Okoboji wetlands A lesson in natural history

The "wetlands" of the title are a glacial moraine in northwestern Iowa in the "prairie pothole" region along the Minnesota border. This area includes marshes, small ponds, several deep lakes, nine state parks, and the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. This little publication is "not a scientific book," not even much of a "lesson in natural history." Rather, it is an uncoordinated collection of anecdotes and essays, mostly about fish and frogs, by more than 20 writers, including Thomas Macbride, founder of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, and one botanist whose only contribution is an essay on dragonflies. A chaotic list of 70 Okoboji birds (dated 1918) includes only seven species of ducks, two warblers, and one hawk. Lannoo has written a major section that deals with his specialty, frogs and salamanders. He places blame for diminishing indigenous amphibian populations on "mismanagement" of wildlife by rigid government bureaucracies and on the introduction of bullfrogs (which apparently eat other frogs). With 16 elegant color plates and many drawings, especially of frogs, the format of this little book is very much to the credit of its publisher. R. S. Platt Jr. Ohio State University