Conservationists might set out with very different objectives: perservation and recovery of rare and threatened species-as with rhinos or bustards, sustaining a steady supply of useful products for human use-as with fisheries, or even eliminating threats to human life or livelihoods as in the case of rodent pests or man-eating tigers. None of these objectives, however, can be effectively met without a clear understanding of how wild populations of these species ...
