Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation

This third edition provides a fully updated and comprehensive examination of the critical role of reproductive biology in animal conservation. As with prior editions, this book is wide-ranging and relevant to anyone interested in species conservation, providing critical perspectives on the utility of current and emerging animal reproductive science and technology. Reproductive biology in the context of animal species conservation is much more than the development of techniques for helping with too little or too much breeding; technical developments must be preceded by an understanding of the biological basis behind breeding problems. With looming extinction concerns and unprecedented pressures on biodiversity, every effort must be made to ensure species reproduction in the wild, and to optimize breeding in populations in human care while providing the best welfare standards available. The new edition contains a selection of chapters on fast-evolving topics such as welfare, ethics, epigenetics, extra-cellular vesicles, stem cells, contraception, and threats posed by environmental changes. Other chapters include species-specific perspectives, including on bees and marine mammals.