Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Amphibians

Stan Hillman is Professor and Chair of Biology at Portland State University. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1977 from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of many papers on aspects of the osmotic, metabolic and cardiovascular physiology of amphibians from three continents. Philip Withers is Professor of Zoology at the University of Western Australia. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1976 from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of over 200 publications on the physiology and ecology of vertebrates, and has extensive research experience with metabolic, osmotic and cardiovascular physiology of amphibians from four continents. He is the author of a textbook on Comparative Animal Physiology. Robert Drewes is Curator of Herpetology at the California Academy of Sciences. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of over 70 papers and two books on aspects of amphibian taxonomy, distributions and environmental physiology from species spanning three continents. He brings the taxonomic expertise so important in phylogenetic analyses of variation as well as an incredible field experience of the African amphibian fauna; he curates one of the largest museum collections of African amphibians and reptiles in the world. Stan Hillyard is Professor of Biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He ontained his Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of over 50 papers on aspects of the control of cutaneous water and ion absorption in amphibian skin. He has a unique background in the utilization of amphibians as model systems for general physiology, with a strong appreciation for grounding in environmental relevance. He also has extensive experience with researchers and the amphibian fauna of Europe.

1. Introduction ; 2. General Physiological Principles ; 3. Specialized Physiological Characteristics of Amphibia ; 4. Physiological Adaptations to Extreme Environments ; 5. Approaches and Techniques ; 6. Conclusions and Future Directions