EXTINCTION IN OUR TIMES : GLOBAL AMPHIBIAN DECLINE

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.


Author - 

James P. Collins is Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment at the School of Life Life Sciences, Arizona State University, and the Assistant Director for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation. 

Martha L. Crump is Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University and the author of Headless Males Make Great Lovers.

SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEW

1) Complete coverage of a complex phenomenon - The authors have accomplished something spectacular here. They have taken a very disturbing and complex story---that has its share of intertwined controversies, to be sure---and assembled a remarkably objective and even-handed summary. The book doesn't foolishly proclaim to have solved all the mysteries, nor offer a silver-bullet panacea for the amphibian crisis. Rather it presents a fully readable retrospective and current review of the crisis of amphibian declines and extinctions and an interesting perspective on how science as a process, and the scientists as people, responded to an unprecedented set of circumstances. The authors do an especially good job at maintaining full objectivity in the face of ongoing controversies and disagreements among scientists. Similarly, to treat fairly the scientists and hypotheses that time has shown to have been "wrong"---or, better said, the ideas and conclusions that are not supported by all of the accumulated data. The nice style adopted by the authors throughout the book is to simply point out which hypotheses are the best supported by the data. There are no "winners" or "losers" among the people and ideas presented in this book, as the authors imply that all contributions to the amphibian crisis have been important.

We have a long way to go in understanding and confronting the ecological catastrophe of global amphibian declines and extinctions. But this book is a complete summary of where we've been and where we are positioned today in this phenomenon. Importantly, the authors also pay especial attention to how we got to our current position of knowledge and conservation action. This aspect of the book makes for a fascinating study of how a completely unorganized cohort of scientists responded when the found themselves suddenly in the face of an overwhelming conservation challenge. In retrospect, the scientists responded quite slowly. But after reading this book, you will realize that no other response was possible.
I hope this book is read carefully by scientists, conservationists, and policymakers working on other aspects of the global environmental crisis. This case study of the amphibian crisis offers many lessons applicable to other biodiversity crises, be it fungal infections in bats or die-offs of coral reefs. The book also offers a complete overview of the phenomenon of amphibian extinctions. I wish all reporters and science writers covering the subject would give this a careful read before beginning their stories! Kudos to the authors for a remarkable and easily absorbable synthesis of a very complex story.

By J. R. Mendelson on August 3, 2009

2) Nice historical overview - The great decline of amphibians was very much in the news during the early 1990's, but since then, not much is heard in the popular press about this issue. Did the problem go away? Did science ever figure out what the cause was? Or has the cause been found and a solution been put into place? Colony colapse disorder and a great decline in honey bees and other pollinators is now very much in the news, and I was curious if there were any similarities between these two cases, where each represented a whole category of animals that were disappearing globally. Also, it is very difficult to measure populations of both amphibians and bees. In particular, the activity of these animals is very much affected by weather, and their populations fluctuate greatly. For some species, you can only find them after a particular weather event, or during the right time of day, at the right time of the year. I was curious how anyone knew that the amphibians were in decline. Last but not least, I knew that a pathogen had been determined to be the 'cause' for the amphibian declines, yet a considerable research effort continues towards determining how various other factors affect amphibian declines, including global warming and habitat loss. So I was curious, is the disease theory widely accepted by herpatologists, nor not? Or are these factors somehow intertwined, with the causes for the declines being more complex than a global epidemic of some sort? This book answers these questions, and it is nicely written in an easy to follow format using an historical prespective: describing how the problem was discovered, how herpatologists rounded up the political support to get the research funding needed to work on finding a solution, how the causes for the declines were elucidated, and where the frogs and salamanders are at today. If you are interested in conservation biology, you will find this an interesting story. It is The Rest of the Story, what happened after the newspapers quit reporting.

