Overview

For over 350 million years, thousands of species of amphibians have lived on earth, but since the 1990s they have been disappearing at an alarming rate, in many cases quite suddenly and mysteriously. What is causing these extinctions? What role do human actions play in them? What do they tell us about the overall state of biodiversity on the planet? In Extinction in Our Times, James Collins and Martha Crump explore these pressing questions and many others as they document the first modern extinction event across an entire vertebrate class, using global examples that range from the Sierra Nevada of California to the rainforests of Costa Rica and the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Joining scientific rigor and vivid storytelling, this book is the first to use amphibian decline as a lens through which to see more clearly the larger story of climate change, conservation of biodiversity, and a host of profoundly important ecological, evolutionary, ethical, philosophical, and sociological issues.

Full Product Details

Author:   James P. Collins ,  Martha L. Crump (Professor of Biology, Professor of Biology, Northern Arizona University) ,  Thomas E. Lovejoy III
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.567kg
ISBN:  

9780195316940

ISBN 10:   0195316940
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   16 July 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Preface 1: Declining Amphibian Populations and the Biodiversity Crisis 2: Rallying Around the Issue of Amphibian Declines 3: Challenges, Correlates, and Hypotheses 4: Introduced Species, Commerce, and Land Use Change 5: Contaminants, Global Change, and Emerging Infectious Diseases 6: Unraveling the Mystery 7: Amphibian Chytrid Fungus as a Cause of Declines and Extinctions 8: How Can Science and Conservation Make a Difference? 9: Science Policy and Reacting to a Challenge 10: Leaping between Mysteries Literature Cited

Reviews

"""Extinction in Our Times is centered on the global problem of declines and extinctions of amphibians, but it has important things to say to anyone interested in how science, policy and conservation can interact in the face of crisis. It is worthwile reading for anyone interested in conserving biological diversity.""--TREE ""I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an informative read that will allow him or her to understand the problem discussed as well as gain a perspective on how biological scientists proceed with their pursuits.""--Bioscience ""There are many reasons for every zoo herpetologist to own this book...readable and comprehensible for the layman but is also valuable for the specialist.""--Herpetological Review ""Extinction in Our Times sets out the key events that led to a realisation that amphibian declines were not only real, but were also occurring globally. It is a valuable and well-considered addition to the arsenal of evidence that we need to execute a rapid response to this accelerating catastrophe.""--PLoS Biology Mentioned in Los Angeles Times ""Jacket Copy"" blog, 9/3/09"

<br> Extinction in Our Times is centered on the global problem of declines and extinctions of amphibians, but it has important things to say to anyone interested in how science, policy and conservation can interact in the face of crisis. It is worthwile reading for anyone interested in conserving biological diversity. --TREE<br> I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an informative read that will allow him or her to understand the problem discussed as well as gain a perspective on how biological scientists proceed with their pursuits. --Bioscience<br> There are many reasons for every zoo herpetologist to own this book...readable and comprehensible for the layman but is also valuable for the specialist. --Herpetological Review<br> Extinction in Our Times sets out the key events that led to a realisation that amphibian declines were not only real, but were also occurring globally. It is a valuable and well-considered addition to the arsenal of evidence that we need to execute a

Extinction in Our Times is centered on the global problem of declines and extinctions of amphibians, but it has important things to say to anyone interested in how science, policy and conservation can interact in the face of crisis. It is worthwile reading for anyone interested in conserving biological diversity. --TREE I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an informative read that will allow him or her to understand the problem discussed as well as gain a perspective on how biological scientists proceed with their pursuits. --Bioscience There are many reasons for every zoo herpetologist to own this book...readable and comprehensible for the layman but is also valuable for the specialist. --Herpetological Review Extinction in Our Times sets out the key events that led to a realisation that amphibian declines were not only real, but were also occurring globally. It is a valuable and well-considered addition to the arsenal of evidence that we need to execute a rapid response to this accelerating catastrophe. --PLoS Biology

Author Information

James P. Collins is Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment at the School of Life Life Sciences, Arizona State University, and the Assistant Director for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation. Martha L. Crump is Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University and the author of Headless Males Make Great Lovers.

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