Abstract Overhunting is a leading contemporary driver of tropical forest wildlife loss. The absence or extremely low densities large-bodied vertebrates disrupts plant-animal mutualisms and consequently degrades key ecosystem services. Understanding patterns defaunation therefore crucial given that most forests worldwide are now “half-empty”. Here we investigate changes in vertebrate community c...

IntroductionHuman activity in wilderness areas has the potential to affect aquatic ecosystems, including through introduction of microorganisms associated with fecal contamination. We examined microorganism contamination water sources (lake outlets, snowmelt streams) popular Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness United States. Although region is remote, increasing human visitation negatively quality, p...

In a recent national survey of federal wilderness managers, respondents identified the high priority need for scientific information about public attitudes toward biophysical intervention to adapt to climate change and attitudes of the public toward restoration of natural conditions. In a survey of visitors to one National Park wilderness in California, visitors revealed that they largely do no...

C onservation biology, as developed and practiced in the United States, has the explicit aim of maintaining and encouraging biodiversity. The term “biodiversity” was introduced in 1986 by Walter Rosen as a shorthand for “biological diversity.” Although Rosen’s original intention was quite precise, biodiversity, according to a survey of US conservation biologists, has become a fashionable scient...

Corridor disease, transmitted by the brown ear tick (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus), is one of Africa's most pathogenic tick-borne diseases for cattle. With a focus on this species, we investigated the community parameters (richness, diversity and abundance) of ticks in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and how this may be linked to the increasing wildlife/cattle interface in the region. There wer...

Human pressure threatens many species and ecosystems, so conservation efforts necessarily prioritize saving them. However, conservation should clearly be proactive wherever possible. In this article, we assess the biodiversity conservation value, and specifically the irreplaceability in terms of species endemism, of those of the planet's ecosystems that remain intact. We find that 24 wilderness...

Contemporary park and wilderness carrying capacity frameworks rely on formulation of standards of quality, which are defined as minimum acceptable resource and social conditions. Formulation of standards of quality involves elements of both science and values, and both of these elements must be integrated into informed judgments on the part of park and wilderness managers. That is, managers mus...

Despite considerable progress within wilderness and adventure therapy research over the last decade, researchers are still unable to precisely answer why, how, and for whom this treatment modality works. There is also a need for more knowledge regarding the circumstances under which the treatment does not appear to be effective. In this realist synthesis, we attempt to unpack this "black box" o...