Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Amphibians
Stanley S. Hillman, Philip C. Withers, Robert C. Drewes, and Stanley D. Hillyard
Abstract
Amphibians are the descendants of the first vertebrate class to successfully colonize terrestrial environments. They rely on water more than any other terrestrial group and occupy a unique position between fishes and reptiles. This book provides a synthesis of current research on the ecological and environmental physiology of amphibians, with a particular emphasis on metabolic and water balance strategies associated with the range of habitats, aquatic to terrestrial, that are occupied by extant amphibian species. The topics include the suite of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adap ... More
Amphibians are the descendants of the first vertebrate class to successfully colonize terrestrial environments. They rely on water more than any other terrestrial group and occupy a unique position between fishes and reptiles. This book provides a synthesis of current research on the ecological and environmental physiology of amphibians, with a particular emphasis on metabolic and water balance strategies associated with the range of habitats, aquatic to terrestrial, that are occupied by extant amphibian species. The topics include the suite of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations associated with specific habitats, and the use of systematics in elucidating patterns of evolutionary change. The book includes over one thousand references on basic physiological principles, ecology, phylogeny, and development.
Keywords:
amphibians,
environmental physiology,
physiological ecology,
comparative physiology,
morphotypes,
water,
ions,
temperature,
energy,
metabolism
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2008 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198570325 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198570325.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Stanley S. Hillman, author
Portland State University, USA
Philip C. Withers, author
University of Western Australia
Robert C. Drewes, author
California Academy of Sciences, USA
Stanley D. Hillyard, author
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
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