Biology of Amphibians

About this book

Paperback edition of this standard work. It covers all aspects of amphibian biology, with numerous illustrations, and over 2,500 bibliographic references.
Contents: Introduction to Amphibia. Part 1 - Life History: reproductive strategies; courtship & mating; vocalization; eggs & development; larvae; metamorphosis. Part 2 - Ecology: relationships with environment; food & feeding; enemies & defence; population biology; community ecology & species diversity. Part 3 - Morphology: musculoskeletal system; integumentary, sensory & visceral systems. Part 4 - Evolution: origin & early evolution; cytogenetic, molecular & genomic evolution; phylogeny; biogeography; classification.

Contents

- Introduction to amphibia - the world of amphibians, historical resume, prospects for the future

Part 1 Life History
- reproductive strategies - reproductive cycles, reproductive mode, quantitative aspects, parental care, evolution of reproductive strategies
- courtship and mating - location of breeding site, secondary sexual characters, courtship behaviour, fertilization and oviposition, sexual selection, evolution of mating systems
- vocalization - anuran communication system, mechanisms of sound production and reception, kinds of vocalizations and their functions, abiotic factors affecting vocalization, interspecific significance of vocalization, phylogenetic implications of vocalization
- eggs and development - spermatozoa and fertilization, egg structure, egg development, hatching and birth, development and amphibian diversity
- larvae - morphology of larvae, adaptive types of larvae, physiology and ecology, social behaviour, evolutionary significance of larvae
- metamorphosis - endocrine control, other biochemical changes, morphological changes, neoteny, ecological and evolutionary significance of metamorphosis

Part 2 Ecology
- relationships with the environment - water economy, temperature, gas exchange, energy metabolism and energy budgets, ecological synthesis
- food and feeding - prey selection, location of prey, capture of prey, evolution of prey-capturing mechanisms and strategies
- enemies and defence - diseases, parasites, predators, anti-predator mechanisms, evolution of defence mechanisms
- population biology - characteristics of individuals, movements and territoriality, demography, factors regulating populations
- community ecology and species diversity - community structure, species diversity, evolution of amphibian communities

Part 3 Morphology
- musculoskeletal system - skull and hyobranchium, axial system, appendicular system, integration of functional units
- integumentary, sensory and visceral systems - integument, sensory receptor systems, nervous system, circulatory and respiratory systems, urogenital system, digestive system, endocrine glands, evolutionary considerations

Part 4 Evolution
- origin and early evolution - nature of a tetrapod, primitive tetrapods, tetrapod affinities (lungfishes or lobe-fins?), diversity and evolution of early tetrapods, status of the lissamphibia
- cytogenetic, molecular and genomic evolution - cytogenetics, molecular evolution, genomic evolution
- phylogeny - caudata, gymnophiona, anura
- biogeography - biogeographic principles, historical setting, lissamphibia, caudata, gymnophiona, anura
- classification

Customer Reviews

Biography

William E. Duellman and Linda Trueb are curators in the division of herpetology at the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence.