Carrion Ecology And Management

Carrion, or dead animal matter, is an inherent component of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, and is exploited by a wide diversity of organisms from different trophic levels, including microbes, arthropods and vertebrates. Further, carrion consumption by scavengers, i.e. scavenging, supports key ecosystem functions and services such as recycling nutrients and energy, disposing of carcasses and regulating disease spread. Yet, unlike dead plant matter, dead animal decomposition has received little attention in the fields of ecology, wildlife conservation and environmental management, and as a result the management of carrion for maintaining biodiversity and functional ecosystems has been limited. This book addresses the main ecological patterns and processes relating to the generation and consumption of carrion both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It also discusses a number of conservation concerns and associated management issues, particularly regarding the increasing role of human-mediated carrion in ecosystems. Lastly, the book outlines future research lines in carrion ecology and management, and identifies the major challenges for scavengers and scavenging processes in the Anthropocene.

Shortlisted for the 2018 TWS Wildlife Publication Awards in the edited book category Decomposition and recycling of vertebrate remains have been understudied, hampered largely due to these processes being aesthetically challenging (e.g., smell and sight). Technological innovations have provided the means to explore new and historically understood natural systems to give us a plethora of new information. Carrion Ecology, Evolution, and Their Applications covers a broad spectrum of topics including the molecular mechanistic foundations that provide the basis for intra- and interspecific interactions related to population biology, community ecology, and how this manifests into habitat- and ecosystem-level importance. The book connects the science of carrion decomposition from genes to ecosystems in multidisciplinary synthesis of the science. This book brings together a team of global experts involved with measuring and understanding the process and effects of carrion ecology in nature, with special application in such applied fields as forensic entomology, habitat management, animal production (e.g., livestock and aquaculture), and human and environmental health. It fills a large literature gap in ecology, providing a synthesis and future directions important for studies of carrion decomposition that improve the general understanding of decomposition in ecosystems. The book fuses multiple disciplines into a single message explaining the importance of vertebrate carrion ecology in nature. Illustrates Carrion Decomposition in a 16-Page Color Insert with 40 Photos The authors illustrate how the study of carrion transcends the globe and expands systems of inquiry, broadening awareness of this important ecosystem process. Whether you are a student, academic, or professional, you will find this book insightful for the fields of molecular ecology, microbiology, entomology, forensics, population biology, community and ecosystem ecology, and human and environmental health.

The Handbook provides a supporting guide to key aspects and applications of landscape ecology to underpin its research and teaching. A wide range of contributions written by expert researchers in the field summarize the latest knowledge on landscape ecology theory and concepts, landscape processes, methods and tools, and emerging frontiers. Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary and holistic discipline, and this is reflected in the chapters contained in this Handbook. Authors from varying disciplinary backgrounds tackle key concepts such as landscape structure and function, scale and connectivity; landscape processes such as disturbance, flows, and fragmentation; methods such as remote sensing and mapping, fieldwork, pattern analysis, modelling, and participation and engagement in landscape planning; and emerging frontiers such as ecosystem services, landscape approaches to biodiversity conservation, and climate change. Each chapter provides a blend of the latest scientific understanding of its focal topics along with considerations and examples of their application from around the world. An invaluable guide to the concepts, methods, and applications of landscape ecology, this book will be an important reference text for a wide range of students and academics in ecology, geography, biology, and interdisciplinary environmental studies.

The Science of Forensic Entomology A thoroughly updated introduction to forensic entomology In the newly revised second edition of The Science of Forensic Entomology, two distinguished entomologists deliver a foundational and practical resource that equips students and professionals to be able to understand and resolve questions concerning the presence of specific insects at crime scenes. Each chapter in the book addresses a topic that delves into the underlying biological principles and concepts relevant to the insect biology that grounds the use of insects in legal and investigational contexts. In addition to non-traditional topics, including the biology of maggot masses, temperature tolerances of necrophagous insects, chemical attraction and communication, reproductive strategies of necrophagous flies, and archaeoentomology, the book also offers readers: A thorough introduction to the role of forensic science in criminal investigations and the history of forensic entomology Comprehensive discussions of the biology, taxonomy, and natural history of forensically important insects Fulsome treatments of the postmortem decomposition of human remains and vertebrate carrion In-depth introduction to the concepts of accumulated degree days and the use of insect development for estimation of the postmortem interval New chapters dedicated to forensic entomotoxicology, aquatic insects in forensic investigations, microbiomes of forensic insects and carrion, professional standards, and case studies Perfect for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in forensic entomology, forensic biology, and general forensic science, The Science of Forensic Entomology will also earn a place in the libraries of law enforcement and forensic investigators, as well as researchers in forensic entomology

