The musteloids are the most diverse super-family among carnivores, ranging from little known, exotic, and highly-endangered species to the popular and familiar, and include a large number of introduced invasives. They feature terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, and aquatic members, ranging from tenacious predators to frugivorous omnivores, span weights from a 100g weasel to 30kg giant otters, and express a range of social behaviours from the highly gregarious to the fiercely solitary. Musteloids are the subjects of extensive cutting-edge research from phylogenetics to the evolution of sociality and through to the practical implications of disease epidemiology, introduced species management, and climate change. Their diversity and extensive biogeography inform a wide spectrum of ecological theory and conservation practice.
The editors of this book have used their combined 90 years of experience working on the behaviour and ecology of wild musteloids to draw together a unique network of the world's most successful and knowledgeable experts. The book begins with nine review chapters covering hot topics in musteloid biology including evolution, disease, social communication, and management. These are followed by twenty extensive case studies providing a range of comprehensive geographic and taxonomic coverage. The final chapter synthesises what has been discussed in the book, and reflects on the different and diverse conservation needs of musteloids and the wealth of conservation lessons they offer.
Biology and Conservation of Musteloids provides a conceptual framework for future research and applied conservation management that is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in musteloid and carnivore ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance and use to conservationists and wildlife managers.
Edited by:
David Macdonald (Director Director Wildlife Conservation Research Unit University of Oxford),
Christopher Newman (Senior Research Associate,
Senior Research Associate,
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit,
University of Oxford),
Lauren A. Harrington (Senior Researcher,
Senior Researcher,
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit,
University of Oxford)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 251mm,
Width: 196mm,
Spine: 41mm
Weight: 2g
ISBN: 9780198759805
ISBN 10: 0198759800
Pages: 720
Publication Date: 19 October 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Part I: Reviews 1: David W. Macdonald, Chris Newman, and Lauren A. Harrington: Dramatis personae: an introduction to the wild musteloids 2: Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jerry W. Dragoo, and Xiaoming Wang: The evolutionary history and molecular systematics of the Musteloidea 3: Andrew C. Kitchener, Carlo Meloro, and Terrie M. Williams: Form and function of the musteloids 4: Xavier Lambin: The population dynamics of bite-sized predators: prey dependence, territoriality and mobility 5: Christina Buesching and Theodore Stankowich: Communication amongst the musteloids: Signs, signals, and cues 6: David W. Macdonald and Chris Newman: Musteloid sociology: the grass-roots of society 7: Lauren A. Harrington, Jorgelina Marino, and Carolyn M. King: People and wild native musteloids 8: Roger A. Powell, Stephen Ellwood, Roland Kays, and Tiit Maran: Stink or swim - techniques to meet the challenges for the study and conservation of small critters that hide, swim or climb and may otherwise make themselves unpleasant 9: Chris Newman and Andrew Bryne: Musteloid Diseases - Implications for conservation and species management Part II: Case studies 10: Carolyn M. King, Grant Norbury, and Andrew J.Veale: Small mustelids in New Zealand: invasion ecology in a different world 11: Roger A Powell, Aaron N Facka, Mourad W Gabriel, Jonathan H Gilbert, J Mark Higley, Scott LaPoint, Nicholas P McCann, Wayne Spencer, and Craig M Thompson: The fisher as a model organism 12: Samuel A. Cushman and Tzeidle N. Wasserman: Quantifying loss and degradation of former American Marten habitat due to the impacts of forestry operations and associated road networks in northern Idaho, USA 13: Youbing Zhou, Chris Newman, Yayoi Kaneko, Christina D. Buesching, Wenwen Chen, Zhao-Min Zhou, Zongqiang Xie, and David W. Macdonald: Asian badgers - the same, only different: How diversity among badger societies informs socio-ecological theory and challenges conservation 14: Joanna Ross, Andrew J. Hearn, and David W. Macdonald: The Bornean carnivore community: Lessons from a little-known guild 15: Dean E. Biggins and David A. Eads: Evolution, natural history, and conservation of black-footed ferrets 16: Elaine J. Fraser, Lauren A. Harrington, David W. Macdonald, and Xavier Lambin: Control of an invasive species: the American mink in Great Britain 17: Tiit Maran, Madis Podra, Lauren