Artwork from the book is available to instructors online at www.blackwellpublishing.com/hunter and by request on CD-ROM.

Malcolm Hunter??is the Libra Professor of Conservation Biology and Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, Orono. He is also the former President of the Society for Conservation Biology.

James Gibbs??is Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

James Gibbs, Malcolm Hunter, and Eleanor Sterling are the authors of the forthcoming new edition ofProblem Solving in Conservation Biology (Blackwell, 2007).

Full Contents vii

List of Case Studies xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvi

PART I Biodiversity and Its Importance 3

1 Conservation and Conservation Biology 4

2 What Is Biodiversity? 22

3 Species Diversity 34

4 Ecosystem Diversity 65

5 Genetic Diversity 86

PART II Threats to Biodiversity 113

6 Mass Extinctions and Global Change 114

7 Extinction Processes 130

8 Ecosystem Degradation and Loss 150

9 Overexploitation 184

10 Invasive Exotics 205

PART III Maintaining Biodiversity 225

11 Protecting Ecosystems 226

12 Managing Ecosystems 252

13 Managing Populations 281

14 Zoos and Gardens 310

PART IV The Human Factors 329

15 Social Factors 330

16 Economics 346

17 Politics and Action 372

Epilogue 392

Glossary 394

Literature Cited and Author Index 405

Species Index 476

Subject Index 486