By Rose on July 4, 2011

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Extinction in Our Times: Global Amphibian Decline

SAVING THE WHITE LIONS : ONE WOMEN'S BATTLE FOR AFRICA'S MOST SACRED ANIMAL

In this captivating, suspenseful memoir, white lion conservationist Linda Tucker describes her perilous struggle to protect the sacred white lion from the merciless and mafia-like trophy-hunting industry, armed only with her indomitable spirit and total devotion. 
 
Her story begins in 1991 with a heart-stopping misadventure in the Timbavati Reserve of South Africa. Tucker—then a successful advertising executive—and a group of fellow travelers found themselves surrounded by a pride of angry lions. There was no way out, night had fallen, and the battery in their only flashlight was beginning to flicker. Miraculously, a local medicine woman, with two youngsters in tow, passed, trancelike and fearless, through the lions and escorted them all to safety. 
 
For Tucker, that life-threatening experience became a life-changing one. She abandoned her career, left Europe, and returned to Timbavati to track down the medicine woman who had saved her: Maria Khosa. Upon seeing Tucker again, Khosa only smiled and said, “What took you so long?” She had been expecting her, and there was so much to do. Under Khosa’s shamanic tutelage, Tucker learned of her sacred destiny: to be the “keeper of the white lions,” believed to be angelic beings sent to Earth to save humanity at a time of crisis. Khosa also prophesized that the queen of the white lions—the embodiment of the mother of Ra, the sun god—would soon be born, on a day and in a place considered holy by Westerners.
 
On December 25, 2000, in the little South Africa town of Bethlehem, a snowy white lion cub, Marah, was born. From the moment of her first meeting with Marah, Tucker’s story immediately takes off into battle, as she dedicates her every waking moment to prying Marah and her siblings from the grips of the trophy-hunting industry.  
 
Compellingly written in the intimate style of a journal, Tucker describes with unflinching honesty her fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams, all the while unfolding for us an unforgettable tale of adventure, romance, spirituality, and most of all, justice.

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Saving the White Lions: One Woman's Battle for Africa's Most Sacred Animal

THE LAST RHINOS : THE POWERFUL STORY OF ONE MAN'S BATTLE TO SAVE A SPECIES

This is another extraordinary story of life on a South African game reserve from the authors of "The Elephant Whisperer". Life on Lawrence Anthony's game reserve, Thula Thula, is rarely dull, what with spitting cobras endangering his rangers and the unpredictable behaviour of his herd of elephants. But at least his orphaned rhino Heidi is calm around people, and a favourite of staff and guests alike. Until she is brutally slaughtered for her horn. Furious and heartsick, Lawrence heads off to track down the poachers, but also embarks on a bid to save the Congo's last few northern white rhino from extinction. Diplomatic efforts are failing, so he takes action himself, flying into a warzone to negotiate with rebels. Will he survive his most dangerous adventure yet, and will Thula Thula survive the drought that threatens the region? Peopled with unforgettable characters - from the local witch doctor to eccentric conservationist Brendan and the elephants who have such an extraordinary bond with Lawrence, "The Last Rhinos" is a sometimes funny, sometimes moving, always gripping read.

Author -

Lawrence Anthony is a highly respected conservationist and founder of The Earth Organization. His previous titles are The Elephant Whisperer and Babylon's Ark. Graham Spence is a freelance journalist and author.

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The Last Rhinos: The Powerful Story of One Man's Battle to Save a Species

REDACTION : EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT (PART - 1)

Publication Date: October 31, 2011

Updated 8/10/12 with additional scenes

Six months after an Influenza Pandemic swept across the globe, the world is starting to emerge from quarantine. But Pestilence Free Day is short-lived. For an unseen enemy has just been unleashed.

Five people. Seven days.

A brilliant scientist with an apocalyptic forecast

A soldier that needs an enemy to fight

A college student venturing into a changed world

An insurance salesman who exploits every opportunity

A juvenile delinquent desperate to leave his past behind

Redaction: Humanity is about to be erased from the Book of Life

Word Length: 150,000, Edited by TL Hockett, Cathleen Ross


WARNING: This book contains violence, crude language and disturbing sexual references

Also by Linda Andrews:

Redaction: The Meltdown (Part II).

