The musteloids are the most diverse super-family among carnivores, ranging from little known, exotic, and highly-endangered species to the popular and familiar, and include a large number of introduced invasives. They feature terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, and aquatic members, ranging from tenacious predators to frugivorous omnivores, span weights from a 100g weasel to 30kg giant otters, and express a range of social behaviours from the highly gregarious to the fiercely solitary. Musteloids are the subjects of extensive cutting-edge research from phylogenetics to the evolution of sociality and through to the practical implications of disease epidemiology, introduced species management, and climate change. Their diversity and extensive biogeography inform a wide spectrum of ecological theory and conservation practice.

The editors of this book have used their combined 90 years of experience working on the behaviour and ecology of wild musteloids to draw together a unique network of the world's most successful and knowledgeable experts. The book begins with nine review chapters covering hot topics in musteloid biology including evolution, disease, social communication, and management. These are followed by twenty extensive case studies providing a range of comprehensive geographic and taxonomic coverage. The final chapter synthesises what has been discussed in the book, and reflects on the different and diverse conservation needs of musteloids and the wealth of conservation lessons they offer.

Biology and Conservation of Musteloids provides a conceptual framework for future research and applied conservation management that is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in musteloid and carnivore ecology and conservation biology. It will also be of relevance and use to conservationists and wildlife managers.

About the Author:
David W. Macdonald, Director, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Christopher Newman, Senior Research Associate, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Lauren A. Harrington, Senior Researcher, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford

Professor David Macdonald CBE has been Director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford since founding it in 1986, and is also Senior Research Fellow in Wildlife Conservation at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He is Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Oxford, has held the A.D. White Professorship at Cornell University in New York State, is Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London and the University of Liverpool and University of Exeter, and holds a D.Sc. from Oxford. A recent survey by BBC Wildlife magazine listed him amongst the ten most influential living conservationists.

Dr. Chris Newman is a Senior Research Associate with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford, who joined the group back in 1991. Chris is the co-ordinator for the WildCRU's Badger Project, specialising on life-history evolution and the effects of climate change and disease on population dynamics. He collaborates extensively with other researchers internationally, particularly in Asia, and is an author of over 70 peer reviewed papers and book chapters on mustelid ecology, as well as work advocating public and corporate participation in conservation initiatives.

Dr. Lauren Harrington is a Senior Researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford. Lauren has worked with a number of mustelid species that include the most endangered mustelid, once extinct in the wild - the black-footed ferret, and the most widespread invasive mustelid - the American mink. Lauren developed a passion for the mustelids during long nights spent on the prairies of Wyoming and Montana radio-tracking some of the first captive-bred black-footed ferrets to be released into the wild. Lauren first worked with the WildCRU in 1992, and joined the group in 1996.