Conservation by Proxy

Because of the scope of conservation problems, biologists and managers often rely on "surrogate" species to act as proxies to represent larger conservation issues. In Conservation by Proxy, conservation biologist and field researcher Tim Caro offers systematic definitions of surrogate species concepts, explores the theories behind them, considers how surrogate species are chosen, examines evidence for and against their utility, and makes recommendations for their continued use.

“"Tim Caro brings order to a long-neglected area of conservation with remarkably lucid logic."”

"Caro cleans up terminology and infrequently tested hypotheses to produce an insightful account of core ideas in conservation. Practitioners will benefit from his conceptual clarity when planning their conservation actions."
--Stuart Pimm "Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, Duke University"
"Conservation biology has emerged over the past twenty-five years as an important new subdiscipline, central to the management of the natural world and its nonvoting species. Tim Caro's comprehensive review examines the successes and shortcomings of difference scientific, economic, and aesthetic approaches to protecting endangered species and their habitats. Conservation by Proxy uses an elegant blend of quantitative comparisons and insightful examples to illustrate what has worked and what has failed. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with the conservation of biodiversity in the critical next few decades."
--Andy Dobson "Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University"
"This is a needed reference for conservation biologists to study and consult before employing the surrogate species concept to meet their objectives."
-- "CHOICE"

--Hugh Possingham "Professor of Ecology and Mathematics, University of Queensland, Australia"
"... In this book, Tim Caro ably compiles and dissects in one compact source the large body of literature about surrogate species in conservation biology. ... The book is well written and richly referenced, with 65 pages of citations; this section alone renders the book a valuable addition to one's conservation library. The author deftly employs this vast literature in well-developed examples in the text, tables, and figures. ... Conservation by Proxy offers an invaluable contribution to the literature of conservation biology. I highly recommend it for academics or students involved with surrogates, as well as anyone grappling with biodiversity conservation or quantifying effects of environmental change. Caro offers not only a timely, thorough journey through the realm of surrogates, but also an effective and less costly alternative to these proxies."
-- "Ecology"
"The book can be recommended to anyone with a deep interest in the fate of biological diversity and its conservation. It is clearly written with examples presented from all over the plant and animal kingdom. Furthermore it is nicely illustrated with numerous drawings, figures and tables... To sum up, if you are a conservation biologist, this is indeed a book you need to have on your own bookshelves and not borrow quickly from the library. It will prove to be useful repeatedly."
-- "Basic and Applied Ecology"
"Surrogate species have been a holy grail for establishing conservation targets and measureing success. Conservation by Proxy distinguishes precise definitions from buzzwords, which is essential for credible application of concepts to practice. Compelling examples are drawn from virtually every ecosystem and level of biological organization. This impressive synthesis will promote both honesty about the inferences surrogates can provide and consideration of alternative metrics for assessing environmental status and trends."
--Erica Fleishman "Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, UC Santa Barbara"

Tim Caro is a Professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology and a member of the Center for Population Biology, at the University of California, Davis.

The vast scope of conservation problems has forced biologists and managers to rely on ""surrogate"" species to serve as shortcuts to guide their decision making. These species-known by a host of different terms, including indicator, umbrella, and flagship species-act as proxies to represent larger conservation issues, such as the location of biodiversity hotspots or general ecosystem health. Synthesizing an immense body of literature, conservation biologist and field researcher Tim Caro offers systematic definitions of surrogate species concepts, explores biological theories that underlie them, considers how surrogate species are chosen, critically examines evidence for and against their utility, and makes recommendations for their continued use. The book clarifies terminology and contrasts how different terms are used in the real world considers the ecological, taxonomic, and political underpinnings of these shortcuts identifies criteria that make for good surrogate species outlines the circumstances where the application of the surrogate species concept shows promise Conservation by Proxy is a benchmark reference that provides clear definitions and common understanding of the evidence and theory behind surrogate species. It is the first book to review and bring together literature on more than fifteen types of surrogate species, enabling us to assess their role in conservation and offering guidelines on how they can be used most effectively.

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