Infectious Disease Ecology and Conservation

<p>Emerging infectious diseases pose an increasingly serious threat to a number of endangered or sensitive species and are increasingly recognized as one of the major factors driving species extinction. Despite the significant impact of pathogens on conservation, no single book has yet integratedthe theoretical principles underlying disease transmission with the practical health considerations for helping wildlife professionals and conservation biologists to manage disease outbreaks and conserve biodiversity.This novel and accessible book starts with a foundational section focusing on the role of pathogens in natural ecosystems, the dynamics of transmission in different environments, and the factors driving wildlife disease outbreaks. It then moves on to more applied issues concerned with theacquisition of field data including sampling, experimental design and analysis, as well as diagnostic analyses in both the laboratory and field. Guidelines for effective modelling and data analysis follow, before a final section is devoted to disease prevention and control including the preventionof novel outbreaks, the use of diseases as biocontrol agents, and the associated issues of ethics, public communication, and outreach.Infectious Disease Ecology and Conservation is primarily aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and established researchers in the fields of conservation biology, disease ecology, population ecology, and veterinary science. It will also be a valuable reference for conservationpractitioners, land managers, and wildlife professionals who are required to deal with disease outbreak problems.</p>

Science & Math

Wobeser, Gary A.

Foufopoulos, Johannes

McCallum, Hamish

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

<p>Emerging infectious diseases pose an increasingly serious threat to a number of endangered or sensitive species and are increasingly recognized as one of the major factors driving species extinction. Despite the significant impact of pathogens on conservation, no single book has yet integrated the theoretical principles underlying disease transmission with the practical health considerations for helping wildlife professionals and conservation biologists to manage disease outbreaks and conserve biodiversity.\nThis novel and accessible book starts with a foundational section focusing on the role of pathogens in natural ecosystems, the dynamics of transmission in different environments, and the factors driving wildlife disease outbreaks. It then moves on to more applied issues concerned with the acquisition of field data including sampling, experimental design and analysis, as well as diagnostic analyses in both the laboratory and field. Guidelines for effective modelling and data analysis follow, before a final section is devoted to disease prevention and control including the prevention of novel outbreaks, the use of diseases as biocontrol agents, and the associated issues of ethics, public communication, and outreach.\nInfectious Disease Ecology and Conservation is primarily aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and established researchers in the fields of conservation biology, disease ecology, population ecology, and veterinary science. It will also be a valuable reference for conservation practitioners, land managers, and wildlife professionals who are required to deal with disease outbreak problems.</p>

Population Parameters: Estimation for Ecological Models

Ecologists and environmental managers rely on mathematical models, both to understand ecological systems and to predict future system behavior. In turn, models rely on appropriate estimates of their parameters. This book brings together a diverse and scattered literature, to provide clear guidance on how to estimate parameters for models of animal populations. It is not a recipe book of statistical procedures. Instead, it concentrates on how to select the best approach to parameter estimation for a particular problem, and how to ensure that the quality estimated is the appropriate one for the specific purpose of the modelling exercise.  Commencing with a toolbox of useful generic approaches to parameter estimation, the book deals with methods for estimating parameters for single populations. These parameters include population size, birth and death rates, and the population growth rate. For such parameters, rigorous statistical theory has been developed, and software is readily available. The problem is to select the optimal sampling design and method of analysis. The second part of the book deals with parameters that describe spatial dynamics, and ecological interactions such as competition, predation and parasitism. Here the principle problems are designing appropriate experiments and ensuring that the quantities measured by the experiments are relevant to the ecological models in which they will be used.  This book will be essential reading for ecological researchers, postgraduate students and environmental managers who need to address an ecological problem through a population model. It is accessible to anyone with an understanding of basic statistical methods and population ecology.     Unique in concentrating on parameter estimation within modelling.  Fills a glaring gap in the literature.  Not too technical, so suitable for the statistically inept.  Methods explained in algebra, but also in worked examples using commonly available computer packages (SAS, GLIM, and some more specialised packages where relvant). Some spreadsheet based examples also included.

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Blackwell Pub.

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