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Dynamics of populations
400
Biological Conservation
parks and reserves of comparable quality be established at the top level of the United Nations. The objective was to encourage nations that already had park and reserve systems to expand and improve them, and other nations to initiate such programmes. It was hoped that, as new nations were being formed and the world conservation programme advanced, it would become a point of pride to preserve these resources for their intrinsic natural values and their contributions to the welfare of humanity, by bringing the prestige of the U N to bear. The original 1962 two-part edition* of the U N List summarized data submitted by 80 nations at the invitation of Secretary-General Hammarskj61d, without attempting to appraise the areas described as to their conformity with acceptable standards. Over a period of several years Professor Jean-Paul Harroy, Chairman of the I U C N International Commission on National Parks, reviewed this information and additional material, developed criteria for evaluating the areas, and, in 1967, produced a pioneering French edition of the List. The present English version was prepared and updated by Sir Hugh Elliott in consultation with Professor Harroy. It describes 1,204 national parks and equivalent reserves in 93 countries, and provides some information about reserved areas in 47 other nations. To qualify for acceptance in the List an area must be protected on a statutory basis, be of a certain minimum size, and have an effective staff and budget. These criteria are considered in conjunction with international definitions, such as those formulated in the London Convention on Conservation of Flora and F a u n a (in Africa), 1933; the Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation in the Western Hemisphere, 1940; and the definition of 'national parks' adopted by the 10th I U C N General Assembly at New Delhi, 1969. The evaluations have had to be somewhat subjective and made in a way that would encourage nations with moderate resources to establish and develop park systems, while at the same time avoiding designation of sub-standard areas or 'lines on a map' that had been boosted in order to gain the prestige of representation on the List. There may be divergent views about the qualifications of one area or another; but the overall result is a sound appraisal of the world's national park and reserve resources. The List is arranged by countries alphabetically, each with a map locating the accepted areas. The text provides as full information as is available about national legal and administrative situations and concise descriptions of each park and reserve, followed by a brief statement about areas excluded from the List. Reference is made to additional data in the first edition, which is no longer available except in some major libraries and personal collections. The photographs depict areas in many countries. The present English and French versions of the second edition are the most complete and authoritative reference works on the subject and are an invaluable aid to the scientist, conservationist, and administrator.
Dynamics of Populations (Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute on 'Dynamics of Numbers in Populations'), edited by P. J. DEN BOER & G. R. GRADWELL. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation (Pudoc), Wageningen: 611 pp., numerous line drawings, 23 × 15 cm, fl.65, 1971.
This book is the proceedings of a meeting held in The Netherlands in September 1970, attended by just over 100 workers in the field of population dynamics. As with other good ecological systems, the diversity and information content of the participants was extremely high, including field workers on such groups as flatworms, insects, birds, and fish, as well as plant population ecologists, laboratory ecologists, model builders, mathematicians, geneticists, and conservationists. The resulting volume, consisting of some forty papers, divided into ten sections, with each paper being followed by a well-edited discussion, makes fascinating reading. The sections dealing with interspecific competition and predator-prey interactions are particularly valuable, with important contributions by C. T. de Wit, J. H. Connell, T. Royama, M. P. Hassel, and H. Zw61fer; there are encouraging signs of some powerful generalizations emerging in these fields. In particular, the paper by T. B. Reynoldson & L. S. Bellamy, summarizing much of Reynoldson's work on triclads, as well as presenting new information, is a major contribution to the literature of competition. The section on interactions within populations contains a number of equally useful contributions, which, together with a paper by A. Watson in a later section, highlight the importance of behaviour and self-regulatory processes in animal populations. Readers concerned with conservation or resourcemanagement will find much of interest in this book. Several papers have a direct, or indirect, bearing on biological control, and others deal explicitly with the rational (or irrational) exploitation of populations. Rather disappointingly, however, the general standard of the papers in the 'applied' sections is rather below that of the rest of the book. Like all symposia, the quality of the papers as a whole is somewhat variable--ranging from K. Myers's work on the Rabbit, based on an enormous research effort, to short, by comparison almost trivial, two- or three-year studies. Throughout, the vital importance of long-term, intensive studies in ecology becomes obvious. Overall, the book is a valuable indication of the present state of the science of population dynamics, although current emphasis on population models is strangely underrepresented. It is remarkably free from sterile theoretical arguments such as were characteristic of a decade ago, and emphasizes, instead, the multiplicity of factors which may regulate and limit natural populations. Several papers point the way towards integrating population theory into a general body of ecological theory, and to this end the paper by K. E. F. Watt in the final section is extremely FRED M. PACKARD stimulating, though few will agree with all he says. (Washington, D.C.) Anybody interested in the dynamics of natural populations, for whatever purpose, should have a copy of this book. * For which the reviewer and his wife Jean were responsible (he is too modest to say but we would like to note--see also the JOHN H. LAWTON Preface to this second edition by the President of IUCN, ( York, England) Harold J. Coolidge).--Ed.
