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Abstract
New initiatives in wildlife management have come from the realization that birds can be used as indicators of ecosystem health. Conceptually, biological diversity includes processes working at all scales in biological hierarchies that compose the natural world. Recent advances in the understanding of ecological systems suggest they are nonequilibrium systems, and must be managed as such. In a practical sense, biological diversity must be managed by devising indicators of ecosystem integrity and health. Ecological integrity, although there are difficulties in defining criteria for its measurement, provides a conceptual focus for management decisions that are intended to preserve biodiversity. More importantly, tools for devising objective measures of the ecological integrity of a community are readily available. Management of bird communities can be based on indices of ecological integrity that incorporate presence and relative abundances of neotropical migrants. Neotropical migratory birds provide an ideal focus for such management tools, since they have been shown to be highly sensitive to changes in landscapes that compromise the spatial continuity and integrity of natural ecosystems. In order to accommodate new concerns for preservation of biodiversity, wildlife managers must acquaint themselves with new tools and approaches. In particular, an expanded geographic scale perspective should permeate management activities.
Parent Publication
Citation
Maurer, Brian A. 1993. Biological diversity, ecological integrity, and neotropical migrants: New perspectives for wildlife management. In: Finch, Deborah M.; Stangel, Peter W. (eds.). Status and management of neotropical migratory birds: September 21-25, 1992, Estes Park, Colorado. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-229. Fort Collins, Colo.: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service: 24-31
