Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- 1 Biodiversity - evolution, species, genes -- INTRODUCTION -- LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY -- Community/ecosystem -- Species -- Genes -- CURRENT PATTERNS OF AVIAN DIVERSITY -- THE EVOLUTION OF AVIAN DIVERSITY -- SPECIES CONCEPTS, MOLECULES AND CONSERVATION -- CONSERVING DIVERSITY BELOW THE SPECIES LEVEL -- Population level management -- Anthropogenic isolation -- Small populations/endangered species -- PERSPECTIVE -- 2 Why conserve bird diversity? -- REASONS FOR CONSERVATION -- SUSTAINABILITY AND EQUITABILITY -- VALUES OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEMS -- Ecosystem services -- Valuing ecosystem services -- Global values of ecosystem services -- THE VALUES OF BIRDS -- Birdwatching -- Hunting -- Ecotourism -- COSTS AND VALUES OF CONSERVATION -- BIRDS AS INDICATORS -- CONCLUSIONS -- 3 Mapping and monitoring bird populations: their conservation uses -- INTRODUCTION -- WHERE ARE THEY? -- Bird inventories -- Choice of region and choice of grid for a bird atlas -- Atlases that are not based on grids -- Uneven distributions of observers -- Quantitative atlas methods -- Comparing atlas distributions with those in field guides -- Presentation of distribution maps -- Repeat atlases -- The conservation applications of atlas data -- HOW MANY AND WHAT IS THEIR TREND? -- Designing and undertaking a survey -- Suites of national schemes -- The conservation applications of population size and trend data -- Species prioritisation -- Site prioritisation -- Legal obligations -- Monitoring as research -- Applications of demographic monitoring -- Monitoring of the environment -- Monitoring of conservation actions -- Indicators -- 4 Priority-setting in species conservation -- INTRODUCTION -- CONTEXT: SCALE, SCOPE, SPECIES CONCEPTS AND OBJECTIVES -- KINDS OF PRIORITY -- USING MULTIPLE MEASURES.

PRIORITY-SETTING FOR WHAT? -- 5 Selecting sites for conservation -- INTRODUCTION -- WHY WE NEED TO IDENTIFY PRIORITY AREAS FOR CONSERVATION -- ESTABLISHING GOALS, TARGETS AND SCALES -- BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS -- Biologically rich areas -- Areas of high endemism -- Complementarity: integrating richness and endemism -- Other types of species of particular conservation concern -- Ecological and evolutionary processes -- HUMAN CONSIDERATIONS -- Financial costs -- Threats -- Existing reserves -- Local support -- USING BIRDS AS BIODIVERSITY INDICATORS -- Do distribution patterns of birds mirror those of other groups? -- Will priority areas for birds conserve other groups? -- Overview -- CHALLENGES TO FUTURE PRIORITISATION -- Obtaining better distributional data -- Building consensus -- Meeting the needs of highly localised species -- Better integrating human-and process-linked considerations -- Conserving the wider landscape -- 6 Critically endangered bird populations and their management -- INTRODUCTION -- WHICH ARE THE WORLD'S CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BIRDS? -- WHAT THREATS DO CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BIRDS FACE? -- HOW ARE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BIRD POPULATIONS MANAGED? -- The scope of endangered species management -- Management techniques for critically endangered birds -- Habitat, nest, shelter and food management -- Pest and disease management -- Genetic management -- Population manipulation -- Captive propagation -- Integrated management -- Recovery plans and population viability analyses -- Advocacy, education and community involvement -- DISCUSSION -- 7 Diagnosing causes of population declines and selecting remedial actions -- INTRODUCTION -- WHY DIAGNOSE THE CAUSES OF PAST POPULATION DECLINES? -- DIAGNOSING CAUSES OF POPULATION DECLINES USING THE COMPARATIVE METHOD.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING DIAGNOSES BASED UPON THE COMPARATIVE METHOD USING SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION -- ESTIMATES OF DEMOGRAPHIC RATES AS A GUIDE TO CONSERVATION ACTION -- IDENTIFICATION OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC MECHANISM OF A POPULATION DECLINE FROM AVERAGE DEMOGRAPHIC RATES -- PROSPECTIVE USE OF ANALYSIS OF THE ELASTICITY OF POPULATION MULTIPLICATION RATE Lambda AS A GUIDE TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC RATES… -- ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT UNDER UNCERTAINTY -- 8 Outside the reserve: pandemic threats to bird biodiversity -- INTRODUCTION -- CLIMATE CHANGE -- Background -- Timing of life cycles -- Distributions and populations -- Migrants and migration -- Important sites -- AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION -- European agriculture -- Tropical coffee production -- POLLUTION -- HUMAN EXPLOITATION -- DISEASE -- CONCLUSIONS -- 9 Predicting the impact of environmental change -- INTRODUCTION -- POPULATION VIABILITY ANALYSIS -- What is a population viability analysis? -- How have people used population viability analysis in bird conservation? -- How reliable are population viability analyses? -- How should conservationists use population viability analysis? -- BEHAVIOUR-BASED MODELS -- What is a behaviour-based model? -- Why are behaviour-based models useful? -- Examples of behaviour-based models and their application -- Limitations and future model development -- GENERAL CONCLUSIONS -- 10 Fragmentation, habitat loss and landscape management -- INTRODUCTION -- THE PHYSICAL TEMPLATE -- Habitat fragmentation and habitat loss -- The landscape context -- INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION RESPONSES TO LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE -- Individual mechanisms -- Population consequences -- The importance of scale -- HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION: WHEN AND WHERE IS IT A PROBLEM? -- Fragmentation in natural and man-made landscapes -- Habitat coverage or habitat fragmentation: what should be the focus?.

