"Turtle Conservation provides a comprehensive analysis of threats to turtles and tortoises worldwide. Considering the most significant problems facing the group, Michael Klemens and eighteen international experts on turtle biology and conservation chart successes and failures of past conservation programs, discuss the use of genetics and demography in turtle conservation, and propose more effective strategies that take into account chelonian biology as well as the economic and social situations affecting turtle conservation efforts. They review the outlook for marine, freshwater, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial species; show how turtles make poor candidates for most wild-harvest programs; and propose that turtle and tortoise conservation efforts be integrated into more broadly focused, locally supported land-use projects." "For land and wildlife managers as well as herpetologists and conservation biologists, this book provides a wide-ranging survey of efforts to conserve one of the world's most ancient and endangered groups."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The most comprehensive book ever written on leatherback sea turtles. Weighing as much as 2,000 pounds and reaching lengths of over seven feet, leatherback turtles are the world’s largest reptile. These unusual sea turtles have a thick, pliable shell that helps them to withstand great depths—they can swim more than one thousand meters below the surface in search of food. And what food source sustains these goliaths? Their diet consists almost exclusively of jellyfish, a meal they crisscross the oceans to find. Leatherbacks have been declining in recent decades, and some predict they will be gone by the end of this century. Why? Because of two primary factors: human redevelopment of nesting beaches and commercial fishing. There are only twenty-nine index beaches in the world where these turtles nest, and there is immense pressure to develop most of them into homes or resorts. At the same time, longline and gill net fisheries continue to overwhelm waters frequented by leatherbacks. In The Leatherback Turtle, James R. Spotila and Pilar Santidrián Tomillo bring together the world’s leading experts to produce a volume that reveals the biology of the leatherback while putting a spotlight on the conservation problems and solutions related to the species. The book leaves us with options: embark on the conservation strategy laid out within its pages and save one of nature’s most splendid creations, or watch yet another magnificent species disappear.

Describes different kinds of turtles, tortoises, and sea turtles and the endangered status of some species.