Along a tiny spring in a narrow canyon near Death Valley, seemingly against all odds, an Inyo Mountain slender salamander makes its home. "The desert," writes conservation biologist Christopher Norment, "is defined by the absence of water, and yet in the desert there is water enough, if you live properly." Relicts of a Beautiful Sea explores the existence of rare, unexpected, and sublime desert creatures such as the black toad and four pupfishes unique...

Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice is an authoritative and practical guide to the preservation of species in danger of extinction. Anne Gunn and the late Graeme Caughley explain and critique the current theories in conservation biology, supported by an introduction to population dynamics and genetics. Numerous case histories of past extinctions and near extinctions illustrate how and why species are driven into decline. These examples demonstrate...