The musteloids are the most diverse super-family among carnivores, ranging from little known, exotic, and highly-endangered species to the popular and familiar, and include a large number of introduced invasives. They feature terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, and aquatic members, ranging from tenacious predators to frugivorous omnivores, span weights from a 100g weasel to 30kg giant otters, and express a range of social behaviours from the highly gregarious to the
fiercely solitary. Musteloids are the subjects of extensive cutting-edge research from phylogenetics to the evolution of sociality and through to the practical implications of disease epidemiology,
introduced species management, and climate change. Their diversity and extensive biogeography inform a wide spectrum of ecological theory and conservation practice.The editors of this book have used their combined 90 years of experience working on the behaviour and ecology of wild musteloids to draw together a unique network of the world's most successful and knowledgeable experts. The book begins with nine review chapters covering hot topics in musteloid biology including
evolution, disease, social communication, and management. These are followed by twenty extensive case studies providing a range of comprehensive geographic and taxonomic coverage. The final chapter
synthesises what has been discussed in the book, and reflects on the different and diverse conservation needs of musteloids and the wealth of conservation lessons they offer.Biology and Conservation of Musteloids provides a conceptual framework for future research and applied conservation management that is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in musteloid and carnivore ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance and
use to conservationists and wildlife managers.
The musteloids are the most diverse super-family among carnivores, ranging from little known, exotic, and highly-endangered species to the popular and familiar, and include a large number of introduced invasives. They feature terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, and aquatic members, ranging from tenacious predators to frugivorous omnivores, span weights from a 100g weasel to 30kg giant otters, and express a range of social behaviours from the highly gregarious to the
fiercely solitary. Musteloids are the subjects of extensive cutting-edge research from phylogenetics to the evolution of sociality and through to the practical implications of disease epidemiology,
introduced species management, and climate change. Their diversity and extensive biogeography inform a wide spectrum of ecological theory and conservation practice.The editors of this book have used their combined 90 years of experience working on the behaviour and ecology of wild musteloids to draw together a unique network of the world's most successful and knowledgeable experts. The book begins with nine review chapters covering hot topics in musteloid biology including
evolution, disease, social communication, and management. These are followed by twenty extensive case studies providing a range of comprehensive geographic and taxonomic coverage. The final chapter
synthesises what has been discussed in the book, and reflects on the different and diverse conservation needs of musteloids and the wealth of conservation lessons they offer.Biology and Conservation of Musteloids provides a conceptual framework for future research and applied conservation management that is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in musteloid and carnivore ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance and
use to conservationists and wildlife managers.
Part I: Reviews
1: David W. Macdonald, Chris Newman, and Lauren A. Harrington:
Dramatis personae: an introduction to the wild musteloids
2: Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jerry W. Dragoo, and Xiaoming Wang: The
evolutionary history and molecular systematics of the
Musteloidea
3: Andrew C. Kitchener, Carlo Meloro, and Terrie M. Williams: Form
and function of the musteloids
4: Xavier Lambin: The population dynamics of bite-sized predators:
prey dependence, territoriality and mobility
5: Christina Buesching and Theodore Stankowich: Communication
amongst the musteloids: Signs, signals, and cues
6: David W. Macdonald and Chris Newman: Musteloid sociology: the
grass-roots of society
7: Lauren A. Harrington, Jorgelina Marino, and Carolyn M. King:
People and wild native musteloids
8: Roger A. Powell, Stephen Ellwood, Roland Kays, and Tiit Maran:
Stink or swim - techniques to meet the challenges for the study and
conservation of small critters that hide, swim or climb and may
otherwise make themselves unpleasant
9: Chris Newman and Andrew Bryne: Musteloid Diseases - Implications
for conservation and species management
Part II: Case studies
10: Carolyn M. King, Grant Norbury, and Andrew J.Veale: Small
mustelids in New Zealand: invasion ecology in a different world
11: Roger A Powell, Aaron N Facka, Mourad W Gabriel, Jonathan H
Gilbert, J Mark Higley, Scott LaPoint, Nicholas P McCann, Wayne
Spencer, and Craig M Thompson: The fisher as a model organism
12: Samuel A. Cushman and Tzeidle N. Wasserman: Quantifying loss
and degradation of former American Marten habitat due to the
impacts of forestry operations and associated road networks in
northern Idaho, USA
13: Youbing Zhou, Chris Newman, Yayoi Kaneko, Christina D.
Buesching, Wenwen Chen, Zhao-Min Zhou, Zongqiang Xie, and David W.
Macdonald: Asian badgers - the same, only different: How diversity
among badger societies informs socio-ecological theory and
challenges conservation
14: Joanna Ross, Andrew J. Hearn, and David W. Macdonald: The
Bornean carnivore community: Lessons from a little-known guild
15: Dean E. Biggins and David A. Eads: Evolution, natural history,
and conservation of black-footed ferrets
16: Elaine J. Fraser, Lauren A. Harrington, David W. Macdonald, and
Xavier Lambin: Control of an invasive species: the American mink in
Great Britain
17: Tiit Maran, Madis Podra, Lauren A. Harrington, and David W.
