Conserving Carnivores: More than Numbers

摘要

In their review "status and ecological effects of the world's largest carnivores" (10 January, DOI: 10.1126/science.1241484), W. J. Ripple et al. assess threats to carnivores and urge that minimum population densities be maintained for persistence of large carnivores, biodiversity, and ecosystem structure. We argue that carnivore conservation is not just a numbers game. Life history strategy (including number of offspring, life span, and diet) and behavioral ecology (behavior that evolves from ecological pressures) of the species in question should also guide management approaches.