Extinction in Our Times: Global Amphibian Decline

by James P. Collins, Martha L. Crump, Thomas E. Lovejoy III

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

James P. Collins is an evolutionary ecologist whose research group studies the role of host-pathogen interactions in species decline and extinction. They use amphibians, along with viral and fungal pathogens, as models for studying factors that control population dynamics. His other research is focused on intellectual factors that have shaped the development of ecology as a discipline, and on ecological ethics.

Professor Collins's expertise in population dynamics led him to serve as director of the Population Biology and Physiological Ecology program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1986. He also served as NSF’s assistant director for Biological Sciences from 2005 to 2009. From 1989 to 2002 he was chair of ASU’s Zoology, and then Biology Department, where he used interdisciplinary programs to foster innovation in research, education, and institutional change. He is also an adjunct senior scientist with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA.

(Source - sols.asu.edu)

Reviews

[Trunatrschild · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is aimed at a biologist, I think. I'm interested in the subject and I have a high tolerance for scientific writing but I had to put this book down, it was just too boring. I learned a lot and some of it I found fascinating but most of it was too technical for my more casual interest. For what it is, it is well written and god, beyond well researched, but I have other interests and little time so I put it down. I think that it is a necessary book and if you have the time, an important book to read.

[Ce]

If you want to have an idea what is happening with Biodiversity decline (or not), this is a good point to start. They present the case of amphibian group and how it is threaten by different factors, as well as the implications of loosing this taxonomic group. In the end, the authors try to bring the idea that Ecological Ethics, is a new field that should consider moral dilemmas like what to protect or not, when to intervene or not, and so on. Recommended for anybody interested in the topic, as it doesn't have a very technical language.