![]() ![]() The differences between the two groups are substantial. The reptile problemĭespite the fact that reptiles and amphibians are often considered collectively, reptile declines deserve spotlighting and elucidating in their own right. The worldwide amphibian decline problem, as it has come to be known, has garnered significant attention not only among scientists but also in the popular media and in political circles. Furthermore, the means of determining a species' conservation status is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and therefore counts of “officially” recognized endangered and threatened species are likely to grossly underestimate the actual number of imperiled species (Table 1). 1999), which have been the subject of numerous, well-documented scientific studies.īecause amphibians are distributed worldwide, but herpetologists who document amphibian declines are not, it is difficult to accurately assess what portion of amphibian populations are experiencing significant declines or have already disappeared. Thus, public attitudes about the need for conservation of reptiles are probably linked to concern about amphibian declines and deformities (Alford and Richards 1999, Johnson et al. For example, the Boy Scout merit badge pamphlet for herpetology was called simply Reptile Study from 1926 to 1993 ( Conant 1972, Gibbons 1993), and major zoos (e.g., National Zoo in Washington, DC Zoo Atlanta and San Diego Zoo) use only the name “reptile” to refer to the facility that houses both amphibians and reptiles. Increased awareness may stem from better education about threats to biodiversity in general, and to reptiles and amphibians in particular, and possibly even from an innate attraction to these taxa ( Kellert and Wilson 1993).įrom the perspective of many nonscientists, the two vertebrate classes comprising reptiles and amphibians, collectively referred to as the herpetofauna, are interchangeable. ![]() In recent years, as overall environmental awareness among the public has increased, concerns have come to include interest in the ecological state of reptile and amphibian species themselves and of their habitats. Fortunately, this opinion from the Golden Guide Series does not persist today most people have come to recognize the value of both reptiles and amphibians as an integral part of natural ecosystems and as heralds of environmental quality ( Gibbons and Stangel 1999). If they should all disappear, it would not make much difference one way or the other” ( Zim and Smith 1953, p. As a group are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad,’ but iare interesting and unusual, although of minor importance. ![]()
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