The wolf's tooth
Subtitle: keystone predators, trophic cascades, and biodiversity
By: Cristina Eisenberg.
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Washington
Language: eng
Number of pages: 254
ISBN-13: 9781597263979; 9781597263986
Subjects: Predation (Biology); Predatory animals -- Ecology; Food chains (Ecology)
Description: "For nearly a century ecologists have believed that nature is democratic, governed from the bottom up by the amount of solar energy converted to green biomass, the food of herbivores. Eisenberg makes the case for trophic cascades--an alternative view arguing that ecosystems are often organized from the top down by keystone species such as predators--while diplomatically exploring a path for reconciling these disparate views."--Michael Soule, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Cruz.

"Cristina Eisenberg weaves her observations as a scientist and her personal experiences afield into a resonant account about the web of life that links humans to the natural world. Grounded in best science, inspired by Eisenberg's intimate knowledge of the wolves she studies, this book offers a luminous portrait of the ecological relationships essential for our well-being in a rapidly changing world."--Brenda PETERSON, author of I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth.

"As the focus in wildlife management shifts from favored species toward biodiversity and community ecology, new concepts such as trophic cascades and the keystone roles of predators have come to the fore. This is the next level of conservation, as complex as it is crucial. You couldn't ask for a better guide than Cristina Eisenberg, who blends tales from her own field studies with clear explanations of the connections that keep nature vibrant and whole over time."--Douglas H. Chadwick, wildlife biologist, conservation reporter, and author of The Wolverine Way.

"The Wolf's Tooth takes a venerable but misunderstood concept in ecology and renders it fresh, clear, and vital. Eisenberg has drawn from her own deep experience in the field to write a genuinely important contribution to the conservation biology canon. Besides showing how trophic cascades actually work, and how top predators can help rewild North America, her book is a fine primer for both theoretical and practical ecology."--Robert Michael Pyle, author of Wintergreen and Chasing Monarchs --Book Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.