Conservation Medicine: Ecological Health in Practice

by A. Alonso Aguirre (Editor), Richard S. Ostfeld (Editor), Gary M. Tabor (Editor), Carol House (Editor), Mary C. Pearl (Editor)

Overview

Conservation medicine is an emerging discipline, focussing on the intersection of ecosystem health, animal health, and human health. Work in the biomedical and veterinary sciences is now being folded into conservation biology; to explore the connections between animal and human health; trace the environmental sources of pathogens and pollutants; develop an understanding of the ecological causes of changes in human and animal health; and understand the consequences of diseases to populations and ecological communities. Conservation Medicine defines this new discipline. It examines ecological health issues from various standpoints, including the emergence and resurgence of infectious disease agents; the increasing impacts of toxic chemicals and hazardous substances; and the health implications of habitat fragmentation and degradation and loss of biodiversity. It will provide a framework to examine the connections between the health of the planet and the health of all species and challenge practitioners and students in the health sciences and natural sciences to think about new, collaborative ways to address ecological health concerns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199882212
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/26/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Wildlife Trust

Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Wilburforce Foundation

USDA Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab

Wildlife Trust

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Contributors	xix
I.	Ecological Health and Change
1	Introduction	3
2	Defining Conservation Medicine	8
3	Conservation Medicine: The Birth of Another Crisis Discipline	17
4	Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Emerging Infectious Diseases	27
5	Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Key Role for Conservation Medicine	40
6	Effects of Endocrine Disruptors on Human and Wildlife Health	62
II.	Monitoring Ecological Health
7	Monitoring the Health and Conservation of Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, and Their Ecosystems	79
8	Disease Monitoring for the Conservation of Terrestrial Animals	95
9	Emergence of Infectious Diseases in Marine Mammals	104
10	Viruses as Evolutionary Tools to Monitor Population Dynamics	118
11	Assessing Stress and Population Genetics Through Noninvasive Means	130
12	Animal Behavior as a Tool in Conservation Biology	145
III.	Ecological Health and Humans
13	Global Ecological Change and Human Health	167
14	Biodiversity and Human Health	182
15	Vector-Borne Infections and Health Related to Landscape Changes	194
16	Ecological Context of Lyme Disease: Biodiversity, Habitat Fragmentation, and Risk of Infection	207
17	Zoonotic Infections and Conservation	220
18	Chronic Effects of Toxic Microalgae on Finfish, Shellfish, and Human Health	229
IV.	Implementing Conservation Medicine
19	Ecological Health and Wildlife Disease Management in National Parks	253
20	Wildlife Health, Ecosystems, and Rural Livelihoods in Botswana	265
21	Zoological Parks in Endangered Species Recovery and Conservation	276
22	The Mountain Gorilla and Conservation Medicine	282
23	Linking Human and Ecosystem Health on the Amazon Frontier	297
24	Deer Tick-Transmitted Zoonoses in the Eastern United States	310
V.	Conservation Medicine and Challenges for the Future
25	Biodiversity in Biomedical Research	327
26	Introducing Ecosystem Health into Undergraduate Medical Education	345
27	Ecotourism: Unforeseen Effects on Health	361
28	Global Ecological Integrity, Global Change, and Public Health	372
29	Wildlife Health and Environmental Security: New Challenges and Opportunities	383
	Index	397

Editorial Reviews

4 Stars! from Doody

Reviewer: Julia K Whittington, DVM (University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description: This multiauthored book's 29 chapters are divided into five sections covering ecological health and change, monitoring ecological health, ecological health and humans, implementing conservation medicine, conservation medicine and challenges for the future.
Purpose: It is intended to be a primer for those persons interested in promoting ecological health. This book goes far beyond that goal as it addresses issues critical for all persons, not just the practitioners for whom it is intended. The book provides a wonderful overview of the evolving, broad-reaching discipline of conservation medicine.
Audience: It is written for practitioners and students in the fields of health and ecology, but the potential audience that would benefit is much greater. Any person, scientist or otherwise, interested in ecology, human medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, conservation biology, or ecosystem health would gain from and thoroughly enjoy the insight and knowledge imparted in this book. The contributing author list is impressive and the information they set forth is the collective fruit of international scholarly work.
Features: At its heart is the central idea that conservation medicine is the discipline that embraces the intertwined fields of ecosystem, animal, and human health. From there, the authors seek to explore the many different ways that all living organisms interact and to illustrate the cause and effect relationships they develop. No one field or discipline is emphasized more than the others because they are all important and related. Especially insightful are the chapters discussing emerging and infectious diseases. The authors and editors have done an excellent job of using ecological models or studies to illustrate important and relevant topics. The only shortcoming of this book is that it ended too soon.
Assessment: This is an extremely valuable tool for practitioners in ecosystem health and management as well as in medicine. The thought-provoking topics are well organized and informative. This book will be instrumental in training future professionals interested in conservation medicine.

Doody's Review Service

Conservation Medicine brings together an impressive group of experts from diverse specialties (medicine, veterinary science, conservation biology, epidemiology, parasitology, public health, and others) to examine the links among human health, wildlife health, and ecosystem health. [The book] goes a long way toward teaching us to analyze health problems in ecological context If the book gets the attention it deserves, it will inspire researchers, funders, policy makers, and the general public in both developed and developing countries to become involved in finding collaborative solutions to the conservation crisis. " —Environmental Health Perspectives

From the Publisher