Serengeti IV: Sustaining Biodiversity in a Coupled Human-Natural System

Abstract

Sinclair, A. R. E., K. L. Metzger, S. A. R. Mduma, and J. M. Fryxell (eds.). Serengeti IV: Sustaining Biodiversity in a Coupled Human-Natural System . University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, xii+841 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-19616-9 (paper), $65. Arguably, the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem is the most thoroughly studied terrestrial ecosystem on earth, owing largely to the dedication and focus of Anthony R. E. Sinclair. The year 2015 marks both the publication of this volume and the 50th anniversary of Sinclair’s research program in the Serengeti, so Serengeti IV is an especially momentous contribution. This book is mind-boggling in its scope, synthesizing a suite of multiyear studies ranging from the abundance and diversity of arthropods within Serengeti National Park (Chapter 10 de Visser et al.) to strategies for disincentivizing poaching through the development of alternative incomes (Chapter 22 Rentsch et al.). But rather than a random assortment of loosely related studies, the chapters in this volume are unified under a common theme: human livelihoods and nature conservation are inseparable, complicating though this may be for traditional conservation efforts (Neumann 2002; Western et al. 2015). This volume distinguishes itself from its early predecessors Serengeti (Sinclair and Norton-Griffiths 1979) and Serengeti II (Sinclair and Arcese 1995) not only in addressing this reality head-on but in acknowledging a rather inconvenient truth: that win-win solutions for traditional preservationist practices alongside sustainable agriculture and pastoralism are rare or altogether absent. As a result, it becomes necessary to articulate the trade-offs between ecological and social systems inherent to conservation efforts or to modify the mentality historically applied to protected areas. Serengeti IV excels in doing both. The book is organized into 6 sections, of which 3 ( III. The Human Ecosystem … Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA; e-mail: jgoheen{at}uwyo.edu.