Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation
By Franck Courchamp, Luděk Berec, Joanna Gascoigne
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-04-15
ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0198570309
ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780198570301
Binding: Hardcover
Allee effects are (broadly) defined as a decline in individual fitness at low population sizeordensity. They can result in critical population thresholds below which populations crash to extinction. As such, they are very relevant to many conservation programmes, where scientists and
managers are often working with populations that have been reduced to low densitiesorsmall numbers. There are a variety of mechanisms that can create Allee effects including mating systems, predation, environmental modification, and social interactions. The abrupt and unpredicted collapses of many
exploited populations is just one illustration of the need to bring Allee effects to the forefront of conservation and management strategies.
Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation provides a concise yet authoritative overview of the topic, collating and integrating a widely dispersed literature from various fields - marine and terrestrial, plant and animal, theoretical and empirical, academic and applied. This accessible text, with
its clear and simple explanations of both empirical observations and theoretical predications is particularly suitable for professional and academic ecologists requiring an overview of the state-of-the-art in Allee effect research, as well as for graduate students in population ecology and
conservation biology. It will also be of relevance to a wide readership of professionals in conservation and management requiring a concise summary of the topic.
Summary: Reviewed in PLoS Biology
Rating: 5
The May 20 2008 issue of PLoS Biology (free access) includes a review of this important book by Barry W. Brook. Professor Brook himself is well known for modeling of populations and other issues in conservation biology. He offers that the book is certainly not perfect, and some of its lacks may be an artifact of the lack of good models which include Allee Effect. However, he writes that it is an excellent and enjoyable read, valuable and appropriate for both conservation professionals and laymen. From his review, I think he would give the book five stars.
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