Is there a special conservation biology?

Conservation biology is special to the extent that it fills useful roles in the scientific and conservation fields that are nor being filled by practi tioners of other disciplines. The emergence of the "new conservation biolog y" in the late 1970's and its blossoming in the 1980's and 1990's reflect, to a large degree, a failure of traditional academic ecology and the natura l resource disciplines to address modern conservation problems adequately. Yet. to be successful conservation biology, as an interdisciplinary field, must build on the strengths of other disciplines - both basic and applied. The new conservation biology; grew out of concern over extinction of specie s, although the field has expanded to include issues about management of se veral levels of biological organization. I examine four controversial quest ions of importance to conservation biologists today: 1) are there any robus t principles of conservation biology? 2) Is advocacy an appropriate activit y of conservation biologists? 3) Are we educating conservation biologists p roperly? 4) Is conservation biology distinct from other biological and reso urce management disciplines? I answer three of these questions with a tenta tive "yes" and one (3) with a regretful "in most cases, no." I see a need f or broader training for students of conservation biology, more emphasis on collecting basic field data, compelling applications of conservation biolog y to real problems, increased influence on policy, and expansion of the int ernational scope of the discipline. Ii ail these occur, conservation biolog y will by truly special.