matrix. Projecting a matrix through time. Adding stochasticity to a matrix model. Sensitivity analysis. Case studies. Summary. Further reading. 8. Predation and wildlife populations. Does predation affect prey numbers?. Factors affecting how predation impacts prey numbers. Summary. Further reading. 9. Genetic Variation and Fitness of Wildlife Populations. Introduction. Long-term benefits of genetic variation. What determines levels of genetic variation in populations?. Quantifying the loss of heterozygosity: the inbreeding coefficient. When does inbreeding lead to inbreeding depression?. What to do when faced with inbreeding depression?. General Rules. Summary. Further reading. 10. Dynamics of Multiple Populations. Introduction. Connectivity among populations. Measuring connectivity among wildlife populations. Multiple populations are not all equal. Options for restoring connectivity. Summary. Further reading. PART III: APPLYING KNOWLEDGE OF POPULATION PROCESSES TO PROBLEMS OF DECLINING, SMALL, OR HARVESTABLE POPULATIONS. 11. Human Perturbations: Deterministic Factors Leading to Population Decline. Introduction. General effects of deterministic stressors on populations. Habitat loss and fragmentation. Introduced and invasive species. Pollution. Overharvest. Global climate change. Synergistic effects among deterministic stressors. Summary. Further reading. 12. Predicting the dynamics of small and declining populations. Introduction. Ecological characteristics predicting risk. The extinction vortex. Predicting risks in small populations. Population viability analysis: quantitative methods of assessing viability. Other approaches to assessing viability. Some closing thoughts about assessing viability. Summary. Further reading. 13. Bridging applied population and ecosystem ecology with focal species concepts. Introduction. Flagship species. Umbrella species. Indicator species. Keystone species and strong interactors. Summary. Further reading. 14. Population biology of harvested populations. Introduction. Effects of hunting on population dynamics. Long term effects: hunting as a selective force. Models to guide sustainable harvests. Waterfowl harvest and adaptive harvest management. Management of overabundant and pest populations. Summary. Further reading. Epilogue. References. Species lists. Subject index.