Diagnosing a fragmentation problem -- FINDING SOLUTIONS -- Increasing the number of patches of the network -- Enlarging a patch to the size of a key population capacity -- Adding stepping stones and corridors to the network -- Choosing between options -- PREDICTING BIRD BIODIVERSITY AT THE LANDSCAPE LEVEL -- Tools for prediction -- Predictive tools for planning purposes -- CONCLUSIONS -- 11 The interface between research, education and training -- INTRODUCTION -- EDUCATION AND TRAINING NEEDS FOR BIRD CONSERVATION -- BUILDING CAPACITY THROUGH RESEARCH -- What projects are relevant? -- Focusing on priorities -- National bird conservation strategies -- Coordination -- Supervision and training -- Research students can do priority research -- Interns and trainees -- Research assistants -- Creating an enabling environment -- Linkages -- Sustainability -- How many ornithologists do we need? -- Four types of brain drain -- RESEARCH AS CONSERVATION ACTION -- Maximising direct benefits -- Reduction of illegal or inappropriate activity -- Local involvement, and building awareness and skills -- Large-scale coordinated projects -- Site support groups -- CONCLUSIONS: THINKING STRATEGICALLY -- 12 Conservation policies and programmes affecting birds -- INTRODUCTION -- THE NEED FOR A CONSERVATION FOCUS -- THE EVOLUTION OF POLICY -- PRESENT POLICIES AND LEGISLATION -- BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSERVATION POLICY -- Integrated monitoring of breeding birds -- Important Bird Areas (IBA) -- List of Globally Threatened Species -- International Waterbird Census -- Migration -- Hunting statistics and sustainable use -- CONVENTIONS, TREATIES AND REGIONAL AGREEMENTS -- Global conventions -- Regional and bilateral treaties -- Europe -- Africa -- Asian--Pacific Region -- The Americas -- Other regions and themes.

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES OTHER THAN CONVENTIONS AND TREATIES OF IMPORTANCE FOR CONSERVATION -- Global initiatives -- Regional initiatives -- Europe -- Asian-Pacific -- The Americas -- FUNDING OF CONSERVATION POLICIES -- RESEARCH -- CONCLUSIONS -- References -- Index.