Conservation Biology of Amphibians of Asia

Amphibians, by virtue of their thin, moist, permeable skins, are poorly protected from harsh environments and are especially susceptible to chemical changes, desiccation and alteration of their habitat. Accordingly, it is not surprising that they have manifest proportionately high extinction rates and suffer more severe declines than most other taxa in an environment undergoing unprecedented anthropogenic change.

There are various websites that indicate the status of amphibians at a particular time and place. These websites change as status changes. The present book does not compete with those. Rather, it indicates the status of amphibians in Asia at the time of publication, but in addition provides an historical baseline — a sort of time-capsule. In one sense, because species of amphibians are going extinct while chapters are being written and put to press, this book will already be going out of date by the time it is published. In another sense, however, it timeless as one can return to it for information on the status at a particular time and as a baseline for assessing subsequent extents and rates of change.

• On Amphibian Biology by Harold Heatwole
• Preface by Harold Heatwole
• Dedication to Ermi Zhao by Kraig Adler
• Contributors
• Changes in Amphibian Populations in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Georgia (Part of the Former Soviet Union) by Sergius L. Kuzmin and C. Kenneth Dodd Jr.
• Conservation and Decline of Amphibians in Mongolia by Sergius L. Kuzmin
• Diversity and Conservation Status of Chinese Amphibians by Jianping Jiang, Feng Xie, and Cheng Li
• The Conservation of Amphibians in Korea by Daesik Park, Mi-Sook Min, Kelly C. Lasater, Jae-Young Song, Jae-Hwa Suh, Sang-Ho Son, and Robert H. Kaplan
• Conservation Status of Japanese Amphibians by Masafumi Matsui
• Status and Decline of Amphibians of Afghanistan by Indraneil Das
• Amphibians of Pakistan and their Conservation Status by Muhammad Sharif Khan
• Status and Decline of Amphibians of India by Indraneil Das and Sushil K. Dutta Sri Lankan Amphibians: Extinctions and Endangerment by Rohan Pethiyagoda, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, and Madhava Meergaskumbura
• Amphibians of the Maldives Archipelago by Indraneil Das
• Status, Distribution, and Conservation Issues of the Amphibians of Nepal by Karan B. Shah
• Status of Amphibian Studies and Conservation in Bhutan by Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal and Indraneil Das
• Status, Distribution and Conservation of the Amphibians of Bangladesh by A.H.M. Ali Reza
• Amphibian Conservation: Myanmar by Guinevere O.U. Wogan
• Decline of Amphibians in Thailand by Yodchaiy Chuaynkern and Prateep Duengkae
• Amphibian Conservation in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia by Jodi J.L. Rowley and Bryan L. Stuart
• Conservation Status of the Amphibians of Malaysia and Singapore by Indraneil Das, Norsham Yaakob, Jeet Sukumaran, and Tzi Ming Leong
• Conservation Status of the Amphibians of Brunei Darussalam by T. Ulmar Grafe and Indraneil Das
• Status and Conservation of Philippine Amphibians by Arvin Diesmos, Angel C. Alcala, Cameron D. Siler, and Rafe Brown
• Human Impact on Amphibian Decline in Indonesia by Djoko T. Iskandar
• Amphibians of Timor-Leste: a Small Fauna under Pressure by Hinrich Kaiser, Mark O’Shea, and Christine M. Kaiser
• Status and Diversity of the Frogs of New Guinea by Allen Allison