CABI Publishing

"One of the great heroines of wildlife gardening" Dave Goulson Foreword by Chris Packham First published in 2010 by the RHS, Jennifer Owen's book remains the most complete record of the creatures to be found in an ordinary garden. The groundbreaking research, in which Owen recorded every plant and animal in her suburban Leicester garden, will never be exceeded. This was no wildlife garden - the term barely existed when Owen started recording in 1972. Hers was a standard family garden in suburban Leicester. In this unique long-term study she recorded 2,673 species, from plants to insects, birds to mammals. She discusses diversity, abundance and annual fluctuations and relates these to weather, changes in surrounding land use and other ecological factors. Wildlife she monitored included butterflies, moths, beetles, hoverflies (Owen's specialist area), bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies, sawflies, bugs, spiders, lacewings, grasshoppers, molluscs and earthworms, as well as plants, mammals and birds. She also outlines the natural history of each group. Researchers in ecology, conservation, environmental sciences, environmental horticulture and entomology as well as professionals in urban planning will find this book invaluable. It is also a captivating read for amateur naturalists and anyone with an interest in garden wildlife. Dr Jennifer Owen (1936-2015) was an ecologist and zoologist. It was while working in Africa in the 1960s that she noticed her garden had more wildlife than the neighbouring rainforest, due to its mix of habitats. This prompted her, on return to the UK and a post at Leicester University in 1971, to begin the remarkable study that was to occupy her next 30 years.

This book lays the groundwork for understanding the economic and strategic aspects of animal health investments, setting the stage for a global shift towards sustainable veterinary infrastructure. Illuminating the practical implications of adopting system-based approaches to animal health financing, it scrutinizes case studies and success stories where integrated financial strategies have led to improved veterinary services and, consequently, better health outcomes for both animals and humans. The volume advocates for: - the adoption of financing mechanisms that are not only sustainable but also adaptable to the challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and the emergence of zoonotic diseases - a shift towards financing that supports robust veterinary infrastructure and proactive health measures - considering global discourse on the most effective ways to mobilize resources for the collective benefit of all species and the planet. Part of a wider series that provides a blend of technical insight, strategic analysis, and practical approaches to enhancing animal health, this book is a first step to achieving poverty reduction and improved human welfare.

This book lays the groundwork for understanding the economic and strategic aspects of animal health investments, setting the stage for a global shift towards sustainable veterinary infrastructure. Illuminating the practical implications of adopting system-based approaches to animal health financing, it scrutinizes case studies and success stories where integrated financial strategies have led to improved veterinary services and, consequently, better health outcomes for both animals and humans. The volume advocates for: - the adoption of financing mechanisms that are not only sustainable but also adaptable to the challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and the emergence of zoonotic diseases - a shift towards financing that supports robust veterinary infrastructure and proactive health measures - considering global discourse on the most effective ways to mobilize resources for the collective benefit of all species and the planet. Part of a wider series that provides a blend of technical insight, strategic analysis, and practical approaches to enhancing animal health, this book is a first step to achieving poverty reduction and improved human welfare.

In Butterfly Biology Systems Roger Dennis explores key topics and contentious issues in butterfly biology, specifically those in life history and behaviour. Uniquely, using a systems approach, the book focuses on the degree of integration and feedback between components and elements affecting each issue, as well as the links between different issues. The book comprises four sections. The first two sections introduce the reader to principles and approaches for investigating complex relationships, and provide a platform of knowledge on butterfly biology. The final two sections deal in turn with life history and behaviour, covering key issues affecting different stages of development from eggs to adults. The book is extensively illustrated with original diagrams and models, all of which have detailed legends, produced to enhance a broader understanding, and to provide templates for future research. It includes a detailed bibliography and glossary providing an essential gateway to the extensive literature on butterfly biology. Butterfly Biology Systems is essential reading for graduate students and researchers in insect ecology, evolution, behaviour and conservation. It will also be of great value to anyone interested in butterflies. Introduces a systems approach to butterfly biology Includes succinct reviews of the key interrelationships in butterfly life history and behaviour Illustrates more than 100 models to advance research into butterfly biology systems

Dragonflies are among the most familiar and popular of all insects, deeply embedded in human cultural history. They are iconic and tell us much about the environments in which we and they live. Their conservation is an important part of biodiversity conservation. One modern dragonfly species is listed as extinct, with many others currently threatened. It is now essential to increase conservation efforts towards saving these threatened species, with strategies now available for doing this. Recovery of dragonfly populations goes hand in hand with improvements to both freshwater conditions and bank vegetation quality. In contrast, some other dragonfly species have benefitted greatly from human transformation of the landscape, with artificial ponds in particular, increasing the population levels of many species. In turn, climate change is seeing many geographical range shifts. Dragonflies are variously sensitive to the health of freshwater systems, and the quality of vegetation along rivers and around ponds. Dragonflies are excellent indicators in these times of great concern over the quality of our freshwater supplies. Their wide range of sensitivities enables us to measure the extent to which freshwater ecosystems are either deteriorating or are improving when we undertake restoration. They enable us to gauge how well we are conserving freshwaters, whether ponds and lakes, streams or rivers. They are also good umbrellas for many other freshwater inhabitants, which altogether reflect the health of a freshwater system. Conservation of Dragonflies: Sentinels for Freshwater Conservation is for naturalists, citizen scientists, entomologists and conservation scientists, as well as practitioners and policy makers around the world.

This fascinating book presents the experiences and pooled knowledge of two very different conservation scientists; Pei Shengji from Sichuan, China and Alan Hamilton from London, UK. They have been drawn together over many years through working on some of the same conservation projects and have discovered that they overlap in their ideas about the sorts of work that needs to be done and how it can best be carried out. The book describes some of their own experiences, set within the contexts of their varied careers and the development of their thinking. Plant conservation is crucial to the preservation of natural ecosystems, but conventional approaches have met with only limited success. The authors have concluded that plant conservationists need social allies - elements of society that have other primary concerns, but whose efforts, if successful, will bring benefits to plant conservation too. It is the state and condition of plants on the ground that ultimately matter in conserving ecosystems, and therefore it is the role of local people who interact directly with them which enables success. Ethnobotany is a key skill required of practical plant conservationists. Its techniques enable them to explore connections between people and plants, learn about local perspectives and establish relationships with the people upon whom conservation and sustainable development relies. This book: recommends how to advance plant conservation, based on real experiences. will inspire more people to become involved in plant conservation. demonstrates how the very different backgrounds of the authors have influenced the courses of their careers, but have enabled them to come to very similar conclusions about conservation practice. demonstrates the importance of geographically-based biocultural diversity, as a counterbalancing force to globalisation.

The focus of this book is not to provide a walking guide or a history of walking. Neither is it about the practical, functional or therapeutic nature of walking. The Book of Walking Dangerously investigates the kind of walking that is a by-product of something leisurely that entails a high and often unintended degree of possible risk. It sets out to map the ways in which the imagination is shaped by danger and the kinds of ecstasy, meaning and freedom it ignites. It is about introspection, the act of looking inward and exploring new thoughts and feelings. As a result, it is an important means of entering worlds where other things are made possible. Kevin Bingham's point, in a nutshell, is that people can have a fulfilling leisure life through danger if they are willing to deal with the delicate art of disagreeableness.