Islands and Snakes

Isolation and Adaptive Evolution

By: Harvey Lillywhite (Editor), Marcio Martins (Editor)

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Hardcover | 15 August 2019

At a Glance

Hardcover
360 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.6 x 16.0 x 2.0

Hardcover

RRP $342.00

$201.75

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Islands and Snakes contains 13 chapters describing ecological systems with foci on snakes and their ecological roles on islands around the world. Each chapter is written by one or more authors who is an authority on that particular system. Summaries of research on the various islands are written in a narrative manner that includes science as well as personal insights in easily understood language. These varied vignettes of science feature islands around the world, and in all cases, fantastic species of snakes and their roles in the community of insular organisms in which they occur. Both challenges and opportunities associated with island life are discussed, as well as the unique attributes of snakes and their conservation as unique and important parts of nature. Chapters include colorful photographs and illustrations, and collectively they convey information on topics that include ecology, behavior, biogeography, physiology, adaptation, and evolutionary biology. An introductory
chapter presents a review and perspective on the historical importance of island ecology and how snakes have contributed to our understanding of evolution and adaptation. The other chapters focus on snakes inhabiting islands associated with Asia, Australia, South America, North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The final chapter features the unique "table top islands" or tepuis of South America as examples of ecological islands where elements of biota have become isolated by geographic features of landscape similarly to oceanic islands.

Industry Reviews

"This fascinating book is highly recommended" -- Ivan Ineich, Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France "Martins and Lillywhite's meta-analysis of snakes on islands includes several factors that would appeal to most students of island including the size and distance of the island from the mainland, species richness, diversity, andinstances of endemism. In many cases their compiled data support the traditional paradigms, thereby providing the reader a reassuring comfort...The taxonomic coverage is broad and includes boids, elapids, viperids, colubrids, and less well-studied clades, such as blind snakes and aquatic file snakes. The reader is assumed to have a working knowledge of the overall taxonomic layout of the snake families and subfamilies, as well as some of the most common genera therein." -- Marshall D. McCue, Sable Systems International, Las Vegas, Nevada "Bottom line: The book is well written by all the authors, the pictures are for the most part quite good, and the information is fun and exciting. BUY IT!" -- Bayard H. Brattstrom, Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, California State University, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation "Making this book a must-read for everybody interested in snakes on islands." -- Reptile Database newsletter "Making this book a must-read for everybody interested in snakes on islands." -- Reptile Database newsletter

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