Botkin Environmental Science Earth as Living Planet 8th txtbk

CHAPTER
13
Wildlife,
Fisheries,
and Endangered
Species
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Brown pelicans, once endangered because of DDT, have come
back in abundance and are common along both the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts. This pelican is fishing from a breakwater on the
Atlantic coast of Florida.
Wildlife, fish, and endangered species are among the
most popular environmental issues today. People
love to see wildlife; many people enjoy fishing, make
a living from it, or rely on fish as an important part
of their diet; and since the 19th century the fate of
endangered species has drawn public attention. You
would think that by now we would be doing a good
job of conserving and managing these kinds of life,
but often we are not. This chapter tells you how we
are doing and how we can improve our conservation
and management of wildlife, fisheries, and endangered
species. After reading this chapter, you should
understand . . .
Why people want to conserve wildlife and endangered
species;
The importance of habitat, ecosystems, and landscape
in the conservation of endangered species;
Current causes of extinction;
Steps we can take to achieve sustainability of wildlife,
fisheries, and endangered species;
The concepts of species persistence, maximum
sustainable yield, the logistic growth curve, carrying
capacity, optimum sustainable yield, and minimum
viable populations.
People around the world are wearing masks
to protect themselves against swine flu.
(Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/
nation-world/ny-swineflu-photos,0,859331.
photogallery [Getty Images Photo / May 2,
2009].)