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Amphibian species around the world are unusually vulnerable to a variety of threats, by no means all of which are properly understood. Volume 11 in this major series is published in parts devoted to the causes of amphibian decline and to conservation measures in regions of the world. This volume, Part 4 in the series, is concerned with Southern Europe (Italy, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Cyprus).
Each chapter has been written by experts from each country, describing the ecological background and the conservation status of affected species, with an emphasis on native species. As well as infectious diseases and parasites, threats take the form of introduced and invasive species, pollution, destruction and alteration of habitat, and climatic change. These are discussed as they affect each species. All these countries have monitoring schemes and conservation programs, whose origins and activities are described. Recommendations for action are also made.
Edited by leading scholars in the field, Volume 11, when complete, will provide a definitive survey of the amphibian predicament and a stimulus to further research with the objective of arresting the global decline of an entire class of animal.
Studies of population declines have increasingly dominated global research effort on amphibians since the first World Congress on Herpetology in 1989. As has been often pointed out, this now legendary meeting bought together specialists from many countries and when they compared their individual observations, they realized that amphibian declines were widespread in occurrence around the world. A search for a common cause examined many possibilities, among them the accelerating habitat alteration by ever-increasing human populations, increased human harvesting for food and the pet trade, effects of introduced species, pollution, parasites, the spread of the chytrid fungus, and the effects of ultraviolet light and global warming.
Volume 11 tackles aspects of regional declines as the latest in a wide-ranging comprehensive series of volumes on amphibian biology. Each of the volume’s 4 parts, issued separately, is devoted to regional causes of amphibian declines and the conservation measures attempted. Part 4 contains chapters 39 to 53 authored by one to three of the 25 regional researchers concerned with Southern Europe and Turkey, who contributed to chapters on Italy, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Cyprus. The cover features a male Bombina floating on the surface of a breeding site in Hungary. Each chapter summarizes, for the included country, amphibian habitat, species present, their population status, and the extent of studies to date. Many have useful tables and graphs. Also included are the existing protection, major threats, monitoring schemes and conservation programmes and action recommendations. Each country account has its own references section, the majority of included titles are in English but contributions in several other languages add to their comprehensiveness. Virtually all references were published in the 1990s and 2000s. An index to species in all accounts concludes the book.
The editors have solid credentials for assembling the many contributions. Their wide contacts are reflected by their positions and experience. Harold Heatwole is an ecologist and herpetologist currently Professor of Biology at North Carolina State University and Adjunct Professor of Zoology at the University of New England. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. John W. Wilkinson is a conservation biologist specializing in monitoring amphibians and reptiles. For eight years he was International Coordinator of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force and is currently Science Program Manager for the charity Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.
This collection is a welcome contribution to help balance the dominance of current northern research output from North America. They provide additional and broader context to the perspective of the problem and comparison of the study approaches underway in a different continent. Although the western and eastern northern continents have no amphibian species in common, they share many similar genera and habitats available to them. Not surprisingly the most dominant threats to amphibians are common to both: habitat loss due to human activities, over harvest, and introduced species. Increasingly, the chytrid fungus is being detected, likely spread by human introductions from contaminated areas. Even in relatively lesser developed countries, highway mortality and poaching are also concerns. Present ongoing studies will at least provide a baseline for future measurement of the success, or lack of it, of current conservation measures that are being attempted to assure a sample of the biodiversity of their region survives.
— Francis R. Cook
Harold Heatwole is an ecologist and herpetologist. His first PhD (University of Michigan) dealt with habitat use by amphibians, but then he branched out and studied other taxa, mostly reptiles and amphibians, but also ants, tardigrades, and seabirds. He earned a second PhD in Botany with a dissertation on the dynamics of vegetation on coral cays on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia (University of Queensland). He completed his education with a PhD in Geography (James Cook University) and a DsC (University of New England, Australia). He had faculty appointments at the University of Puerto Rico, University of New England, and currently is Professor of Biology at North Carolina State University and Adjunct Professor of Zoology at the University of New England. He is editor in Chief of the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club.
John W. Wilkinson is a conservation biologist specializing in studying and monitoring amphibians and reptiles. He started working with herpetofauna whilst an undergraduate and now nobody will give him a proper job. For eight years he was International Coordinator of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force and is currently Science Program Manager for the charity Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. John's PhD thesis was on toad conservation - it just made him realize how much more there is to find out...
39 The amphibians of the Italian region: A review of conservation status - Franco Andreone
40 Amphibian conservation and declines in Malta - Patrick J. Schembri
41 Conservation and declines of amphibians in Croatia - Olga Jovanović and Dušan Jelić
42 Conservation and declines of amphibians in Slovenia - David Stanković, Martina Lužnik, and Katja Poboljšaj
43 Conservation and decline of European amphibians: The Republic of Serbia - Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailović and Momir Paunović
44 Amphibian declines and conservation in Montenegro - Ruža Ćirović
45 Status of amphibians in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Avdul Adrović
46 Conservation and protection status of amphibians in Macedonia - Bogoljub Sterijovski
47 Amphibians of Albania - Idriz Haxhiu
48 Declines and conservation of amphibians in Greece - Konstantinos Sotiropoulos and Petros Lymberakis
49 Amphibian conservation and decline in Romania - Dan Cogălniceanu and Laurenţiu Rozylowicz
50 Conservation and decline of amphibians in Hungary - Judit Vörös, István Kiss, and Miklós Puky
51 Conservation and declines of amphibians in Bulgaria - Nikolay Dimitrov Tzankov and Georgi Sashev Popgeorgiev
52 Amphibian conservation and decline in Turkey - Kurtuluş Olgun and Nazan Üzüm
53 Conservation of amphibians in Cyprus - Petros Lymberakis, Haris Nicolaou, and Konstantinos Sotiropoulos
Index