The island fox

"Decline and Recovery of the Island Fox is the first account of the natural history and ecology of the smallest canid in North America, and describes the conservation efforts applied to save this species from extinction. Island foxes occur only on the California Channel Islands, and populations on four of the islands nearly went extinct in the 1990s due to human-mediated predation and disease. Recovery of these populations required intense conservation actions 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. Some aspects of island fox biology, characteristic of the 'island syndrome' helped facilitate recovery, including high productivity and an apparent adaptation to periodic genetic bottlenecks. The book illustrates the vulnerability of island ecosystems and species and the efficacy of cooperative conservation measures"--