Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on sciences, economics, and the practice of natural resource management. The term conservation biology was introduced as the title of a conference held University of California at San Diego in La Jolla, California in 1978 organized by biologists Bruce Wilcox and Michael Soulé.
The meeting was prompted by the growing concern among scientists over tropical deforestation, disappearing species, eroding genetic diversity within species. The conference and proceedings that resulted sought to bridge a gap existing at the time between theory in ecology and population biology on the one hand and conservation policy and practice on the other. Conservation biology and the concept of biological diversity (biodiversity) emerged together, helping crystallize the modern era of conservation science and policy. The rapid decline of biological systems around the world means that conservation biology is often referred to as a "Discipline with a deadline".
Conservation biology is tied closely to ecology in researching the dispersal, migration, demographics, effective population size, inbreeding depression, and minimum population viability of rare or endangered species. Conservation biology is concerned with phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biodiversity and the science of sustaining evolutionary processes that engender genetic, population, species, and ecosystem diversity. The concern stems from estimates suggesting that up to 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50 years,which has contributed to poverty, starvation, and will reset the course of evolution on this planet.Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on sciences, economics, and the practice of natural resource management.The term conservation biology was introduced as the title of a conference held University of California at San Diego in La Jolla, California in 1978 organized by biologists Bruce Wilcox and Michael Soulé. The meeting was prompted by the growing concern among scientists over tropical deforestation, disappearing species, eroding genetic diversity within species.
The conference and proceedings that resulted sought to bridge a gap existing at the time between theory in ecology and population biology on the one hand and conservation policy and practice on the other. Conservation biology and the concept of biological diversity (biodiversity) emerged together, helping crystallize the modern era of conservation science and policy. The rapid decline of biological systems around the world means that conservation biology is often referred to as a "Discipline with a deadline". Conservation biology is tied closely to ecology in researching the dispersal, migration, demographics, effective population size, inbreeding depression, and minimum population viability of rare or endangered species. Conservation biology is concerned with phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biodiversity and the science of sustaining evolutionary processes that engender genetic, population, species, and ecosystem diversity.
The concern stems from estimates suggesting that up to 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50 years, Conservation biologists research and educate on the trends and process of biodiversity loss, species extinctions, and the negative affect this is having on our capabilities to sustain the well-being of human society. Conservation biologists work in the field and office, in government, universities, non-profit organizations and industry. They are funded to research, monitor, and catalog every angle of the earth and its relation to society. The topics are diverse, because this is an interdisciplinary network with professional alliances in the biological as well as social sciences. Those dedicated to the cause and profession advocate for a global response to the current biodiversity crisis based on morals, ethics, and scientific reason. Organizations and citizens are responding to the biodiversity crisis through conservation action plans that direct research, monitoring, and education programs that engage concerns at local through global scales.
Resources article: wikipedia.org
Why Conservation Biology?
Conservation biology is a relatively new multidisciplinary science focused around maintaining the earth’s biodiversity including natural ecological and evolutionary processes. To achieve this goal, conservation biologists must consider all levels of the biological hierarchy ranging from the genetic level to the landscape level. The social sciences are also particularly important to the field of conservation biology as human needs and values must be taken into consideration during conservation and management planning. In the words of Hunter (1996), “Conservation biology is cross-disciplinary, reaching far beyond biology into subjects such as philosophy, economics, and sociology - disciplines that are concerned with the social environment in which we practice conservation - as well as into subjects such as law and education that determine the ways we implement conservation.” Michael Soule (2001) characterized conservation biology as a ‘crisis discipline’, in which tactical decisions must sometimes be made in the face of uncertain knowledge. The discipline offers limitless opportunities, however, for creating positive, dynamic solutions in the face of the complex threats to our natural heritage.
Resources article: uihome.uidaho.edu
