ABSTRACT
Preamble This chapter considers the world’s amphibians and reptiles and not just those found in Europe. Their extinct and living forms have been the subject of much fascination to many generations but the study of them (herpetology), up to about the mid-twentieth century, concentrated more on morphology and anatomy. Many early natural history books contain captivating accounts of amphibian and reptilian behaviour and, although often inaccurate, they are worth mentioning occasionally because they were written with so much charm and enthusiasm. It has only been over the last 50 years of the century that there has been a marked increase in the number of serious field studies and ecological research. This research has been dependent on advances in survey methods (see for example Foster and Gent, 1996). More ecological and behavioural studies, especially field studies, on amphibians and reptiles have greatly advanced our knowledge of these animals, and they have helped to dispel many fallacies and to be more rigorous about the use of biological terms. We now know, for example, that amphibians and reptiles are not really coldblooded, that they do not hibernate (in a technical sense of the word), and that species coexisting in the same area or pond can have highly specialized methods for avoiding competition. Most importantly, since many of these animals are now endangered species and in need of active conservation, ecological studies have a major role to play in establishing conservation measures for them.
