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Destruction of habitat due to urban sprawl, pollution, and deforestation has caused population declines or even extinction of many of the world's approximately 2,600 snake species. Furthermore, misconceptions about snakes have made them among the most persecuted of all animals, despite the fact that less than a quarter of all species are venomous and most species are beneficial because they control rodent pests. It has become increasingly urgent, therefore, to develop viable conservation strategies for snakes and to investigate their importance as monitors of ecosystem health and indicators of habitat sustainability.
In the first book on snakes written with a focus on conservation, editors Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel bring together leading herpetologists to review and synthesize the ecology, conservation, and management of snakes worldwide. These experts report on advances in current research and summarize the primary literature, presenting the most important concepts and techniques in snake ecology and conservation. The common thread of conservation unites the twelve chapters, each of which addresses a major subdiscipline within snake ecology. Applied topics such as methods and modeling and strategies such as captive rearing and translocation are also covered. Each chapter provides an essential framework and indicates specific directions for future research, making this a critical reference for anyone interested in vertebrate conservation generally or for anyone implementing conservation and management policies concerning snake populations.
Omar Attum, Indiana University Southeast
Steven J. Beaupre, University of Arkansas
Xavier Bonnet, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Frank T. Burbrink, College of Staten Island-The City University of New York
Gordon M. Burghardt, University of Tennessee
Todd A. Castoe, University of Colorado
David Chiszar, University of Colorado
Michael E. Dorcas, Davidson College
Lara E. Douglas, University of Arkansas
Christopher L. Jenkins, Project Orianne, Ltd.
Glenn Johnson, State University of New York at Potsdam
Michael Hutchins, The Wildlife Society
Richard B. King, Northern Illinois University
Bruce A. Kingsbury, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Thomas Madsen, University of Wollongong (Australia)
Stephen J. Mullin, Eastern Illinois University
James B. Murphy, National Zoological Park
Charles R. Peterson, Idaho State University
Kent A. Prior, Parks Canada
Richard A. Seigel, Towson University
Richard Shine, University of Sydney
Kevin T. Shoemaker, College of Environmental Science and Forestry-State University of New York
Patrick J. Weatherhead, University of Illinois
John D. Willson, University of Georgia
Reviews
"Snakes: Ecology and Conservation is an important and excellent book. The choice of topics is timely and each chapter offers something novel."—Harry W. Greene, Cornell University, author of Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature
"Yet another authoritative and cutting-edge volume on the biology of snakes, organized and written with the same attention to detail and scientific accuracy as its predecessors,
Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and
Snakes: Ecology and Behavior. Add this alongside them on your library bookshelf; it is an essential tome for all researchers interested in serpents."—Joseph T. Collins, Director, The Center for North American Herpetology, and Herpetologist, The University of Kansas
"This timely compilation by Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel, with contributions by the world’s top experts in snake biology, will rapidly become the foundation for future herpetological research and management involving snakes. In addition to being an indispensable source for every professional herpetologist and anyone else interested in snake ecology and conservation, this book will serve as a cornerstone reference for land managers and conservation biologists anywhere snakes occur."—J. Whitfield Gibbons, University of Georgia
About the Author
Stephen J. Mullin is Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Eastern Illinois University. Richard A. Seigel is Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences at Towson University and the author or editor of several books, including Snakes: Ecology and Behavior, Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology.
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