Domestic and wild large mammalian herbivores occur on every continent except Antarctica. Through their browsing and grazing, they affect the structure and distribution not only of vegetation, but also of associated fauna. Consequently, the interactions between management practices and herbivore populations influence the biodiversity, structure and dynamics of ecosystems across vast expanses around the globe: signs of human activity that will be detectable for epochs to come.
As a follow-up work to The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing, published in 2008, this new volume presents cutting-edge research on the behaviour, distribution, movement, and direct and indirect impacts of domestic and wild herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. The respective chapters highlight strategic and applied research on cross-cutting issues in palaeontology and ecology, and provide concrete recommendations on the management of large herbivores to integrate production and conservation in terrestrial systems. Given its scope, the book will appeal to students, researchers and anyone interested in understanding these fascinating wild animals and how they shape the natural world.
About the Author: Professor Iain Gordon is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Division of Tropical Environments and Societies, at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Aberdeen in 1981 and his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1986. He was awarded an Honorary DSc by the University of Abertay in 2013. Throughout his career, which spans research, research management and provision of policy advice, Professor Gordon has played an active role in promoting the value of biodiversity and its importance in the provision of ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Over the past 25 years, he has gained an international reputation for scientific leadership and research excellence in interdisciplinary approaches, particularly in the context of managing land use to promote biodiversity. In recognition of his contributions to science, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in 1995 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.
Professor Herbert H.T. Prins is an Emeritus Professor of Resource Ecology at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. At Cambridge (UK), Professor Tim Clutton-Brock was his doctoral supervisor. He was Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor at Princeton University (USA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, (Australia), University of Natal (South Africa), Foundation Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Australia) and an Honorary Professor of Computational Ecology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). He has received the Aldo Leopold Award, was appointed an Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau by Royal Decree of HM The Queen Beatrix, and an Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark, bestowed by HRH Prince Bernhard. He has (co-)authored nearly 500 publications, co-edited 12 books, written one book on African buffalo, and has supervised 99 PhD students from all around the globe. The foci of his work are migratory Eurasian geese, the Trans-Himalayas of Central Asia, and the African savannas.
