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John Terborgh is James B. Duke Professor of Environmental Sciences and codirector of the Center for Tropical Conservation at Duke University. He has devoted much of the past 35 years to issues concerning the ecology and conservation of neotropical systems.
After spending most of his career as a research scientist with the US Geological Survey, James A. Estes is currently a faculty member at the University of California at Santa Cruz where he holds a position of professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
"It is the first well-written and comprehensive book about this
subject...it will certain become a classic in ecological
literature."
-- "Mammalia"
"Predators everywhere are threatened by human impact, underscoring
Aldo Leopold's dictum that intelligent tinkering requires saving
all the parts; yet we've failed to appreciate the significant roles
of these animals in structuring ecosystems. Terborgh and Estes,
both distinguished field biologists, provide a wide-ranging set of
scholarly reviews. Trophic Cascades is natural history at its best,
outstanding science in the service of conserving the diversity of
life on earth."
--Harry W. Greene "Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology"
"The complexities of nature, the importance of keystone predators,
and the dynamic nature of populations are clearly described in
these well-written, thought-provoking papers, well suited for
general audiences."
-- "CHOICE"
"This book is an excellent, comprehensive resource on trophic
cascades... This is a comprehensive book. Its dramatic examples and
bold conclusions make for exciting and challenging reading. It is a
timely and compelling synthesis of evidence relating to trophic
cascades."
-- "Austral Ecology"
"This book is provocative and demands sustained, deep thought on
the part of readers. Many bold, large, synthetic ideas are
proposed, albeit often tentatively, and the relevant literature is
not only from ecology and conservation biology but from archeology,
paleobiology, mathematics, and other fields...One should not read
Trophic Cascades in search of insights on restoration techniques.
Rather, any restoration biologist should read it as a challenging,
mind-expanding exercise, inspiring thoughts about why we try to
restore, what we try to restore to, what might be feasible, why we
have succeeded or failed, and why an ecosystem perspective is
absolutely necessary."
--Daniel Simberloff "Ecological Restoration"
"This book provides a great deal of clarity"
-- "Natural Areas Journal"
"This important book focuses attention on a relatively neglected
aspect of the Biodiversity Crisis, namely that species higher up in
food chains are differentially important, and also differentially
at risk. The book's rich array of well-studied examples of
consequent 'trophic cascades' of damage to ecosystems and the
services they deliver deserves wide attention, with the lessons
incorporated in conservation planning. Read this book."
--Professor Lord Robert May "Department of Zoology, Oxford
University"
"When two or more people sleep on a waterbed, one person rolling
over is likely to disturb the others. The ecological world is like
a gigantic waterbed in which disturbances ripple through webs, or
branching chains of species, with unforeseen effects. Trophic
Cascades provides a comprehensive account of what life's waterbed
is really like: When a population is changed, introduced, or
eradicated, trophic cascades can change the numbers or behavior of
even the most ecologically remote species in ways that seem
counterintuitive. The authors discuss the conservation significance
of trophic cascades on land, in oceans, and in fresh water. This
great book will become a classic centerpiece of the ecological
literature."
--Jared Diamond "Professor of Geography, University of California,
Los Angeles, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author"
"... this book is a very valuable source for all students and
researchers and for the first time provides an excellent overview
of our current knowledge on trophic cascades in different
ecosystems."
-- "Basic and Applied Ecology"
"In the first comprehensive work on trophic cascades, leading
experts in terrestrial, marine, and lake food webs distill decades
of evidence and lifetimes of insight to show that large carnivores,
as apex predators, exert ubiquitous and powerful effects over
nature. This landmark book argues, compellingly, that the ongoing
worldwide loss of megacarnivores not only impoverishes Earth's
biota, but also undermines life support services needed for
thriving human societies."
--Mary E. Power "Professor of Integrative Biology, University of
California, Berkeley"
"This book provides a great deal of clarity"
-- "Natural Areas Journal"
"We recommend this book to instructors, professionals and any
others in need of a text that presents varied examples and
addresses questions surrounding top-down forcing in aquatic and
terrestrial systems."
-- "Integrative and Comparative Biology"
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