The convergence of ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife biology: necessary or redundant?

Since the inception of the "new" field of conservation biology in the mid-1 980s, there has been a long-standing discussion about the differences betwe en conservation biology and the disciplines of wildlife biology and ecology . Events related to management for biodiversity and sustainability have mad e synthesis ne rigueur across disciplinary lines. The developing concept of ecosystem management and preservation of biodiversity has produced a conve rgence of biological fields, at least where synthesis is essential to task accomplishment. However, all of these fields, individually and collectively , fall short of their potential in terms of relating to social and economic factors.