Stephen J. Mullin

Richard A. Seigel

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.

Ecology and Conservation

Snakes

Joseph T. Collins

This book, first published in 1993 and here reprinted with a new foreword by the authors, is still the most comprehensive survey of snake biology available in a single volume. Authoritative and comprehensive in scope, this important book offers herpetologists, biologists and others interested in the study of snakes a broad survey of snake ecology and behavior, as well as extensive coverage of the literature in bibliographic form. Featuring contributions by leading experts, this definitive reference identifies current areas of research in snake biology. It reports on exciting developments in population genetics, neurobiology, functional morphology, behavioral ecology, evolution, thermoregulation, foraging ecology, sexual dimorphism and conservation strategies. "I strongly recommend this book to anyone conducting or planning to conduct research on snakes. It is certainly a must for any graduate student designing a laboratory or field study on snakes." The Quarterly Review of Biology "Anyone planning to study snake biology will benefit from this book." Southwestern Herpetologists Society Dr. Richard A. Seigel became interested in herpetology while an undergraduate at Rutgers University, where he received his B.A. in Zoology and Physiology in 1977. He continued his work with amphibians and reptiles while getting his M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Central Florida in 1979 and his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1984. He is currently Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University in Maryland. Dr. Siegel's primary research interests are in the population ecology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and has co-authored or edited four texts on the ecology and biology of snakes. From 1993-2000, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Herpetology, the largest international publication in its field. Joseph T. Collins has written more than 200 articles on reptiles, amphibians, and fishes throughout North America and twenty-three books, including: Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America Third Edition (with Roger Conant), Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas Third Edition(with photographs by Suzanne L. Collins), Natural Kansas, An Illustrated Guide to Endangered or Threatened Species in Kansas, (with Suzanne L. Collins, Jerry Horak, Dan Mulhern, William H. Busby, Craig C. Freeman, and Gary Wallace), A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada(with Robert Powell and Errol D. Hooper, Jr.). In 1978, Collins served as president of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (which he co-founded in 1967), the leading international professional society in that field, as president of the Kansas Association of Biology Teachers (1980-1981) and as president of the Kansas Herpetological Society. He was a distinguished delegate to the First World Congress of Herpetology at Canterbury, England in 1989, and was made a Distinguished Life Member of the Kansas Herpetological Society in 1998. Joseph T. Collins is Adjunct Herpetologist for the Kansas Biological Survey, Herpetologist Emeritus for the Natural History Museum at The University of Kansas, Adjunct Curator of Herpetology for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University, and Director of The Center for North American Herpetology (a non-profit foundation).

Ecology and Behavior

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.

Richard A. Seigel

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