Galapagos Giant Tortoises

Galapagos Giant Tortoises brings together researchers and conservationists to share the most current knowledge of the Galapagos giant tortoise species. Despite being icons of the world-famous Galapagos Archipelago and the target of more than 50 years of conservation management, Galapagos giant tortoise evolution and ecology have been mysterious until recently. This book documents the pressing conservation issues and success stories of this species that was once marked for total extinction. This book begins with an overview of the history of the relationship between humans and Galapagos giant tortoises from initial heavy exploitation by pirates and whalers, and extending to the start of the modern conservation era in the 1960s. The book then shifts to detail the evolution, taxonomy, and distribution of the species, describing movement ecology, reproduction, and behaviour, and conservation efforts, including issues of invasive species and introduced diseases. The final portion of the book looks ahead to the future, addressing the implications of climate change on Galapagos giant tortoises and case studies of tortoise restoration. Galapagos Giant Tortoises is the latest volume in the Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscape series. This is a valuable resource for researchers and conservationists, as well as students of biology, wildlife conservation, and herpetology. Provides a comprehensive overview of the Galapagos giant tortoise species, written and edited by the world's leading experts Provides examples of tortoise restoration after the species was nearly extinct in the 1940sDescribes educated methods and efforts to be taken to assist the species to a full recovery INDICE: Section I: Overview 1. The Galapagos Archipelago, island home of giant tortoises 2. Galapagos tortoises: Protagonists in the spectacle of life on Earth Section II: History of Human - Tortoise Interactions 3. Human perceptions of Galapagos tortoises through history 4. The era of exploitation: 1700-1959 5. Darwin and Galapagos tortoises 6. The Collectors: Beginnings of scientific inquiry 7. Tortoises: The conservation icon of Galapagos Section III: The Natural History of Galapagos Giant Tortoises 8. Evolution and phylogenetics 9. Morphology and taxonomy 10. Reproduction 11. Thermoregulation 12. Behavior and Diet 13. Population biology 14. Movements 15. Habitats 16. Role in Ecosystems 17. Climate change Section IV: Conservation: Slow Rescue from Near Destruction 18. History of Galapagos tortoise conservation 19. Captive Breeding 20. Monitoring and research 21. Health 22. Eradication and control of invasive species in support of tortoise conservation 23. Populations after 50 years of conservation Section V: Restoration Case Studies 24. Española Island: From the brink of extinction to recovery 26. Floreana and Pinta Islands: Repopulating islands through lost lineage recovery 27. Santa Fe Island: Return of tortoises via a replacement species Section VI: Into the Future 28. Beyond rescue to full recovery

• ISBN: 978-0-12-817554-5
• Editorial: Academic Press
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 286
• Fecha Publicación: 01/11/2020
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés