Endangered Species, Ecosystem Integrity, and Human Livelihoods

Galapagos Islands: Managing Introduced Species in an Endangered Ecosystem

Species introduced through development for fishing and tourism are destroying the native ecosystem on the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. To address this problem, introductions must stop, and species already introduced should be removed or reduced. This paper analyzes the “species introduction” problem and makes recommendations to improve conservation efforts. The problems with management to date i...

Endangered species and endangered knowledge

The recent discovery of a new species of land iguana in the Galapagos (Tzika et al. 2008; Gentile et al. 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009) is indeed an exciting novelty, of great interest to all zoologists and evolutionary biologists. This species being apparently represented only by a very small population with a very limited range, it was described as a new taxon following an unusual procedure: no ...

Endangered Species Hold Clues to Human Evolution

We report that 18 conserved, and by extension functional, elements in the human genome are the result of retroposon insertions that are evolving under purifying selection in mammals. We show evidence that 1 of the 18 elements regulates the expression of ASXL3 during development by encoding an alternatively spliced exon that causes nonsense-mediated decay of the transcript. The retroposon that g...

Monitoring Ecosystem Integrity

In ecosystem preservation, restoration, and management, plan development and implementation is based on both policy and scientific considerations, which are not mutually exclusive. Decision and policy makers, scientists, and practitioners must meet a consensus regarding what, where, and how to monitor these initiatives. The results, of which, are synthesized into an end product utilized by mana...

Sustainable Livelihoods and an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management