Biological Conservation
parks and reserves of comparable quality be established at the top level of the United Nations. The objective was to encourage nations that already had park and reserve systems to expand and improve them, and other nations to initiate such programmes. It was hoped that, as new nations were being formed and the world conservation programme advanced, it would become a point of pride to preserve these resources for their intrinsic natural values and their contributions to the welfare of humanity, by bringing the prestige of the U N to bear. The original 1962 two-part edition* of the U N List summarized data submitted by 80 nations at the invitation of Secretary-General Hammarskj61d, without attempting to appraise the areas described as to their conformity with acceptable standards. Over a period of several years Professor Jean-Paul Harroy, Chairman of the I U C N International Commission on National Parks, reviewed this information and additional material, developed criteria for evaluating the areas, and, in 1967, produced a pioneering French edition of the List. The present English version was prepared and updated by Sir Hugh Elliott in consultation with Professor Harroy. It describes 1,204 national parks and equivalent reserves in 93 countries, and provides some information about reserved areas in 47 other nations. To qualify for acceptance in the List an area must be protected on a statutory basis, be of a certain minimum size, and have an effective staff and budget. These criteria are considered in conjunction with international definitions, such as those formulated in the London Convention on Conservation of Flora and F a u n a (in Africa), 1933; the Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation in the Western Hemisphere, 1940; and the definition of 'national parks' adopted by the 10th I U C N General Assembly at New Delhi, 1969. The evaluations have had to be somewhat subjective and made in a way that would encourage nations with moderate resources to establish and develop park systems, while at the same time avoiding designation of sub-standard areas or 'lines on a map' that had been boosted in order to gain the prestige of representation on the List. There may be divergent views about the qualifications of one area or another; but the overall result is a sound appraisal of the world's national park and reserve resources. The List is arranged by countries alphabetically, each with a map locating the accepted areas. The text provides as full information as is available about national legal and administrative situations and concise descriptions of each park and reserve, followed by a brief statement about areas excluded from the List. Reference is made to additional data in the first edition, which is no longer available except in some major libraries and personal collections. The photographs depict areas in many countries. The present English and French versions of the second edition are the most complete and authoritative reference works on the subject and are an invaluable aid to the scientist, conservationist, and administrator.
Dynamics of Populations (Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute on 'Dynamics of Numbers in Populations'), edited by P. J. DEN BOER & G. R. GRADWELL. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation (Pudoc), Wageningen: 611 pp., numerous line drawings, 23 × 15 cm, fl.65, 1971.
This book is the proceedings of a meeting held in The Netherlands in September 1970, attended by just over 100 workers in the field of population dynamics. As with other good ecological systems, the diversity and information content of the participants was extremely high, including field workers on such groups as flatworms, insects, birds, and fish, as well as plant population ecologists, laboratory ecologists, model builders, mathematicians, geneticists, and conservationists. The resulting volume, consisting of some forty papers, divided into ten sections, with each paper being followed by a well-edited discussion, makes fascinating reading. The sections dealing with interspecific competition and predator-prey interactions are particularly valuable, with important contributions by C. T. de Wit, J. H. Connell, T. Royama, M. P. Hassel, and H. Zw61fer; there are encouraging signs of some powerful generalizations emerging in these fields. In particular, the paper by T. B. Reynoldson & L. S. Bellamy, summarizing much of Reynoldson's work on triclads, as well as presenting new information, is a major contribution to the literature of competition. The section on interactions within populations contains a number of equally useful contributions, which, together with a paper by A. Watson in a later section, highlight the importance of behaviour and self-regulatory processes in animal populations. Readers concerned with conservation or resourcemanagement will find much of interest in this book. Several papers have a direct, or indirect, bearing on biological control, and others deal explicitly with the rational (or irrational) exploitation of populations. Rather disappointingly, however, the general standard of the papers in the 'applied' sections is rather below that of the rest of the book. Like all symposia, the quality of the papers as a whole is somewhat variable--ranging from K. Myers's work on the Rabbit, based on an enormous research effort, to short, by comparison almost trivial, two- or three-year studies. Throughout, the vital importance of long-term, intensive studies in ecology becomes obvious. Overall, the book is a valuable indication of the present state of the science of population dynamics, although current emphasis on population models is strangely underrepresented. It is remarkably free from sterile theoretical arguments such as were characteristic of a decade ago, and emphasizes, instead, the multiplicity of factors which may regulate and limit natural populations. Several papers point the way towards integrating population theory into a general body of ecological theory, and to this end the paper by K. E. F. Watt in the final section is extremely FRED M. PACKARD stimulating, though few will agree with all he says. (Washington, D.C.) Anybody interested in the dynamics of natural populations, for whatever purpose, should have a copy of this book. * For which the reviewer and his wife Jean were responsible (he is too modest to say but we would like to note--see also the JOHN H. LAWTON Preface to this second edition by the President of IUCN, ( York, England) Harold J. Coolidge).--Ed.