Efforts to conserve wildlife populations and preserve biological diversity are often hampered by an inadequate understanding of animal behavior. How do animals react to gaps in forested lands, or to sport hunters? Do individual differences—in age, sex, size, past experience—affect how an animal reacts to a given situation? Differences in individual behavior may determine the success or failure of a conservation initiative, yet they are rarely considered when strategies and policies are developed. Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation explores how knowledge of animal behavior may help increase the effectiveness of conservation programs. The book brings together conservation biologists, wildlife managers, and academics from around the world to examine the importance of general principles, the role played by specific characteristics of different species, and the importance of considering the behavior of individuals and the strategies they adopt to maximize fitness. Each chapter begins by looking at the theoretical foundations of a topic, and follows with an exploration of its practical implications. A concluding chapter considers possible future contributions of research in animal behavior to wildlife conservation. "A timely book which focuses on free-living but exploited vertebrates whose future is of concern...Will do much to encourage more conservation biologists to take a greater interest in better considering animal behavior patterns as an essential element in making better management decisions." ― Northeastern Naturalist Marco Festa-Bianchet has studied mountain ungulates (mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and Alpine ibex) for 25 years. He chairs the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Specialist Group on mountain ungulates and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.   He has been a university professor for 16 years and supervised 30 graduate students (including 9 current students). He is Professor of Ecology at Universite de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec. His research links individual reproductive strategies with population dynamics and conservation. Festa-Bianchet won the Cesar Kleiber Medal for Wildlife Management in 2006. Marco Apollonio is Professor of Zoology at the University of Sassari in Italy. Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation By Marco Festa-Bianchet, Marco Apollonio ISLAND PRESS Copyright © 2003 Island Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-55963-959-0 Contents About Island Press, Title Page, Copyright Page, Preface, Part I - Why Animal Behavior Is Important for Conservation, 1. - General Introduction, 2. - Adaptive Behavior and Population Viability, Part II - Resource-Use Strategies in Space and Time, 3. - Dispersal and Conservation : A Behavioral Perspective on Metapopulation Persistence, 4. - Migration and Conservation: The Case of Sea Turtles, 5. - Bridging the Gap: Linking Individual Bird Movement and Territory Establishment Rules with Their Patterns of Distribution in Fragmented Forests, 6. - Knowledge of Reproductive Behavior Contributes to Conservation Programs, 7. - Foraging Behavior, Habitat Suitability, and Translocation Success, with Special Reference to Large Mammalian Herbivores, Part III - Wildlife Management, 8. - Variation in Life History Traits and Realistic Population Models for Wildlife Management: The Case of Ungulates, 9. - Through the Eyes of Prey: How the Extinction and Conservation of North America's Large Carnivores Alter Prey Systems and Biodiversity, 10. - Behavioral Aspects of Conservation and Management of European Mammals, 11. - Implications of Sexually Selected Infanticide for the Hunting of Large Carnivores, 12. - Exploitative Wildlife Management as a Selective Pressure for Life-History Evolution of Large Mammals, Part IV - Genetic Diversity and Individual Differences, 13. - Social Groups, Genetic Structure, and Conservation, 14. - Pathogen-Driven Sexual Selection for "Good Genes" versus Genetic Variability in Small Populations, 15. - Measuring Individual Quality in Conservation and Behavior, 16. - Individual Quality, Environment, and Conservation, Part V - Conclusion, 17. - Where Do We Go from Here?, Literature Cited, List of Contributors, Index, Island Press Board of Directors, CHAPTER 1 General Introduction Marco Festa-Bianchet and Marco Apollonio Many of the species with whom we share our planet are going extinct because we overexploit them or destroy their habitat (Ehrlich and Wilson 1991, Caughley 1994). Species extinction and habitat destruction have an immediate impact upon many economic and social activities because various uses of wildlife provide income, enjoyment, or recreation for millions of people (Geist 1994). It is therefore not surprising that interest in the conservation of biodiversity is increasing among the general public as well as among behavioral ecologists who study wild animals and their environment. Two related disciplines, wi