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Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) is a methodology developed by The Nature Conservancy to provide comprehensive and reliable information about biodiversity resources in situations where time and financial resources are limited. REAs utilize a combination of remote-sensed imagery, reconnaissance overflights, field data collection, and spatial information visualization to generate useful information for conservation planning. Nature in Focus is an in-depth guide to the theory and practice of REAs, offering a detailed approach for assessing biodiversity in a rapid and integrative manner. It provides researchers with the essential tools and techniques they need to conduct an REA, and offers valuable advice about the planning and implementation aspects. The book: presents an overview of the REA methodology and sampling framework reviews all aspects of an REA: planning and management, mapping and spatial information, information management describes surveys of vegetation and fauna presents a generalized description of threat assessments explores the manner in which large amounts of data produced by different REA teams are integrated and synthesized into a cohesive set of management recommendations explains how the REA effort is documented, published, and disseminated offers a detailed REA case studyAlso included is a set of twelve color maps that describe the sequence of mapping activities in the case-study REA, along with other map examples from a range of REAs. In addition to the case study, appendixes offer a full set of REA field forms for sampling, and a model "Scope of Work" that describes the nature of work to be conducted in an REA and outlines the roles and responsibilities of the participating organizations. Nature in Focus presents the collective experience of more than ten years of REA field-testing. Conservation practitioners and biodiversity scientists who are involved with REA initiatives, along with managers, policymakers, and others involved with conservation programs will find the book a useful and nontechnical guide to an essential element of successful conservation.
One of Amphoto's bestselling authors explains not only the "how" but also the "why" -- the creative process -- behind his spectacular photographs.
The Nature of Selection is a straightforward, self-contained introduction to philosophical and biological problems in evolutionary theory. It presents a powerful analysis of the evolutionary concepts of natural selection, fitness, and adaptation and clarifies controversial issues concerning altruism, group selection, and the idea that organisms are survival machines built for the good of the genes that inhabit them. "Sober's is the answering philosophical voice, the voice of a first-rate philosopher and a knowledgeable student of contemporary evolutionary theory. His book merits broad attention among both communities. It should also inspire others to continue the conversation."-Philip Kitcher, Nature "Elliott Sober has made extraordinarily important contributions to our understanding of biological problems in evolutionary biology and causality. The Nature of Selection is a major contribution to understanding epistemological problems in evolutionary theory. I predict that it will have a long lasting place in the literature."-Richard C. Lewontin
- A unique tribute to the tigers who have played a vital role as 'brand ambassadors' of Indian wildlife - Delves into the changing landscape of tiger photography in India, and contains expert opinions by leading nature photographers - Also showcased is the singular diversity of Indian wildlife through spectacular images of the myriad species that share their home with tigers - A photographer's take on the dramatic rise in the popularity of tigers in the past decade Tigers are symbolic of the Indian wilderness and the mesmerizing stripes have long captured popular imagination. A Decade with Tigers is a photographer's take on the dramatic rise in the popularity of tigers in the past decade. Powered by social media and an increasing number of photographers interested in documenting the various moods and behaviors of tigers in forests across the country, tigers have been anthropomorphized, with some of them becoming the 'tiger icons' of India. A Decade with Tigers is a unique tribute to the tigers who have played a vital role as 'brand ambassadors' of Indian wildlife. The volume chronicles legendary tiger mothers and male tigers of the past decade, as well as their tales of survival, complemented by exquisite images by wildlife photographer Shivang Mehta, who has spent thousands of hours on the field. Also showcased is the singular diversity of Indian wildlife through spectacular images of the myriad species that share their home with tigers, photographed in terrains ranging from montane forests to the plains of Central India. The book also delves into the changing landscape of tiger photography in India, and contains expert opinions by leading nature photographers on the need for creativity and innovation in the photography and portrayal of India's magnificent national animal. Contents: Foreword, Preface, Tiger mothers, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambhore, Tadoba, Pench, Corbett, Mighty males, Denizens of the tiger kingdom.
Visions of Nature revives the work of late nineteenth-century landscape photographers who shaped the environmental attitudes of settlers in the colonies of the Tasman World and in California. Despite having little association with one another, these photographers developed remarkably similar visions of nature. They rode a wave of interest in wilderness imagery and made pictures that were hung in settler drawing rooms, perused in albums, projected in theaters, and re-created on vacations. In both the American West and the Tasman World, landscape photography fed into settler belonging and produced new ways of thinking about territory and history. During this key period of settler revolution, a generation of photographers came to associate “nature” with remoteness, antiquity, and emptiness, a perspective that disguised the realities of Indigenous presence and reinforced colonial fantasies of environmental abundance. This book lifts the work of these photographers out of their provincial contexts and repositions it within a new comparative frame.
"Biophilia" is the term coined by Edward O. Wilson to describe what he believes is humanity's innate affinity for the natural world. In his landmark book Biophilia, he examined how our tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes might be a biologically based need, integral to our development as individuals and as a species. That idea has caught the imagination of diverse thinkers. The Biophilia Hypothesis brings together the views of some of the most creative scientists of our time, each attempting to amplify and refine the concept of biophilia. The variety of perspectives -- psychological, biological, cultural, symbolic, and aesthetic -- frame the theoretical issues by presenting empirical evidence that supports or refutes the hypothesis. Numerous examples illustrate the idea that biophilia and its converse, biophobia, have a genetic component: fear, and even full-blown phobias of snakes and spiders are quick to develop with very little negative reinforcement, while more threatening modern artifacts -- knives, guns, automobiles -- rarely elicit such a response people find trees that are climbable and have a broad, umbrella-like canopy more attractive than trees without these characteristics people would rather look at water, green vegetation, or flowers than built structures of glass and concrete The biophilia hypothesis, if substantiated, provides a powerful argument for the conservation of biological diversity. More important, it implies serious consequences for our well-being as society becomes further estranged from the natural world. Relentless environmental destruction could have a significant impact on our quality of life, not just materially but psychologically and even spiritually.
Schels stunning quality of his black-and-white images of animals faces, all presented, proper portrait-wise, against black of white backdrops. Although they can't smile, animals don't hide their feelings.