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Redaction: Extinction Level Event (Part I)

THE AYE-AYE AND I : RESCUE JOURNEY TO SAVE ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST INTRIGUING CREATURES FROM EXTINCTION

Here is the riveting tale of Gerald Durrell's adventures and misadventures in the enchanted forests of Madagascar, in search of the elusive Aye-aye.

Once thought to be extinct, the Aye-aye, the beast with the magic finger, still lurks, though in fast dwindling numbers, in the forests of Madagascar. Durrell's mission to help save this strange creature turns into a madcap journey in which you will meet not only the enigmatic Aye-aye, but the catlike Fosa, the Flat-tailed tortoise, the Gentle lemurs of Lac Alaotra, and the Malagasy chameleons, among others. Truly nothing escapes Durrell's sharp eye, whether he is describing the great zoma (market), the village dances, the treacherous bridges and river crossings, the strange foods and stranger music, or the vagaries of local officialdom.

As the San Francisco Chronicle noted, "It is impossible for Gerald Durrell to write anything that is less than exuberant, eccentric, and amusing." And in his account of this "rescue mission", Durrell is, quite simply, at his superb best.

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The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction

HOPE FOR ANIMALS AND THEIR WORLD : HOW ENDANGERED SPECIES ARE BEING RESCUED FROM THE BRINK

About the Author

Jane Goodall is the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees. An internationally renowned conservationist, she is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has received many distinguished awards in science. Dr. Goodall is also the author of many acclaimed books, including the bestseller Reason for Hope.
Thane Maynard is the director of the Cincinnati Zoo.

With the resurgence of red wolves and California condors, there is good news on the species front, as chronicled in this collection of success stories by renowned chimp researcher Goodall. Section one recounts the revival of six mammal and bird species, including Mongolian miniature horses and Australian wallabies, that became extinct in the wild but are being reintroduced to their natural habitat through captive breeding. Section two describes efforts to bring species back from near extinction, among them Brazil's golden lion tamarin and the North American whooping crane. Section three details continuing efforts to preserve 11 species, including the giant pandas of China, whose bamboo diet is disappearing, and the Asian vultures of India, whose disastrous population drop—from a reported 87 million birds to 27 breeding pairs in 2006—has led to a dramatic rise in disease incubated by putrefying cattle carcasses once scavenged by the carrion-loving birds. Goodall is no Pollyanna about species reclamation—she acknowledges that there have been more losses than gains—but these accounts of conservation success are inspirational.

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Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink

MAN AND NATURE : OR PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AS MODIFIED BY HUMAN ACTION ( CLASSIC REPRINT )

Publication Date: July 1, 2012

In the rudest stages of life, man depends upon spontaneous animal and vegetable growth for food and clothing, and his consumption of such products consequently diminishes the numerical abundance of the species which serve his uses.

About the Publisher 

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org

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Man and Nature: Or Physical Geography As Modified By Human Action (Classic Reprint)

DINOSAURS - FOR KIDS - AMAZING ANIMAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

Bestselling author John Davidson presents "Dinosaurs - For Kids – Amazing Animal Books For Young Readers". Beautiful Pictures and easy reading format will help children fall in love with dinosaurs. This is one of over 30 books in the Amazing Animal Books for Young Readers Series. http://AmazingAnimalBooks.com 

The series is known as one of the most beautiful on the kindle. The pictures look great even in black and white and are excellent on the full color kindle. 
Lots of facts and photos will help your children learn about these wonderful animals. Children are given a well-rounded understanding of dinosaurs: anatomy, feeding habits and behavior.

