Principles of Conservation Biology By C. Ronald Carroll, Martha J. Groom and Gary K. Meffe $89.95 Sinauer Associates

Textbook probes conservation problems

In Principles of Conservation Biology, C. Ronald Carroll, UGA professor of ecology, gets a chance to reach a lot of people. That’s because the book, which he co-authored with Martha J. Groom and Gary K. Meffe, is the world’s most widely used college textbook dealing with conservation biology. Principles of Conservation Biology, used in colleges and universities across the U.S., Canada, Russia, South America and Europe, went through six printings in its second edition, and has recently been released in a revised, updated third edition.

The book explains biodiversity concepts as well as approaches to solving a variety of conservation challenges. Carroll believes that the work owes some of its popularity to its usefulness beyond the classroom, because it contains case studies of real-world problems and outlines techniques with which they can be addressed by researchers and professionals in the field. 

A companion Web site supported by the publisher is available online (www.sinauer.com/groom). At the site, readers will find study questions, suggested readings and Web links for each chapter, as well as essays, case studies and boxes that expand on the book’s coverage of selected topics. A CD-ROM of all the illustrations and tables from the book for use in lecture presentations is also available to instructors.