Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions..
What is the history of the Society for conservation biology?
The Society was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 8, 1985. The Articles of Incorporation of the Society were filed in the State of California on April 8, 1986. The Society drafted bylaws at the same time. The bylaws have been amended numerous times by a vote of the membership since they were first drafted..
Who founded the Society for Conservation Biology?
Michael E. Soulé was its co-founder and the first president. By the mid-1980s there was sufficient interest and participation to establish a formal society and publish a peer reviewed journal, Conservation Biology, started in May 1987 and published by Blackwell Scientific Publishers..
Conservation ecology is the branch of ecology and evolutionary biology that deals with the preservation and management of biodiversity and natural resources.
The modern roots of conservation biology can be found in the late 18th-century Enlightenment period particularly in England and Scotland. Thinkers including Lord Monboddo described the importance of "preserving nature"; much of this early emphasis had its origins in Christian theology.
The concept of conservation biology was introduced by Dasmann (1968) and Ehrenfeld (1970). Soulé & Wilcox's (1980) contribution, Conservation Biology: An Evolutionary Ecological Perspective, served as an impetus for the development of the discipline.
The term conservation biology and its conception as a new field originated with the convening of "The First International Conference on Research in Conservation Biology" held at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California, in 1978 led by American biologists Bruce A. Wilcox and Michael E.
Abstract
Soulé (1985) helped define the emerging field ofconservation biology with an essay that has been read by generations of students and that is now a science citation classic. However, a lot has happened in the world since 1985, and conservation, like any professional and scientific endeavor, needs to continually refresh its intellectual and academic .
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Conclusions
In the concluding paragraph of his essay, Soulé acknowledged that we cannot reverse history and restore the world to a prelapsarian past. He suggested that conservation can potentially reduce the rate of extinction, improve the management of wildlands, and mitigate the impacts of technologies. Conservation as it was defined by Soulé is reactive and.
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How The Global Context For Conservation Has Changed Since 1985
In 1985, the global human population was 4.8 billion people. Last year, in 2011, the population raced past 7 billion—an increase of more than 40% in one human generation. Pertinent to conservation, this population growth has been and will continue to be most rapid in the very areas of the planet that harbor the highest levels of biodiversity (Cinco.
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Humans and Conservation Science
In our view, the major shortcoming of Soulé's framing of conservation is its inattention to human well-being. In the traditional view of conservation, people play one of two roles: The vast majority of people are a threat to biodiversity, and a relatively small number—mostly Western biologists—act as biodiversity's protectors and, one hopes, savior.
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Is conservation biology a predictive science?
Until these issues are resolved, the status of conservation biology as a predictive science will remain in serious doubt (Soulé 1986).
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New Postulates For Conservation Science
As Soulé (1985)did in his essay, we offer a set of fundamental axioms about nature. These axioms help define the context within which conservation science must work.
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Soulé's Guiding Principles
To help guide the then-nascent discipline of conservation biology, Soulé laid out four core principles, which he called functional postulates, and four core values, or normative postulates (see box 1). Soulé's functional postulates are no less true today than they were in 1985, but they are not necessarily what one would consider the essential prin.
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Still A Crisis Discipline But Evidence Based
Soulé (1985) argued that conservation biology differs from many other scientific endeavors because it is a “crisis discipline.” According to this line of reasoning, conservation biologists, like medical doctors, are often called on to act rapidly and without complete knowledge of the situation. We agree. However, since Soulé's essay, medicine has u.
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What is the Society for Conservation Biology?
The Society for Conservation Biology is a global community of conservation professionals dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving biodiversity. Conservation biology as a discipline reaches beyond biology, into subjects such as:
philosophy
law
economics
humanities
arts
anthropology
and education.
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When did conservation biology start?
Long before environmentalism began to reshape “conservation in the old sense ” in the 1960s —prior even to the Progressive Era conservation movement of the early 1900s —the foundations of conservation biology were being laid over the course of biology ’s epic advances over the last four centuries.
When did conservation biology begin
Polar bear population sizes and trends are difficult to estimate accurately because they occupy remote home ranges and exist at low population densities. Polar bear fieldwork can also be hazardous to researchers. As of 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Nevertheless, polar bears are listed as Vulnerable under criterion A3c, which indicates an expected population decrease of ≥30% over the next three generations due to decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat. Risks to the polar bear include climate change, pollution in the form of toxic contaminants, conflicts with shipping, oil and gas exploration and development, and human-bear interactions including harvesting and possible stresses from recreational polar-bear watching.
