Islands and Snakes

I began reading this book with a somewhat cynical eye. Snakes on islands are certainly interesting, especially to an evolutionary ecologist like myself, but can we really argue that they are especially useful model systems to explore general issues in ecology and evolution? After all, snakes are difficult animals to work with, and islands are difficult places to access. Is there some- thing about island life and its novel opportunities and threats that induces spectacular and consistent shifts in snake biology? The clear answer, from this well-produced volume, is a resounding yes.

Autorentext
Dr. Harvey B. Lillywhite is Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Florida. He is past Director of the Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory and has held international visiting positions at six universities, NASA-Ames Research Laboratory, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He has published 4 books and numerous articles related to biology of snakes, with emphasis on understanding adaptation of structure and function relating to ecology, behavior and evolution. Dr. Lillywhite has conducted field research in Costa Rica, Australia, India, Fiji, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia. He was listed in the top 2% of scientists worldwide based on standardized citation indicators. Dr. Marcio Martins is a Full Professor of Ecology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He has published 4 books and numerous scientific articles on the natural history, ecology, and conservation of frogs and snakes, including several studies on island snakes from Brazil and Mexico. He has been participating actively in the production of red lists of amphibians and reptiles (both in Brazil and for the IUCN). He was the president of the Brazilian Society of Herpetology (BSH) from 2011 to 2019 and is now a member of the IUCN Viper Specialist Group.

Klappentext
This book brings together various topics related to snakes that live on islands. It deals with aspects of island habitats that are either favourable or harsh for the persistence of island populations, and how snakes came to be successful inhabitants of islands. Special features of island snakes are described, and the reader is made aware of how interesting these animals are and why they should be protected and conserved.

Zusammenfassung
In this follow-up to Islands and Snakes, this book contains 15 chapters describing diversity and conservation of snakes on islands, with foci on selected island systems not previously summarized. Attendant topics include biogeography, plasticity and evolutionary responses to insular conditions, invasive species, importance and collapse of trophic systems, threats to insular snake populations, and strategies of conservation to save them. Chapters include descriptions of snake faunas on larger islands such as Borneo and New Guinea; reproductive biology of insular snakes; phenotypic evolution; physiology and growth patterns related to diet and environment; patterns of endemism; taxonomy of snake radiations; and history of invasions by snakes on islands. The final chapter presents a discussion of prospects and overview of conservation of snakes on islands. Chapters are contributed by international authorities on respective island-and-snake systems. The latter include some islands or archipelagos that are young, or of high importance, or support snake populations that were previously not well known. The content includes colourful photographs, informative illustrations, and in some cases synthesis of new data relevant to the importance of islands for understanding the ecological underpinnings and genesis of biodiversity. Each chapter is appropriately referenced with citations to scientific literature, and where useful, footnotes, tables and graphic information supporting the narrative of the respective subject matter. The overall presentation is intended to provide readers with an enhanced appreciation for islands and the spectacular snakes that might live there.

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