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Author: William E. Cook Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 364260353X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 135
Book Description
Unlike mammals, birds are not particularly well suited to desert life. Among the few types of birds that have successfully adapted to the desert ecosystem are the predators. With individual chapters devoted to each of the different species, the book explores those attributes which make this group suited to desert life, and how they have developed their abilities to cope with the prevailing harsh conditions. This readily accessible volume collates a substantial amount of the latest research on this fascinating subject.
Author: William E. Cook Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 364260353X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 135
Book Description
Unlike mammals, birds are not particularly well suited to desert life. Among the few types of birds that have successfully adapted to the desert ecosystem are the predators. With individual chapters devoted to each of the different species, the book explores those attributes which make this group suited to desert life, and how they have developed their abilities to cope with the prevailing harsh conditions. This readily accessible volume collates a substantial amount of the latest research on this fascinating subject.
Author: W. Richard J. Dean Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 366208984X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
My interest in the behaviour and movements of birds of arid and semi-arid ecosystems began when my wife, Sue Milton, and I were Roy Siegfried, Director, at that time, of the Percy approached by Prof. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, to set up a project to investigate granivory in the South African Karoo. Sue and I spent some time finding a suitable study site, setting up accommodations and an automatic weather station at Tierberg, in the southern Karoo near the village of Prince Albert, and planning projects. Among our first projects was a transect where we noted plant phe nology, measured seed densities on the soil surface, counted birds, observed ant activity, measured soil surface temperatures and col lected whatever climate data we could at 40 sites along a 200-km oval route. Along the way, we became interested in the marked presence and absence of birds at certain sites - abundant birds one day, and very few birds at the same site a month later. Subsequent counts along fixed transects through shrublands confirmed that a number of bird species were highly nomadic over short and long distances, locally and regionally, leading to speculation on how widespread these movements were in the arid ecosystems of the world.
Author: Peter Goodfellow Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 069114849X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 83
Book Description
Examines the nests that birds build around the world, including illustrations of each nest type's construction, descriptions of the materials and techniques used during the process, and case studies on specific birds' habitats.
Author: Gordon L. Maclean Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 3642609813 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 188
Book Description
In the Preface to his volume on Ecophysiology of the Camelidae and Desert Ruminants in this series, Trevor Wilson mentions his hesitation at the invitation from John Cloudsley-Thompson to write the book, because he had been out of direct touch with desert biology for some years. My response to John's invitation to write Ecophysiology of Desert Birds was much the same, and for the same reasons. However, with his encouragement and, taking account of the fact that a colleague of mine who is much better suited to do the job had turned it down because of pressure of work, I accepted the challenge and have enjoyed it immensely. It has been my privilege to spend much time in the deserts of North and South America, southern Africa and Australia, some of it with my wife, Cherie, whose editing of the entire text has improved the work immeasurably. Indeed, I believe it would have been proper for her to accept coauthorship, but she graciously declined the offer! I owe her a debt of gratitude which I hope will be repaid in part by her seeing the text finally between covers. The chapters on water regulation (Chap. 5) and thermo regulation (Chap. 6) have benefited from the refereeing of my colleague, Dr. Barry Lovegrove, of the Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
Author: Michael A. Mares Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press ISBN: 0806172290 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 695
Book Description
Encyclopedia of Deserts represents a milestone: it is the first comprehensive reference to the first comprehensive reference to deserts and semideserts of the world. Approximately seven hundred entries treat subjects ranging from desert survival to the way deserts are formed. Topics include biology (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, bacteria, physiology, evolution), geography, climatology, geology, hydrology, anthropology, and history. The thirty-seven contributors, including volume editor Michael A. Mares, have had extensive careers in deserts research, encompassing all of the world’s arid and semiarid regions. The Encyclopedia opens with a subject list by topic, an organizational guide that helps the reader grasp interrelationships and complexities in desert systems. Each entry concludes with cross-references to other entries in the volume, inviting the reader to embark on a personal expedition into fascinating, previously unknown terrain. In addition a list of important readings facilitates in-depth study of each topic. An exhaustive index permits quick access to places, topics, and taxonomic listings of all plants and animals discussed. More than one hundred photographs, drawings, and maps enhance our appreciation of the remarkable life, landforms, history, and challenges of the world’s arid land.
Author: John L. Cloudsley-Thompson Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 3642609775 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 214
Book Description
The exigencies of life in the desert environment have resulted in the se lection of a diversity of adaptations, both morphological and physiologi cal, in the flora and fauna. At the same time, many plants and most small animals are able not merely to exist but even to thrive under desert conditions - mainly by avoiding thermal extremes and by the refine ment of pre-existing abilities to economise in water. In the same way, the biotic interactions of the flora and fauna of the desert do not involve many new principles. Nevertheless, conditions in arid regions frequently do invoke refinements of the complex interrelations between predators and their prey, parasites and their hosts, as well as between herbivores and the plants upon which they feed. In this book, I shall discuss not only such interactions and their feedback effects, but also community processes and population dynamics in the desert. The physical conditions of the desert that principally affect predators and their prey are its openness and the paucity of cover. This is re stricted to scattered plants, occasional rocks, holes, and crevices in the ground. Furthermore, nightfall does not confer relative invisibility, as it does in many other ecobiomes, because of the clarity of the atmosphere. The bright starlight of the desert renders nearby objects visible even to the human eye, while an incandescent moon bathes the empty landscape with a flood of silver light. Consequently, adaptive coloration is func tional at all hours of the day and night.
Author: Gerald E. Wickens Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 3662037009 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 348
Book Description
This book deals with arid and semi-arid environments and their classification, and the physiological restraints and adaptations of plants to the environment. Further, it discusses economic botany and the needs and methods of conserving economic plants. A broad view is taken regarding the definition of economic plants, taking into account their value to the environment as well as to man and to livestock. The individual deserts and associated semi-arid regions are described in separate chapters, providing background information on the regional environments in terms of climate and major plant formations. The economic plants within these formations, their usages, geographical distribution together with their morphological and physiological adaptations are treated in detail.
Author: George P. Stamou Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 3642797520 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 147
Book Description
G.P. Stamou describes the adaptive strategies that allow arthropods to cope with the severity of Mediterranean environments. After an introduction to the structure and function of Mediterranean-type ecosystems, ecophysiological adaptations to water stress and varying temperature are considered. Further, activity patterns and life cycle tactics are discussed in relation to the peculiarity of Mediterranean environments. Phenological patterns and population dynamics as well as community structures are also presented. The volume ends with a synthesis of life history tactics.
Author: Michael Warburg Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 3642603572 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 194
Book Description
A description of the structural and functional adaptations of the key organs such as skin, kidneys, bladder, lungs and ovaries, with special emphasis placed on physiological adaptations: water, electrolyte, nitrogen, and thermal balance and their endocrine control. One whole chapter devoted to ecological aspects covers such exciting topics as development and metamorphosis, larval competition for food resources, and reproductive strategies.
Author: William E. Cook
Author: William E. Cook
Author: W. Richard J. Dean
Author: 
Author: Peter Goodfellow
Author: Gordon L. Maclean
Author: Michael A. Mares
Author: John L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Author: Gerald E. Wickens
Author: George P. Stamou
Author: Michael Warburg