The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 1400 pages
• Published by: University Of Chicago Press November 15, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0226893340
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0226893341
• Book Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 2.2 inches
• Weighs: 6.3 pounds

Product Review
"More than a quarter-century in the making, and weightier than a doorstopthe definitive one-volume work on the world''s amphibians."-Steve Grant, The Hartford Courant (Steve Grant The Hartford Courant )

"Wells, a much-published amphibian specialist, has produced a monumental work on salamander, frog, and caecilian ecology, physiology, and behavior. The thoroughly documented narrative is drawn from many sources and tendered in a masterful style that will appeal to and provide a wealth of information to readers. The 16 chapters include a variety of related topic discussions summarized from published and unpublished sources and the author''s exceptional familiarity with the subjects.As a single source reference on amphibians, this book has no competitors.It can easily be read and assimilated by amateur naturalists, and it will be an invaluable encyclopedic source for conservationists, field biologists, and amphibian specialists for years to come. An outstanding resource for museum, municipal, college, and university libraries. Essential."-Choice (Choice )

Product Description

Consisting of more than six thousand species, amphibians are more diverse than mammals and are found on every continent save Antarctica. Despite the abundance and diversity of these animals, many aspects of the biology of amphibians remain unstudied or misunderstood. The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians aims to fill this gap in the literature on this remarkable taxon. It is a celebration of the diversity of amphibian life and the ecological and behavioral adaptations that have made it a successful component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Synthesizing seventy years of research on amphibian biology, Kentwood D. Wells addresses all major areas of inquiry, including phylogeny, classification, and morphology; aspects of physiological ecology such as water and temperature relations, respiration, metabolism, and energetics; movements and orientation; communication and social behavior; reproduction and parental care; ecology and behavior of amphibian larvae and ecological aspects of metamorphosis; ecological impact of predation on amphibian populations and antipredator defenses; and aspects of amphibian community ecology. With an eye towards modern concerns, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians concludes with a chapter devoted to amphibian conservation.

An unprecedented scholarly contribution to amphibian biology, this book is eagerly anticipated among specialists. (20071128)

Reader Reviews
At a moment when amphibians are undergoing declines and disappearances and being held up as indicators of environmental health, the appearance of this book could not be more timely. While there are a number of textbooks that capably treat the biology of amphibians, their coverage of behavior and ecology is usually brief and superficial. Neither adjective fits this well organized book. I am sure some will end up using it in support of graduate and upper level undergraduate courses, however I would hesitate to call it a textbook. Instead it reads much more like a literature review, or really a set of literature reviews. Each is enormously comprehensive and all are written accessibly given their subject matter. In the areas I know best, the author has gone to great lengths to be both thorough and balanced in his presentation of competing evidence and shows shrewd judgment in his conclusions. The frequent use of figures and other graphics from primary literature is also effective. It is increasingly uncommon for an academic to dedicate this degree of effort to a single publication. The scholarship is extraordinarily thorough and the writing invites the reader to plunge ahead. Even specialists will find it amazing how much work is being done on amphibians and in such a wide array of topics. That one person could master all of this literature is staggering. For the rest of us that have not, this book is a tremendous bootstrap to amphibian literacy. If you are interested in the ecology and behavior of amphibians this is the book.