*** You and your kids will love learning about dinosuars

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Dinosaurs
2. Facts about Dinosaurs
3. Dinosaur Extinction
4. Dinosaur Fossils
5. Dinosaur Eggs
6. Dinosaur Names
7. Dinosaur Diet
8. Feathered Dinosaurs
9. Plant Eating Dinosaurs
10. The Weirdest Dinosaurs
11. The Deadliest Dinosaurs
12. Flying Dinosaurs
13. Kinds of Dinosaurs
14. The Biggest Dinosaurs
15. The Smallest Dinosaurs

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Facts about Dinosaurs

1. Dinosaurs are reptiles that lived on earth over 230 million years ago.

2. The world Dinosaur originated from Greek meaning terrible lizard.

3. Dinosaurs are extinct and cannot be found on earth alive right now but their fossils can be extracted for study.

4. The heaviest dinosaur weighed about 80 tones, it was called brachiosaurus. Brachiosaurus had a height of 16 meters and a length of 26 meters. Its skeleton is kept in a museum on earth having the record of the greatest skeleton ever stored.

5. Dinosaur laid eggs which can be found in many shapes .The eggs can be 30 centimeters in length. The smallest egg of a dinosaur ever found on earth is about 3 centimeters in length.

6. When dinosaur eggs become fossils they harden like rocks but maintain their structure.

7. Troodon is the most intelligent dinosaur .It used to hunt, its length is about 2 meters .Its brain was equal to the brain of the present day mammal .It had grasping hands and stereoscopic vision.

8. Ostrich mimic ornithomiminds was the fastest dinosaur .It was able to reach maximum speeds of 60 kilometers per hour.

9. The oldest dinosaurs which are 230 million years old were found in Madagascar.

10. Micropachycephalosaurus is the longest name of a dinosaur which means tiny thick headed lizard .It was discovered through fossils that were found in China.

11. Thecodontosaurus Antiquus was the oldest dinosaur to be discovered in Britain .It was discovered in 1970 in a place near Bristol. It was 2.1 meters in length and depended on vegetation for food.

12. Up to present over 700 species of dinosaurs have been discovered and named. Paleontologists are carrying out more research with an aim of discovering more.

13.108 species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Britain alone.

14. Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to be formerly named. It was named in 1824. 

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Dinosaurs - For Kids - Amazing Animal Books for Young Readers

AUSTRALIA ' S MAMMAL EXTINCTIONS : A 50,000 - YEAR HISTORY

Publication Date: March 12, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0521849187 | Edition: 1

Of the forty mammal species known to have vanished in the world in the last 200 years, almost half have been Australian. Our continent has the worst record of mammal extinctions, with over 65 mammal species having vanished in the last 50 000 years. It began with the great wave of megafauna extinctions in the last ice-age, and continues today, with many mammal species vulnerable to extinction. The question of why mammals became extinct, and why so many became extinct in Australia has been debated by experts for over a century and a half and we are no closer to agreement on the causes. This book introduces readers to the great mammal extinction debate. Chris Johnson takes us on a detective-like tour of these extinctions, uncovering how, why and when they occurred.

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Australia's Mammal Extinctions: A 50,000-Year History

SCATTER , ADAPT , AND REMEMBER : HOW HUMANS WILL SURVIVE A MASS EXTINCTION

Release date: May 14, 2013 | ISBN-10: 0385535910 | ISBN-13: 978-0385535915

In its 4.5 billion–year history, life on Earth has been almost erased at least half a dozen times: shattered by asteroid impacts, entombed in ice, smothered by methane, and torn apart by unfathomably powerful megavolcanoes. And we know that another global disaster is eventually headed our way. Can we survive it? How?

