SWINGLAND, I. R. & KLEMENS, M. W., eds. (1989)
The Conservation Biology of Tortoises.
Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) No. 5. 204 Seiten.
Published by IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. ISBN 2-88032-986-8.
Aus der Einleitung:
This contribution to the Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) on the status and distribution of the Testudinidae, or terrestrial tortoises, is the result of five years of work by members of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise Specialist Group (which has since become the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group) and is published on the occasion of the First World Congress of Herpetology at the University of Kent, September 1989. This work was stimulated by our lack of knowledge regarding the forty species of tortoises which became apparent at our inaugural meeting at Oxford in October 1981 and our inability to answer many of the basic questions relating to their conservation. It was executed under the title "Operation Tortoise."
We have provided the latest information on each species, including the Latin name, common names, description, taxonomy, geographic variation, status and distribution, habitat and ecology (particularly behaviour, reproduction, and feeding), threats to survival, conservation reserves and recommendations, and current research. We have also provided the most complete bibliography on the Testudinidae ever published.
In drawing up this report we have been concerned that the information is as up-to-date as possible, but we expect, indeed hope, that it will be redundant in a few years as more and more people work on these fascinating animals. We have also been conscious of the needs of the local people and their interests, a vital part of any successful conservation programme as so clearly demonstrated by the Group's successful Project Angonoka/Kapidolo in Madagascar, and the SOPTOM project in southern France. The SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Group Action Plan, also published at the Kent Congress, goes even further in an attempt to integrate scientific and practical conservation.
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