As yet, however, they have made little impact on conservation beiology because they have yet to generate general principles by which behavioral ecology advances understanding in conservation. Using data collected in the course of their fieldwork on mating systems, foraging behavior, or habitat preferences, or simply through working on an endangered species, behavioral ecologists tried to apply their findings to developing management plans or change existing ones. Increasingly, behavioral ecologists began to associate with colleagues from applied disciplines such as forest managers, park wardens, and wildlife and conservation biologists. The species on which they were working were under threat from poaching or habitat fragmentation, and former study sites had been converted to agricultural land. Since the mid-1980s, however, many have returned from the field with a different agenda. During the 1970s and 1980s, the goal of most students heading to field sites was to determine whether particular behavioral or life-history traits were adaptive.

Within the last few years, however, a handful of behavioral ecologists, increasingly concerned about species losses, have begun to address issues in conservation biology. Aside from the fact that small populations are composed of a handful of individuals, the disciplines seem far apart, and until very recently there was little connection between them. The first discipline involves basic research on individuals, whereas the second focuses on the fate of populations. In contrast, conservation biology focuses on small populations and the means by which extinctions can be prevented and habitats can be conserved. (Timothy M.) QL751B3425 1998 591.5-dc21 97-18005ĩ 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on recycled acid-free paperįor my parents, Anthony Caro and Sheila Girling, who see the fun in everything.īehavioral ecology is concerned with the strategies individuals use to maximize their genetic representation in future generations. Library of Congress Catalogmg-m-Pubhcation Data Behavioral ecology and conservation biology / edited by Tim Caro p cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-19-510489-7 0-19-510490-0 (pbk.) 1 Animal behavior 2 Animal ecology. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, m any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.

Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin IbadanĬopyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press, Inc. BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

Behavioral drift chimpanzee hand clasp