As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference.
It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters—from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation—resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. But in Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, Annalee Newitz, science journalist and editor of the science Web site io9.com explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just 
during the last million years—but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions. 
     This brilliantly speculative work of popular science focuses on humanity’s long history of dodging the bullet, as well as on new threats that we may face in years to come. Most important, it explores how scientific breakthroughs today will help us avoid disasters tomorrow. From simulating tsunamis to studying central Turkey’s ancient underground cities; from cultivating cyanobacteria for “living cities” to designing space elevators to make space colonies cost-effective; from using math to stop pandemics to studying the remarkable survival strategies of gray whales, scientists and researchers the world over are discovering the keys to long-term resilience and learning how humans can choose life over death.
     Newitz’s remarkable and fascinating journey through the science of mass extinctions is a powerful argument about human ingenuity and our ability to change. In a world populated by doomsday preppers and media commentators obsessively forecasting our demise, Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a compelling voice of hope. It leads us away from apocalyptic thinking into a future where we live to build a better world—on this planet and perhaps on others. Readers of this book will be equipped scientifically, intellectually, and emotionally to face whatever the future holds.

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Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY OF OSTRACODA : ITS FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS (DEVELOPMENTS IN PALAEONTOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY)

There are many competitive works on the market concerning evolutionary biology, but this volume is quite distinctive in its idiographic aspect focusing on Ostracoda viewed from a wide range of disciplines, ages and environments. The book deals with various lines of idiographic biology and palaeontology of Ostracoda and nomothetic trials focusing strongly on evolutionary biology. Particular themes are morphology, biology, evolution, speciation, ecology, palaeoecology, deep sea fauna, biogeography, palaeobiogeography, biostratigraphy and exploration, all concerning Ostracoda.

The last decade has witnessed a spectacular renewal of interest in the study of Otracoda, particularly in the evolutionary biology of Ostracoda, including speciation. Ostracoda are unique, ranging in age from the Cambrian period to modern times with carapaces ready to be preserved as fossils, providing various lines of invaluable evidence regarding evolutionary processes.

More than 120 participants from 20 countries assembled at the Ninth International Symposium on Ostracoda and this book is a collection of all the papers presented at the Symposium, plus selected papers submitted by non-attending members. It presents an outstanding record of much pioneering research and will be of interest to specalists in Ostracoda as well as all earth and life scientists concerned with evolution. Its value is further enhanced by easy-to-use indexes of authors, localities and taxa.

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Evolutionary Biology of Ostracoda: Its Fundamentals and Applications (Developments in Palaeontology and Stratigraphy)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DINOSAURS ?: A BOOK ABOUT EXTINCTION (FIRST FACTS)

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: First Facts

Provides an explanation of extinction, including what it is, why it happens, and how people can help stop animal and plant extinction from happening.

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What Happened to the Dinosaurs?: A Book about Extinction (First Facts)

THE SOULS OF ANIMALS

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Why do elephants bury their dead? What makes birds sing and cranes dance? Do animals appreciate art? Do they know the difference between right and wrong? Do they experience awe and wonder?
In this revised second edition of his celebrated book, Reverend Gary Kowalski combines heartwarming stories with solid science to show that other creatures are not insensitive objects devoid of feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient beings with an inward, spiritual life.

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The Souls of Animals

ANIMAL EXTINCTIONS PB (NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK SYMPOSIA FOR THE PUBLIC SERIES)

Publication Date: December 17, 1985 | Series: National Zoological Park Symposia for the Public Series

Animal Extinctions: What Everyone Should Know, by Hoage, R.J.. 8vo.

The Smithsonian held its first National Zoological Park Symposium for the Public in September 1982. Twelve world-renowned experts delivered talks on aspects of animal extinction geared for informed laypersons. This volume collects those papers, delivered by Paul Ehrlich, anthropologist Colin Turnbull, Thomas Lovejoy of the World Wildlife Fund, Robert Jenkins of the Nature Conservancy, and others. Most speakers agreed that mobilizing public support for conservation is vital; without it existing efforts are little more than environmental triage. Containing enough technical information to interest college students or people engaged in conservation activities, nevertheless these papers are easily understood by neophytes. Laurie Tynan, Huntingdon Cty. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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ANIMAL EXTINCTIONS PB (National Zoological Park Symposia for the Public Series)