Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation F. Courchamp , L. Berec , J. Gascoigne . 2008. Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-956755-3, price (paper), $60.00..

Abstract

F. Courchamp, L. Berec, J. Gascoigne. 2008. Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-956755- 3, price (paper), $60.00. In the 1930s and 1940s research by Warder C. Allee suggested that individual fitness (or components thereof) could be positively related to population size or density (e.g., Allee 1931). Today referred to as the “Allee effect,” the notion that presence of conspecifics can have positive dynamic consequences and even prevent population extinction remained largely unnoticed for the next 50 plus years. For example, a search using the keyword “Allee effect” in Web of Knowledge returns only 25 publications prior to the year 1990. Since then we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of studies on Allee effects, cumulating in the 1st comprehensive treatment of the topic by Franck Courchamp, Ludek Berec, and Joanna Gascoigne in 2008 (the focus of this book review). Given the current biodiversity crisis, where at least 25% of all mammal species are threatened with extinction (Schipper et al. 2008), and the apparent prevalence of Allee effects in mammals when compared to other vertebrate classes, this book could not have been published at a more opportune time. This is particularly true because those charged with the conservation of threatened species increasingly will be expected to develop and implement suitable management aimed at counteracting observed Allee effects. Chapter 1 is a delight to read. It presents a comprehensive description of the history of research into Allee effects and provides clear, readily accessible definitions to relevant technical terms. Figures are used effectively to illustrate relationships between individual fitness or population growth rates and population density. The single criticism related …