Apex Predators in the Anthropocene

The complexity of the interactions between people and carnivores has never been greater. Such interactions often result in conflict and negative outcomes for both humans and carnivores, with important implications for human well-being and biodiversity loss. At the same time, charismatic carnivores are revered and championed by many. Such complexities position human-carnivore interactions as a highly contentious global issue. Humans simultaneously influence, threaten, and support carnivores and the prey they depend upon. These coupled human-ecological dynamics will ultimately determine the fate of carnivore populations and the well-being of people who share landscapes with them. This book highlights the emergent research exploring the complex ways humans and carnivores interact. It provides an integrative review of this research by collating the theory, empirical studies, and critical analyses quantifying these dynamics and examining their implications for management and conservation action. The editors take a holistic and ecologically centred approach to bring together threads of research from coupled human and natural systems, population, behavioural, community, and ecosystem ecology, and conservation biology in a unified volume that is domain deep and internationally broad in scope. This accessible volume will appeal to academics, natural resource professionals, and graduate-level students interested in how humans impact trophic system structure and carnivore ecology. It will be of particular relevance and use to scientists and practitioners working at the interface of carnivore ecology, conservation, and human-wildlife interactions.