Freshwater Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment (Volume 2) (World Wildlife Fund Ecoregion Assessments) - Softcover

Abell, Robin; Olson, David M.; Dinerstein, Eric; Hurley, Patrick; Diggs, James T.; Eichbaum, William; Walters, Steven; Wettengel, Wesley; Allnutt, Tom; Loucks, Colby J.; Hedao, Prashant; Taylor, Caroline (Lynne)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155963734X ISBN 13: 9781559637343

Publisher: Island Press, 1999

Synopsis

North America's freshwater habitats and the extraordinary biodiversity they contain are facing unprecedented threats from a range of sources, including flow alteration, habitat fragmentation, introduced species, and overall land use changes. With nearly every freshwater system suffering from some degree of degradation and conservation resources limited, there is an urgent and practical need to set priorities.As an initial step in identifying those areas where protective and restorative measures should be implemented first, World Wildlife Fund-US assembled a team of leading scientists to conduct a conservation assessment of freshwater ecoregions. Freshwater Ecoregions of North America presents that assessment and outlines measures that must be taken to conserve, and in many cases restore, native biodiversity. The book: identifies freshwater ecoregions that support globally outstanding biological diversity assesses the types and immediacy of threats to North American ecoregions identifies gaps in information that hamper an accurate evaluation of biodiversity provides a broad-scale framework for conservation activitiesIn addition, it offers appendixes that provide detailed descriptions of methodologies, raw scores and statistical analysis of results, and an integrated biological distinctiveness and conservation status index. Also included are 21 full-color maps.Freshwater Ecoregions of North America is an authoritative reference on a subject of vital importance, and will be an essential tool for scientists, conservation professionals, students, and anyone interested in the conservation of North America's freshwater systems.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

North America's freshwater habitats and the extraordinary biodiversity they contain are facing unprecedented threats from a range of sources, including flow alteration, habitat fragmentation, introduced species, and overall land use changes. With nearly every freshwater system suffering from some degree of degradation and conservation resources limited, there is an urgent and practical need to set priorities.

World Wildlife Fund-U.S. assembled a team of leading scientists to conduct a conservation assessment of freshwater ecoregions as an initial step in identifying the areas where protective and restorative measures should be implemented first. Freshwater Ecoregions of North America presents that assessment and outlines measures that must be taken to conserve, and in many cases restore, native biodiversity.

The book identifies freshwater ecoregions that support globally outstanding biological diversity, assesses the types and immediacy of threats to North American ecoregions, identifies gaps in information that hamper an accurate evaluation of biodiversity, and provides a broad-scale framework for conservation activities. In addition, it features full-color maps and appendixes that provide detailed descriptions of methodologies, raw scores and statistical analysis of results, and an integrated biological distinctiveness and conservation status index.

The authors are affiliated with the Conservation Science Program of World Wildlife Fund.

About the Author:

Robin Abell is a senior freshwater conservation biologist at WWF. She specializes in broad-scale conservation planning to protect freshwater biodiversity.
Eric Dinerstein is Director of Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions at RESOLVE. Previously, he was Lead Scientist and Vice President for Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund. His areas of specialty include tropical mammals, large mammal biology, biogeography, bats, rhinos, seed dispersal, and community ecology. With the World Wildlife Fund, he led many of the organization's most important scientific projects, including the Global 200 Ecoregions, examples of which form the basis of his book Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations. Dinerstein is also the author of The Kingdom of Rarities, The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros and What Elephants Know: A Novel, among other articles and publications.

He attended Northwestern University and Western Washington University, and did his post-graduate studies at the University of Washington (Organization of Tropical Studies) and the National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center.

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 155963734X
• ISBN 13: 9781559637343
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368