A. Harrington, and David W. Macdonald: European mink - restoration attempts for a species on the brink of extinction 18: Jeffrey P. Copeland, Arild Landa, Kimberly Heinemeyer, Keith B. Aubry, Jiska van Dijk, Roel May, Jens Persson, John Squires, and Richard Yates: Social ethology of the wolverine 19: Rich D. Weir, Trevor A. Kinley, Richard W. Klafki, and Clayton D. Apps: Ecotypic variation affects the conservation of American badgers endangered along their northern range extent 20: Rosie Woodroffe and Christl A. Donnelly: European badgers and the control of bovine tuberculosis in the United Kingdom 21: Chris Newman, Christina D. Buesching, and David W. Macdonald: Meline mastery of meteorological mayhem: The effects of climate changeability on European badger population dynamics 22: Jessica Groenendijk, Frank Hajek, Paul J. Johnson, David W. Macdonald: Giant otters: using knowledge of life history for conservation 23: James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, and Terrie M. Williams: Advances in the physiology, behaviour and ecology of sea otters 24: Christine C. Hass and Jerry W. Dragoo: Competition and coexistence in sympatric skunks 25: Matthew E. Gompper: Range decline and landscape ecology of the eastern spotted skunk 26: Melody Brooks and Roland Kays: Kinkajou - the tree top specialist 27: Samuel I. Zeveloff: On the mortality and management of a ubiquitous musteloid: the common racoon 28: Ben T. Hirsch and Matthew E. Gompper: Causes and consequences of coati sociality 29: Yibo Hu, Dunwu Qi, and Fuwen Wei: Conservation genetics of red pandas in the wild Part III: Synthesis 30: David W. Macdonald, Chris Newman, and Lauren A. Harrington: Beneath the umbrella: Conservation out of the limelight
David Macdonald is the founder and Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, Senior Research Fellow in Wildlife Conservation at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Oxford. A recent survey by BBC Wildlife magazine listed him amongst the ten most influential living conservationists. He won the 2005 Dawkins Prize for Conservation and has published over 600 refereed papers on aspects of mammalian behaviour, ecology, and conservation. In 2006 he was awarded the American Society of Mammalogists Merriam Award for scientific contributions to mammalogy and, in 2007, the equivalent gold medal from the British Mammal Society. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. David is also known for his books and television documentaries, and has twice been awarded the Natural History Author of the Year. Chris Newman joined the WildCRU in 1991. He is the co-ordinator for the WildCRUs Badger Project, specialising in life-history evolution and the effects of climate change and disease on population dynamics. His work is highly inter-disciplinary, drawing together insights from demography, animal behaviour, physiology, genetics and parasitology to synthesise new ideas and comprehensive approaches to understand wildlife biology. He collaborates extensively with other researchers internationally, particularly in Asia, and is an author of over 100 peer reviewed papers and book chapters. As a former Earthwatch Principal Investigator, he is also an advocate of public and corporate participation in conservation initiatives. Chris is the Mammals Officer for the Zoology Departments Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Board. Outside of academia, he manages 350 acres of Forest Stewardship Council certified woodland in Nova Scotia, Canada, including 16 acres growing Haskap berries. Lauren Harrington has worked with a number of mustelid species that include the most endangered mustelid, once extinct in the wild the black-footed ferret, and the most widespread invasive mustelid the American mink. She developed a passion for mustelids during long nights spent on the prairies of Wyoming and Montana radio-tracking some of the first captive-bred black-footed ferrets to be released into the wild. Lauren has been a member of the WildCRU since 1996, and has published a number of refereed papers on diverse topics, including diving behaviour of mink, interactions and coexistence between small carnivores, wildlife management, and reintroduction, focusing predominantly on UK species. Lauren formerly served as an Independent Monitoring Partner for the trial release of beavers in Scotland, and is currently a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group.
Reviews for Biology and Conservation of Musteloids
the overall effect is one of coherence, clarity and a wealth of evidence-based knowledge. This text will be of fundamental and lasting value to all musteloid researchers and graduate students. It is also likely to be of use to those interested in the ecology and conservation of carnivores and the management of wildlife. * Sue Howarth , Royal Society of Biology *
