The conservation of biodiversity is one of the most important issues facing the world today. In the new edition of this highly successful book, Malcolm Hunter and new coauthor James Gibbs offer a thorough introduction to the fascinating and important field of conservation biology, focusing on what can be done to maintain biodiversity through management of ecosystems and populations. Starting with a succinct look at conservation and biodiversity, this book goes on to contend with some of the subjectrs"s most complex topics, such as mass extinctions, ecosystem degradation, and over exploitation. Discussions of the social, political, and economic aspects of conservation biology issues are both interwoven throughout the text and addressed independently in their own chapters. This new edition has been thoroughly revised with more than 750 new references, web links to many of the organizations involved in conservation biology, and striking full-color figures, photographs, and maps. Hunter and Gibbs have created a context in which the principles of conservation biology can be readily understood and applied to managing real world populations and ecosystems.