The main goals in any forensic skeletal analysis are to answer who is the person represented (individualization), how that person died (trauma/pathology) and when that person died (the postmortem interval or PMI). The analyses necessary to generate the biological profile include the determination of human, nonhuman or nonosseous origin, the minimum number of individuals represented, age at death, sex, stature, ancestry, perimortem trauma, antemortem trauma, osseous pathology, odontology, and taphonomic effects—the postmortem modifications to a set of remains. The Manual of Forensic Taphonomy, Second Edition covers fundamental principles of these postmortem changes encountered during case analysis. Taphonomic processes can be highly destructive and subtract information from bones regarding their utility in determining other aspects of the biological profile, but they also can add information regarding the entire postmortem history of the remains and the relative timing of these effects. The taphonomic analyses outlined provide guidance on how to separate natural agencies from human-caused trauma. These analyses are also performed in conjunction with the field processing of recovery scenes and the interpretation of the site formation and their postdepositional history. The individual chapters categorize these alterations to skeletal remains, illustrate and explain their significance, and demonstrate differential diagnosis among them. Such observations may then be combined into higher-order patterns to aid forensic investigators in determining what happened to those remains in the interval from death to analysis, including the environment(s) in which the remains were deposited, including buried, terrestrial surface, marine, freshwater, or cultural contexts. Features Provides nearly 300 full-color illustrations of both common and rare taphonomic effects to bones, derived from actual forensic cases. • Presents new research including experimentation on recovery rates during surface search, timing of marine alterations, trophy skulls, taphonomic laboratory and field methods, laws regarding the relative timing of taphonomic effects, reptile taphonomy, human decomposition, and microscopic alterations by invertebrates to bones. • Explains and illustrates common taphonomic effects and clarifies standard terminology for uniformity and usage within in the field. While the book is primarily focused upon large vertebrate and specifically human skeletal remains, it effectively synthesizes data from human, ethological, geological/paleontological, paleoanthropological, archaeological artifactual, and zooarchaeological studies. Since these taphonomic processes affect other vertebrates in similar manners, The Manual of Forensic Taphonomy, Second Edition will be invaluable to a broad set of forensic and investigative disciplines.

Vertebrate invasive species are important ecologically, socially, and scientifically throughout much of the globe. However, the interdiction and options for management of invasive species are driven by localized regulation at the country or even state level and thus the management of species must be framed within that context. This book is focused around the management of invasive vertebrate species in the United States, although readers will find much of the material broadly applicable to invasive species in other regions. Vertebrate invasive species cause damage to agriculture, property, natural resources, and threaten human health and safety. However, most of these species occur in the United States resulting from human-mediated activities, often being released intentionally. For the first time, the wealth of scientific information about vertebrate invasive species in the United States is summarized and synthesized in a single volume to be easily accessible to ecologists and natural resource managers. With a focus on prominent terrestrial invasive species that have a history of policy and management and highlighting contemporary issues and management, this book consists of 18 chapters written by experts from across the United States. The first section of the book focuses on overarching policy and management topics associated with vertebrate invasive species; including biosecurity threats and risk assessment, policy and regulation, and the economics of their management. The second section provides in-depth reviews of noteworthy invasive mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. After finishing this book, the reader should understand the complexity of managing invasive species, the unique challenges that each new species may present, and the steps forward that may decrease the impact of these species on the environment, human health, and the economy.

