Vervet Monkeys - The Least Concern Primates

The aim of conservtion biology is to save species, habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction (Soule, 1985; Hunter 1996; Meffe & Carroll, 1994; van Dyke 2008). It is an interdisciplinary science that studies the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity. This biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that the current rate of loss is up to 100,000 times greater than the natural or 'background' rate (Smith et al., 1993; Raup, 1991). This biodiversity crisis is one of the Earth's most pressing issues (Koh et al., 2004). The main driving force of this loss is the unsustainable rate at which the earth's natural resources are being exploited by humans (Kerr & Currie, 1995). The natural world is under too much strain from humans and cannot support the pressure being placed on it.

The call for more sustainable management of the planet's resources is based on moral, ethical, and scientific reasoning. Humans derive many direct and indirect benefits from the living world. Ecosystem services are essential biological functions that benefit humans (Daily, 1999; Beattie; 1995; McNeely et al., 1990) . Bioresources include all our food, clothing fibres, many pharmaceutical drugs, construction materials, etc. Plants produce oxygen. Forests control the climate. Other services include nutrient cycling, pest control, pollination and these are all carried out by other species upon whom we do not realise we depend.

There is also something very aesthetically pleasing about the living world. Nature has its own intrinsic value. And there must be some ethical obligation for conserving biodiversity. Surely one species does not have the right to drive others to extinction.