Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. Evolution and genetics; 3. Social structure, reproduction, and population dynamics; 4. Food habits, habitat use, and activity patterns; 5. Golden eagles and island fox declines on the Northern Islands; 6. Ecosystem recovery on the Northern Islands: predators and prey; 7. Disease and island fox declines on Catalina Island; 8. Recovery actions: captive breeding; 9. Recovery actions: reintroduction and translocation; 10. Reproductive biology Cheryl S. Asa; 11. Diseases of island foxes Linda Munson; 12. The role of zoos, education, and the public in island fox recovery; 13. Managing recovery: cooperative conservation, politics, and the Endangered Species Act; 14. The ecological role of island foxes; 15. Conclusion; References.

Native only to the California Channel Islands, the island fox is the smallest canid in North America. Populations on four of the islands were threatened to extinction in the 1990s due to human-mediated predation and disease. This is the first account of the natural history and ecology of the island fox, illustrating both the vulnerability of island ecosystems and the efficacy of cooperative conservation measures. It explains in detail the intense conservation actions required to recover fox populations, such as captive breeding and reintroduction, and large-scale ecosystem manipulation. These actions were successful due in large part to extraordinary collaboration among the scientists, managers and public advocates involved in the recovery effort. The book also examines the role of some aspects of island fox biology, characteristic of the 'island syndrome', in facilitating their recovery, including high productivity and an apparent adaptation to periodic genetic bottlenecks.