Carnivores in ecosystems : the Yellowstone experience /

The 12 chapters in this book represent updated versions of presentations by researchers at a 1995 symposium at Yellowstone National Park. The compilation of articles and prefatory remarks are skillfully done by the four editors, themselves experts on carnivores and ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains. Balanced treatment is given to all of the carnivora that are known to exist in the park, as well as of carnivores in relation to human influences, fires, prey species, and conservation strategies. Graphics consist of 31 figures and 26 tables, all sharp, concise, and judiciously employed. Each chapter opens with a good quality black-and-white photograph and ends with several pages of current references to the research literature. The value of this collection is its presentation as a model for a group of carnivorous mammals within a circumscribed ecosystem, on which data have been collected for many years. It will be used by professionals in the fields of applied vertebrate ecology but can also be read and appreciated by graduate and undergraduate students of biology and wildlife management. Recommended for college and university library collections with a strong ecology emphasis. H. N. Cunningham Jr.; emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College

Yellowstone is the world's first national park and as such has been under various levels of scientific scrutiny for decades. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is an eight-million-hectare portion of the Rocky Mountains, in which the park lies embedded, and this area still contains (with the reintroduction of the gray wolf) all of the carnivorous animals that were present before the arrival of European settlers. As a relatively intact ecosystem, Yellowstone has much to teach us about how the different species of carnivore interact with each other, with their prey, and with the environment. This collection of essays covers not only the well-known megacarnivores, such as wolves, bears, and cougars, but also the smaller animals, such as badgers, otters, and mink. Several papers consider the ecosystem as a model with international significance. Although the scientific and technical nature of the book may place it beyond those with a casual interest, the level of fascination with the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park recommends this excellent overview of the area's carnivores for libraries with large natural history collections. --Nancy Bent

Edited by a group of scholars, this collection of essays traces the history of carnivorous wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, an area of almost eight million hectares in the mountains of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The area is relatively wild and intact and still supports the full range of carnivores that were present before Europeans arrived on the continent. Over the last century, many researchers have studied the carnivorous animal populations of the Yellowstone area, so there is a significant body of knowledge about these predators; the goal of this book is to integrate and synthesize that knowledge, so that managers and decision-makers can access it more effectively. Written by experts in wildlife and ecosystem management, the collected essays are thoroughly researched; and authors are careful to consider the political and public relations aspects of wildlife management as well. Because of its scholarly approach, this book will be of interest mainly to those concerned with wildlife conservation and ecosystem management, or those in the Greater Yellowstone area.ÄDeborah Emerson, Monroe Community Coll. Lib., Rochester, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.