Macdonald: European mink - restoration attempts for a species on
the brink of extinction
18: Jeffrey P. Copeland, Arild Landa, Kimberly Heinemeyer, Keith B.
Aubry, Jiska van Dijk, Roel May, Jens Persson, John Squires, and
Richard Yates: Social ethology of the wolverine
19: Rich D. Weir, Trevor A. Kinley, Richard W. Klafki, and Clayton
D. Apps: Ecotypic variation affects the conservation of American
badgers endangered along their northern range extent
20: Rosie Woodroffe and Christl A. Donnelly: European badgers and
the control of bovine tuberculosis in the United Kingdom
21: Chris Newman, Christina D. Buesching, and David W. Macdonald:
Meline mastery of meteorological mayhem: The effects of climate
changeability on European badger population dynamics
22: Jessica Groenendijk, Frank Hajek, Paul J. Johnson, David W.
Macdonald: Giant otters: using knowledge of life history for
conservation
23: James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, and Terrie M. Williams: Advances
in the physiology, behaviour and ecology of sea otters
24: Christine C. Hass and Jerry W. Dragoo: Competition and
coexistence in sympatric skunks
25: Matthew E. Gompper: Range decline and landscape ecology of the
eastern spotted skunk
26: Melody Brooks and Roland Kays: Kinkajou - the tree top
specialist
27: Samuel I. Zeveloff: On the mortality and management of a
ubiquitous musteloid: the common racoon
28: Ben T. Hirsch and Matthew E. Gompper: Causes and consequences
of coati sociality
29: Yibo Hu, Dunwu Qi, and Fuwen Wei: Conservation genetics of red
pandas in the wild
Part III: Synthesis
30: David W. Macdonald, Chris Newman, and Lauren A. Harrington:
Beneath the umbrella: Conservation out of the limelight
David Macdonald is the founder and Director of the Wildlife
Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, Senior Research
Fellow in Wildlife Conservation at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and
Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Oxford. A
recent survey by BBC Wildlife magazine listed him amongst the ten
most influential living conservationists. He won the 2005 Dawkins
Prize for Conservation and has published over 600 refereed papers
on aspects of
mammalian behaviour, ecology, and conservation. In 2006 he was
awarded the American Society of Mammalogists Merriam Award for
scientific contributions to mammalogy and, in 2007, the equivalent
gold
medal from the British Mammal Society. In 2007 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. David is also known for
his books and television documentaries, and has twice been awarded
the Natural History Author of the Year. Chris Newman joined the
WildCRU in 1991. He is the co-ordinator for the WildCRUs Badger
Project, specialising in life-history evolution and the effects of
climate change and disease on population dynamics. His work is
highly inter-disciplinary, drawing together
insights from demography, animal behaviour, physiology, genetics
and parasitology to synthesise new ideas and comprehensive
approaches to understand wildlife biology. He collaborates
extensively with
other researchers internationally, particularly in Asia, and is an
author of over 100 peer reviewed papers and book chapters. As a
former Earthwatch Principal Investigator, he is also an advocate of
public and corporate participation in conservation initiatives.
Chris is the Mammals Officer for the Zoology Departments Animal
Welfare and Ethical Review Board. Outside of academia, he manages
350 acres of Forest Stewardship Council certified woodland in Nova
Scotia, Canada, including 16 acres
growing Haskap berries. Lauren Harrington has worked with a number
of mustelid species that include the most endangered mustelid, once
extinct in the wild the black-footed ferret, and the most
widespread
invasive mustelid the American mink. She developed a passion for
mustelids during long nights spent on the prairies of Wyoming and
Montana radio-tracking some of the first captive-bred black-footed
ferrets to be released into the wild. Lauren has been a member of
the WildCRU since 1996, and has published a number of refereed
papers on diverse topics, including diving behaviour of mink,
interactions and coexistence between small carnivores, wildlife
management, and reintroduction, focusing
predominantly on UK species. Lauren formerly served as an
Independent Monitoring Partner for the trial release of beavers in
Scotland, and is currently a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist
Group.
[This] volume is a must have for all musteloid researchers,
conservationists, and enthusiasts. As a fellow musteloid
researcher, I have used this book quite often in my research. The
knowledge and expertise in musteloid biology gathered in this
volume is unparalleled.
*Chris J. Law, Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New
York, New York*
The Biology and Conservation of Musteloids' is a comprehensive
synthesis of and much-needed addition to its field. As well as
offering a valuable reference for everything we know about
musteloid ecology, the book also identifies avenues for further
work and research, in both ecology and conservation.
*Lydia Murphy, Orynx - The International Journal of Conservation
*
This is a mighty and well-referenced work that belongs in every
library... Highly recommended.
*CHOICE*
the overall effect is one of coherence, clarity and a wealth of
evidence-based knowledge. This text will be of fundamental and
lasting value to all musteloid researchers and graduate students.
It is also likely to be of use to those interested in the ecology
and conservation of carnivores and the management of wildlife.
*Sue Howarth CBiol, Royal Society of Biology*
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