Introduction to Modeling in Wildlife and Resource Conservation
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Author(s): N. Owen-Smith
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
ISBN: 9781405144391
Format: softback + CD-ROM
332pp
Price: £24.99
Review Date: 29 May 2008
Review: The book has developed from a long-standing manual for a postgraduate short course in conservation biology where students had various university backgrounds with little experience in modeling although some had experience but could learn from the course. The intention was to allow the students to develop their own models for applications which could later be of use in their careers. However the emphasis is not so much on the mathematics but the use of the computer and the software towards solving problems in the field. The book shows how the dynamic equations generate patterns over time which can be viewed and understood. Interestingly the author states that conservationists can need models more than theoretical ecologists, because they have to make decisions based on the best knowledge at the time without the opportunity for more research. The book comes with a CD with a shortened version of True BASIC, many appendices, index, and highly referenced.