that can produce a completely new set of results unavailable until few years
ago, the authors warn against many conceptual limitations and potential
sources of error. In particular, the chapter analyzes the growth and misuse of
the concept of habitat, with its many different meanings in biological and
mapping sciences; these include habitat as a multidimensional species-specific
property and habitat as a Cartesian property of land. The authors discuss the
accuracy of spatial wildlife habitat models, the dichotomy of inductive versus
deductive modeling, and the problem of transferability of models in space and
time. Finally, they warn us of the fundamental problem of scale dependency of
the habitat factors and provide a set of procedures on error assessment.
This book is the result of a workshop that was held at the Ettore Majorana
Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily, from November 28 to December
3, 1996, which brought together a small number of highly qualified scientists
for a 4-day discussion with a selected audience of 75 students, faculty, and scientists. Many people helped to make the workshop a success. First, we wish to
thank Professor Danilo Mainardi, director of the International School of
Ethology of the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture for his insight
and support in getting the project approved and funded by the Centre. We also
wish to thank Marco Lambertini for his participation in organizing the workshop and the excellent staff of the center for making life in Erice a memorable
event. Each manuscript was reviewed by at least two external experts in the
various topic areas and we especially thank our group of 24 anonymous referees for their time and effort, which resulted in a much-improved book. We
would also like to thank Ed Lugenbeel, Holly Hodder, and Roy Thomas of
Columbia University Press for encouraging the publication of the book and
for editorial assistance, Carol Anne Peschke for editorial skills provided
throughout the editing and publication process, and Ilaria Marzetti who
helped prepare the index.
Luigi Boitani
Department of Animal and Human Biology
University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Todd K. Fuller
Department of Natural Resources Conservation
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Literature Cited
Bookhout, T. A., ed. 1994. Research and management techniques for wildlife and habitats.
Bethesda, Md.: The Wildlife Society.
P R E FA C E
xxxi
ago, the authors warn against many conceptual limitations and potential
sources of error. In particular, the chapter analyzes the growth and misuse of
the concept of habitat, with its many different meanings in biological and
mapping sciences; these include habitat as a multidimensional species-specific
property and habitat as a Cartesian property of land. The authors discuss the
accuracy of spatial wildlife habitat models, the dichotomy of inductive versus
deductive modeling, and the problem of transferability of models in space and
time. Finally, they warn us of the fundamental problem of scale dependency of
the habitat factors and provide a set of procedures on error assessment.
This book is the result of a workshop that was held at the Ettore Majorana
Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily, from November 28 to December
3, 1996, which brought together a small number of highly qualified scientists
for a 4-day discussion with a selected audience of 75 students, faculty, and scientists. Many people helped to make the workshop a success. First, we wish to
thank Professor Danilo Mainardi, director of the International School of
Ethology of the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture for his insight
and support in getting the project approved and funded by the Centre. We also
wish to thank Marco Lambertini for his participation in organizing the workshop and the excellent staff of the center for making life in Erice a memorable
event. Each manuscript was reviewed by at least two external experts in the
various topic areas and we especially thank our group of 24 anonymous referees for their time and effort, which resulted in a much-improved book. We
would also like to thank Ed Lugenbeel, Holly Hodder, and Roy Thomas of
Columbia University Press for encouraging the publication of the book and
for editorial assistance, Carol Anne Peschke for editorial skills provided
throughout the editing and publication process, and Ilaria Marzetti who
helped prepare the index.
Luigi Boitani
Department of Animal and Human Biology
University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Todd K. Fuller
Department of Natural Resources Conservation
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Literature Cited
Bookhout, T. A., ed. 1994. Research and management techniques for wildlife and habitats.
Bethesda, Md.: The Wildlife Society.
P R E FA C E
xxxi