Wild western mammals

Zabel, C.J. & Anthony, R.G. (eds) ( 2003 ) Mammal community dynamics: management and conservation in the coniferous forests of western North America . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, UK . xxi + 709 pp , figs, tables, line diagrams, halftones, index. Hardback: price £110.00 , ISBN 0-521-81043-4 . Paperback: price £43.00 , ISBN 0-521-00865-4 . As the title implies, the focus of this book is somewhat restricted in terms of the taxonomic group, habitat and geographical range discussed within its pages. At first glance it might therefore appear to be of limited value to anyone other than those with a specific interest in the mammalian fauna and/or coniferous forests of the western USA or Canada. More generalist readers should not be put off, however, as there is a wealth of information summarized within. For the non-botanists amongst us, Mammalian community dynamics begins with a useful description of the different forest and woodland types encompassed by the broader category of conifer forest, and their current distribution within western North America. Chapter 3 takes the additional step of placing this contemporary ecological region within the context of its historical and even prehistoric past. Chapters 4–9 focus on particular groups of mammals in turn, for example, bats, arboreal rodents and forest ungulates. Here the specific nature of the book allows the contributing authors to focus on the ecology, management and/or conservation of the chosen taxa in some considerable detail. In the main, these accounts are accessible and readable; however, because each endeavours to summarize all available relevant literature, including the less readily available ‘grey literature’, these accounts can at times read like long summary reviews, and some perseverance is required of the reader. That said, the chapter summaries provide convenient synopses, and several authors have taken the opportunity here to highlight specific issues relevant to their focal taxa. The closing pages of Chapter 7, for example, discuss the ecology of small and medium-sized carnivores in terms of alternative forest management regimes, and those of Chapter 8 emphasize the mechanisms by which human-mediated habitat alteration can influence large carnivore distribution and community composition. There are occasions when the contributing authors veer noticeably from the conifer forest/western North America brief. The chapter on forest ungulates strays frequently into more general ungulate biological theory, for example, and a chapter centred on the relationship between small mammals and edible fungi makes frequent reference to several Australasian species. This is not intended as a criticism, and indeed, one of the strengths of this book is that many of the mammalian communities discussed, or close relations of these species, are not strictly confined to coniferous forests; and trophic or behavioural relationships noted among mammalian communities within these forests are potentially echoed in alternative habitats elsewhere. The focus shifts in the second half of the book from a consideration of the management and conservation issues pertinent to particular mammalian assemblages to detailed examples of community and ecosystem relationships within conifer forests. These chapters are likely to be of greater interest to ecology students and teachers because they discuss more general concepts relating to mammalian community dynamics, such as the influence of landscape area, composition and configuration, and species’ dispersal and colonization capabilities. The closing chapters detail specific challenges and strategies for mammalian conservation in western North American coniferous forests, including a discussion of the positive contributions towards the long-term maintenance of native populations that are possible through careful landscape management. My only gripe here is that the management guidelines offered are often brief and tend towards recommendations for in-depth and lengthy status assessments, rather than practical advice that can be implemented by land managers immediately. The final essay, written by the editors, is an erudite synopsis of the preceding chapters, which neatly pulls together many of the recurring themes running throughout the book. Unable to match such elegance, I would summarize Mammal community dynamics as a thoughtful and data-rich body of work. It is perhaps not a book to be read cover to cover; rather an informative reference, to be consulted without hesitation by anyone with an interest in the forests of western North America or their native fauna.

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