Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations

Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations is a thorough overview of monitoring issues. It is designed for field biologists and land managers with a modest statistical background. The authors have written a practical text that will include concrete guidelines for ecologists to follow to design a statistically defensible monitoring program for natural populations and communities. Features User-friendly, practical guide, written in a highly readable format which integrates the theme of decision making guidance and management. Only population monitoring text to focus on both plant and animals. Interdisciplinary in scope, given the current, widespread interest in monitoring in many environmental fields including pure and applied ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management. Includes suggestions for monitoring plant and animal communities. Outlines the essential concepts in monitoring populations. Emphasizes the role o monitoring in adaptive management. Defines important terminology and contrasts monitoring with other data-collection activities. Provides a step-by-step overview of the monitoring process, as illustrated by flow charts and references. Illustrates the foundation of management objectives and describes their components, types, and development. Describes basic terms and concepts relevant to sampling using simple examples. Explains how to make basic decisions in designing a sample-based monitoring study. Provides field techniques for measuring important attributes of animal and plant populations. Covers different ways of recording monitoring data in the field and describes means for entering and managing field monitoring data sets with computers. Comprehensive presentation of statistical analysis and communicating results.