- Hardcover: 1400 pages
- Publisher: University of Chicago Press; illustrated edition edition (9 Nov 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0226893340
- ISBN-13: 978-0226893341
- Product Dimensions: 28.3 x 22.1 x 5.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,000,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £32.45
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £32.45, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"More than a quarter-century in the making, and weightier than a doorstop...the definitive one-volume work on the world''s amphibians."--Steve Grant, "The Hartford Courant" --Steve Grant"The Hartford Courant" (11/28/2007)
Product Description
With 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 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 toward 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.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
Great reference book, a must for all herpetologists, it's basically a much more up to date and complete version of the Duellman book from 94' and with the trend science is taking, you need to be up to date
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
A definitive treatment of amphibian ecology
22 Jan 2008
Format:Hardcover
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.
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.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Spectacular!
29 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover
Have you ever thought about why the bullfrogs in your garden pond croak all summer long but the wood frogs in the vernal pool down the road are only noisy for a week? Ever spot a salamander walking around on the bottom of an ice-covered pond and wonder how he could possibly do that? Such is the depth of the information you will find in this book. From the global scale to the details of physiology, Kentwood Wells has covered it all. With a smooth and easy-to-read writing style, excellent use of photographs to highlight and clarify concepts and clear interpretations of scientific research this book should appeal to the layperson just as much as it will appeal to academics. Truly a work that should be on the shelves of every life science academic, naturalist or backyard nature-watcher.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Its value is worth more than its weight in gold (~5lbs)
7 Nov 2008
Format:Hardcover
The author invested more than 20yrs in its making, and I would have to invest equal time to write a review that compliments this book enough! To say this book is too technical blows my mind (other reviewer). I have rarely seen a book that meshes "technical" information in such a readable fashion as Kentwood Wells has done in this monumental volume.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Reptiles & Amphibians
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Vertebrates > Amphibians
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Vertebrates > Reptiles
- Books > Science & Nature > Environment & Ecology > Ecology > Animal Ecology
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
