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This practical manual of amphibian ecology and conservation brings together a distinguished, international group of amphibian researchers to provide a state-of-the-art review of the many new and exciting techniques used to study amphibians and to track their conservation status and population trends. The integration of ecology and conservation is a natural outcome of the types of questions posed by these disciplines: how amphibians can and should be sampled, marked, and followed through time; how abundance and population trends are measured; what are the robust statistical methods that can be used in ecology and conservation; what roles do amphibians play in community structure and function; how do animals function in their environment; and what affects the long-term persistence of species assemblages?
Although emphasizing field ecology, sections on physiological ecology, genetics, landscape ecology, and disease analysis are also included. Amphibian Ecology and Conservation describes the latest statistical approaches in amphibian field ecology and conservation, as well as the use of models in interpreting field research. Much of this information is scattered in the scientific literature or not readily available, and the intention is to provide an affordable, comprehensive synthesis for use by graduate students, researchers, and practising conservationists worldwide.
PART 1. INTRODUCTION
1. Amphibian diversity and life history
2. Setting objectives in field studies
PART 2. LARVAE
3. Morphology of amphibian larvae
4. Larval sampling
5. Dietary assessments of larval amphibians
6. Aquatic mesocosms
7. Amphibian water quality
PART 3. JUVENILES AND ADULTS
8. Measuring and marking post-metamorphic amphibians
9. Egg mass and nest counts
10. Adult diets
11. Movement patterns and radiotelemetry
12. Field enclosures and terrestrial cages
PART 4. AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS
13. Drift fences, coverboards and other traps
14. Area-based surveys
15. Rapid assessments of amphibian diversity
16. Auditory monitoring of anuran populations
17. Measuring habitat
PART 5. AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITIES
18. Diversity and similarity
19. Landscape ecology and GIS methods
PART 6. PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY AND GENETICS
20. Physiological ecology: methods and field perspective
21. Models in field studies of temperature and moisture
22. Genetics in field ecology and conservation
PART 7. MONITORING, STATUS AND TRENDS
23. Selection of species and sampling areas - the importance of inference
24. Capture-mark-recapture, removal sampling and occupancy models
25. Quantifying abundance: counts, detection probabilities and estimates
26. Disease monitoring and biosecurity
27. Conservation and management
Index
"The book is far more than a cookbook or field guide. It is a synthesis. I hope my fellow amphibian ecologists (and discerning ecologists specializing in other taxa and systems) will join me in thanking the many folks who made this handbook a reality; we, our students, and protégés will benefit for years to come."
– Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Herpetologists
"This handbook is likely to serve as a valuable herpetological reference tool for years to come."
– Bulletin of the British Ecological Society
