Amphibians, Reptiles, and Their Conservation [Hardcover]

Marty L. Crump (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

Frogs and snakes are not cuddly like pandas and not magnificent like tigers. Many people think they are ugly and boring. But they, and other reptiles and amphibians, are just as surely disappearing from the face of the earth. Why? A host of reasons: habitat destruction, pollution, disease, climate change, and over-collection for exotic pets, food, or folk medicines.

If these animals go extinct just like the big dinosaurs did, then not only will we be the poorer for their absence, we will also be in big trouble. Populations of insect pests and disease carriers will explode without frogs to eat them; rodents and other small animals will flourish without snakes to fear. Our global ecosystem will be severely damaged. So what can we do?

In this book, Marty Crump covers the "state of the species" from common misconceptions about amphibians and reptiles, to their exploitation, to the solutions to the problems of their decline. These include protecting habitats, doing more research about these animals, and enacting protective laws against capturing and killing them. Most of all, it means educating people about the value of these creatures and the need for their conservation.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-The first chapters offer basic information about these two orders of animals and cover their anatomy, defense mechanisms, diet, communication, and reproduction, as well as such interesting oddities as a skink losing a tail to confuse a predator or a parent frog carrying eggs in its vocal sac. This information leads readers into the strength of the book, its detailing of problems confronting these animals, such as loss of habitat; changes in their environment; or the taking of large numbers for use as pets, food, leather goods, or traditional medicines. Readers learn what could be done to change conditions and to help slow down the decline in populations of these orders. Though the opening chapters offer standard material and are rather textbookish, the later chapters about saving these animals are easily read and understood. A few black-and-white drawings and photos are scattered throughout. This book will be useful in science classes and for reports. Interested students might explore a narrower topic in greater depth with Kathryn Phillips's Tracking the Vanishing Frogs: An Ecological Mystery (Viking, 1995) while younger students will be attracted to the colorful photos in Ron Fridell's Amphibians in Danger: A Worldwide Warning (Watts, 1999).
Pam Spencer Holley, Young Adult Literature Specialist, Virginia Beach, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-12. The style is informal without being cute ("about 260 species of turtle share the planet with us today"). The science is focused and rigorous, with detailed text and occasional photos as well as boxed charts about the classification, the habitat, and the behavior of a wide range of amphibians and reptiles. The second half of the book calls on readers to help prevent the extinction of species the author has so carefully described. She speaks with the authority of a noted herpetologist who did fieldwork with the frogs of South America for 30 years and who is still dazzled by the wonder of animal behavior. This volume doesn't have the big, glorious photos of some of the other animal books reviewed in this issue, but the amazing zoological facts combined with the scientist's personal passion will appeal to teen conservationists. Crumps' last words are "Please help." This is an excellent title for reports, with an extensive glossary, a bibliography, and listings of further resources, including Web sites and conservation organizations for those who want to get involved. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 149 pages
• Publisher: Linnet Books (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0208025111
• ISBN-13: 978-0208025111
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,665,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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