Shared diseases among wildlife, livestock and humans, often transboundary, are relevant to public health and global economy, as being highlighted currently relative to the global COVID19 pandemic. Diseases at these interfaces also impact the conservation of biodiversity and must be considered when managing wildlife. While wildlife and domestic livestock have coexisted in dynamic systems for thousands of years, spillover disease risks are higher today than in the past due to global patterns of increasing close contact and interactions among wildlife, livestock and humans in the context of complex, diverse and numerous circumstances. Multidisciplinary studies of animal interfaces, especially those involving wildlife, therefore, must be brought to the forefront so that knowledge gaps can be realized and filled to inform managers and policy makers. In the first part of the book authors illustrate and discuss ecological and epidemiological concepts related to the interfaces, with a vision towards socio-ecological system health. In addition, the history of past animal interfaces provides the necessary perspective to focus current questions, better understand present situations, and informs how we can best approach the future. The second part discusses the myriad of similar and differing wildlife- livestock interfaces found around the world from a regional point of view. The third part focuses on how to assess the spatial and temporal overlap between livestock and wildlife, and authors present new technical innovations about how inter-transmissions between wild and domestic populations can be quantified. An overview of main modeling approaches available to quantify multi-host disease transmission at the wildlife/livestock interface, illustrated with specific-case studies, is also presented. Finally, the need for interdisciplinary approaches and a dedicated thematic field to approach the wildlife/livestock interfaces and create opportunities to promote wildlife–livestock coexistence is emphasized. The concluding chapter presents perspectives and directions to better understanding disease dynamics at the wildlife/livestock interface, global change and implications for the future. The changing distribution of interfaces, ongoing human and environmental changes (e. g. climate warming, changes in animal production systems, etc.) and their likely impacts and consequences for the interfaces and disease transmission processes are all discussed.

This Encyclopedia of Tropical Biology and Conservation Management is a component of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Tropical environments cover the most part of still preserved natural areas of the Earth. The greatest biodiversity, as in terms of animals and plants, as microorganisms, is placed in these hot and rainy ecosystems spread up and below the Equator line. Additionally, the most part of food products, with vegetal or animal origin, that sustain nowadays human beings is direct or undirected dependent of tropical productivity. Biodiversity should be looked at and evaluated not only in terms of numbers of species, but also in terms of the diversity of interactions among distinct organisms that it maintains. In this sense, the complexity of web structure in tropical systems is a promise of future to nature preservation on Earth. In the chemicals of tropical plant and animals, could be the cure to infinite number of diseases, new food sources, and who knows what more. Despite these facts tropical areas have been exploited in an irresponsible way for more than 500 years due the lack of an ecological conscience of men. Exactly in the same way we did with temperate areas and also tropical areas in the north of Equator line. Nowadays, is estimated that due human exploitation, nation conflicts and social problems, less than 8% of tropical nature inside continental areas is still now untouchable. The extension of damage in the tropical areas of oceans is unknown. Thus so, all knowledge we could accumulate about tropical systems will help us, as in the preservations of these important and threatened ecosystems as in a future recuperation, when it was possible. Only knowing the past and developing culture, mainly that directed to peace, to a better relationship among nations and responsible use and preservation of natural resources, human beings will have a long future on Earth. These volumes, Tropical Biology and Natural Resources was divided in sessions to provide the reader the better comprehension possible of issue and also to enable future complementation and improvements in the encyclopedia. Like we work with life, we intended to transform this encyclopedia also in a “life” volume, in what new information could be added in any time. As president of the encyclopedia and main editor I opened the theme with an article titled: “Tropical Biology and Natural resources: Historical Pathways and Perspectives”, providing the reader an initial view of the origins of human knowledge about the tropical life, and what we hope to the future. In the sequence we have more than 100 chapters distributed in tem sessions: Tropical Ecology (TE); Tropical Botany (TB); Tropical Zoology (TZ); Savannah Ecosystems (SE); Desert Ecosystems (DE); Tropical Agriculture (TA); Natural History of Tropical Plants (NH); Human Impact on Tropical Ecosystems (HI); Tropical Phytopathology and Entomology (TPE); Case Studies (CS). This 11-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, applications and extensive illustrations. It is the only publication of its kind carrying state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of Tropical Biology and Conservation Management and is aimed, by virtue of the several applications, at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.