Bøker i Wildlife Research Monographs-serien

Carrion, or dead animal matter, is an inherent component of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, and is exploited by a wide diversity of organisms from different trophic levels, including microbes, arthropods and vertebrates. Further, carrion consumption by scavengers, i.e. scavenging, supports key ecosystem functions and services such as recycling nutrients and energy, disposing of carcasses and regulating disease spread. Yet, unlike dead plant matter, dead animal decomposition has received little attention in the fields of ecology, wildlife conservation and environmental management, and as a result the management of carrion for maintaining biodiversity and functional ecosystems has been limited.This book addresses the main ecological patterns and processes relating to the generation and consumption of carrion both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It also discusses a number of conservation concerns and associated management issues, particularly regarding the increasing role of human-mediated carrion in ecosystems. Lastly, the book outlines future research lines in carrion ecology and management, and identifies the major challenges for scavengers and scavenging processes in the Anthropocene.

This book aims to synthesize the state of the art on biodiversity knowledge exchange practices to understand where and how improvements can be made to close the knowledge-implementation gap in conservation science and advance this interdisciplinary topic. Bringing together the most prominent scholars and practitioners in the field, the book looks into the various sources used to produce biodiversity knowledge - from natural and social sciences to Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Citizen Science - as well as knowledge mobilization approaches to highlight the key ingredients that render successful conservation action at a global scale. By doing so, the book identified major current challenges and opportunities in the field, for different sectors that generate, mobilize, and use biodiversity knowledge (like academia, boundary organizations, practitioners, and policy-makers), to further develop cross-sectorial knowledge mobilization strategies and enhance evidence-informed decision-making processes globally.

This book is devoted to the Little Bustard, a medium sized Paleartic steppe bird whose distribution ranges from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia. At present, the European population is suffering a severe decline mainly due to agricultural intensification, although its status and concerns in non-European countries are relatively unknown. In spite of this dramatic situation, the Little Bustard is an interesting model species for topics as varied as phylogeny, life history evolution and demographic traits, sexual selection and lekking behavior, habitat selection, intra- and interspecific relationships, or interaction with farming and other anthropogenic disturbances. This book provides an updated, interdisciplinary, and worldwide review of the most recent information of this crucial species in the Palearctic steppe-bird community, from specific biological aspects and traits to research-focused management. Some of the most prominent scientists from different fields (systematics, breeding ecology, behavior, competence, predation, population dynamics, farming, conservation) update and synthesize the existing information on a singular, threatened and vulnerable species.