Research in Endangered Species Conservation: An Introduction to Multiple Methods

Tim W. Clark

Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 301 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511 and Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, P.O. Box 2705, Jackson, WY 83001

Richard P. Reading

Denver Zoological Foundation, 2900 East 23rd Avenue, Denver, CO 80205

Richard L. Wallace

BE5/Environmental Studies, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33711

Abstract

Diverse methods may be required to understand and solve conservation problems in species recovery. These problems are usually multi-faceted. Endangered species recovery is a biological challenge, but it also requires that professionals and the public support an organized recovery effort in a timely, rational, and effective way. Biological, social, and interdisciplinary methods all lend themselves to aid the multi-dimensional task of species recovery. Social science and interdisciplinary methods, however, are little used currently. These three kinds of approaches are briefly examined. We conclude with a call for increased interdisciplinary approaches, as we believe they promise greater effectiveness in species conservation.