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Physiological Ecology Of North American Desert Plants

by Jay Ennis Anderson, R.K. Monson e Stanley D. Smith

60,82€ + 10% CARD

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 Desert environments are among the harshest on earth. Nevertheless many organisms live there. The book describes the adaptations of plants to the extreme conditions in North American deserts.
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Physiological Ecology Of North American Desert Plants

by Jay E. Anderson, Russell Monson e Stanley D. Smith

59,61€ + 10% CARD

 Following a description of the physical and biological characterization of the four North American deserts together with the primary adaptations of plants to environmental stress, the authors go on to present case studies of key species.
ENGLISH

Spatial Ecology Of Desert Rodent Communities

by Boris R. Krasnov, Georgy I. Shenbrot e Konstantin A. Rogovin

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Rodents are conspicuous and important components of the desert biome. Many general concepts in modern community and behavioral ecology use them as a main model. This volume compiles and generalizes data on the spatial structure of desert rodent communities, taking into account both global (biogeographic) and local (ecological) patterns. It is based on studies of rodents in different deserts of the Northern Hemisphere (Karakum, Kyzylkum, Bet-Pak-Dala, Gobi, Thar, Chihuahua, Negev, and North Caspian deserts) as well as on a thorough analysis of the literature.
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Ecophysiology Of Small Desert Mammals

by Allan A. Degen

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Since small mammals have a large surface to mass ratio, one would expect them to quickly dehydrate and perish at high environmental temperatures. Nonetheless, a large number of small mammal species inhabit deserts. This fascinating phenomenon is investigated by Prof. A. Allan Degen in his book. The majority of small desert mammals are rodents, but shrews of several grams and small foxes of 1 kg are also present. Their survival is due mainly to behavioural adaptations and habitat selection, however, physiological adaptations also contribute to the success. Interestingly, many small mammals that live in different deserts of the world show similarities in their adaptive traits although they have different taxonomic affinities.
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Avian Desert Predators

by William E. Cook

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Among the few types of birds that have successfully adapted to desert ecosystems are the predators. This book explores those attributes which make such birds suited to desert life, and how they have developed their abilities to cope with the prevailing harsh conditions.
ENGLISH

Homeostasis In Desert Reptiles

by Sidney Donald Bradshaw

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Deserts, whether hot or cold, are considered to be one of the most difficult environments for living systems, lacking the essential free water which ac counts for approximately 60-70% of their body mass and more than 98% of their constituent atoms {Macfarlane 1978}. Amongst vertebrates, reptiles are usually thought of as the animals most adapted or suited to such environments because of their diurnal habit, based on a need for external heat, and their ability to survive far from obvious sources of water. This impression is rein forced when one examines the composition of vertebrate faunae characteristic of deserts and arid zones: reptiles predominate and they are often the only vertebrates to be found in hyper-arid areas, such as some parts of the Sahara {Monod 1973}. I recently had occasion to examine this assumption carefully, however, and was led inexorably to the conclusion that reptiles represent a particularly successful desert group, not because of their evolution of superior adaptations, but because of their possession of a basic suite of behavioural and physiologi cal characteristics that suit them uniquely to this very resource-limited environment {Bradshaw 1986a}. These fundamental reptilian characteristics are: 1. their low rates of metabolism, compared with birds and mammals, which result in extremely low rates of resource utilisation and lead to considerable economy in the handling of water 2.
ENGLISH

Ecophysiology Of Amphibians Inhabiting Xeric Environments

by Michael Warburg

171,59€ + 10% CARD

 Scarcity of water has brought about a number of structural, behavioural, physiological and ecological adaptations in amphibians inhabiting seasonally xeric habitats. Special emphasis is placed on physiological adaptations: water, electrolyte, nitrogen, and thermal balance and their endocrine control are treated in detail.
ENGLISH

Energetics Of Desert Invertebrates

by Harold Heatwole

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Desert invertebrates live in an environment where resources alternate unpredictably between brief periods of plenty and prolonged scarcity. This text describes the adaptive strategies of desert invertebrates in acquiring energy and sustaining life under such vicissitudes.
ENGLISH

Plants Of Desert Dunes

by Avinoam Danin

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Based on three decades of field experience in southwest Asia, southern Africa, and the southwest United States, the author summarizes the major adaptations of plants to desert dunes. This integrative study of plant and diaspore morphology, reactive growth, life cycles, and environmental factors explains and predicts plant distribution. Many kinds of dune syndromes, plant case studies and vegetation transects are discussed and illustrated to clarify the significance of adaptations to specific habitat factors. Although the focus is on vascular plants, the development of microbiotic soil crust, its function, and its composition are discussed as well.
ENGLISH

Biotic Interactions In Arid Lands

by John L. Cloudsley-Thompson

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 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.
ENGLISH

Structure-Function Relations Of Warm Desert Plants

by Arthur C. Gibson

131,84€ + 10% CARD

 For centuries biologists have been extremely interested in the structure of desert plants as examples of natural selection to harsh environmental conditions. Indeed, desert plants are frequently used as examples in many biology classes and textbooks to illustrate natural selection, but this has led to an unfortunate litany of errors and misconceptions about desert plant adaptations. This new synthesis focuses on plants of lowland tropical and subtropical arid deserts. Readers will be surprised to discover that many features commonly ascribed to desert plants are rareley observed in the most common species. Instead, the typical structural adaptations of nonsucculent warm desert plants are now viewed as ways to maximize photosynthetic rate.
ENGLISH

Ecophysiology Of Desert Birds

by Gordon L. Maclean

59,61€ + 10% CARD

 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.
ENGLISH

Ecophysiology Of The Camelidae And Desert Ruminants

by Richard T. Wilson

59,61€ + 10% CARD

 I have spent less time in the arid zone in the last few years than I did during the 1960''s, 1970''s and early 1980''s. This results from a progression through age and a career structure which gradually shifted the emphasis of my work from being essentially field-oriented to essentially office-hound. When, therefore, I was asked by John Cloudsley-Thompson to undertake the writing of this hook I hesitated for two reasons. One reason was that, although I now had access to good library facilities and kept up with the literature on the arid zones and their fauna, I was not sure that a sedentary and pleasant life in a temperate highland island in tropieal Africa would provide a mental attitude suitable to writing a hook which related to areas where life is usually nomadie and often extremely disagreeable. The other reason was that I was uncertain whether I could devote the time necessary to researehing and writing the hook on top of my professional (which now specifical ly excluded research in the arid zones and on camels) and social (new-found and time-consuming) commitments. In the event I accepted and the fates were kind to me. By some peculiar combination of circumstances I was given the opportunity to spend a considerable part of the first half of 1988 in some of the driest areas of the globe. I had already visited all of the locations used for the construction of Fig. 2.
ENGLISH

Ecophysiology Of Desert Arthropods And Reptiles

by John L. Cloudsley-Thompson

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Ecophysiology of Desert Arthropods and Reptiles starts with a new classification of the world''s deserts, based upon the type of precipitation and the effect on their faunas of arthropods and reptiles. This is followed by an account of microclimates and the avoidance of environmental extremes. Whereas thermoregulation is primarily behavioural, responses to water shortage are largely physiological. Seasonal activity and phenology are described, adaptations for burrowing, the avoidance of enemies, and defence, are also outlined. A comparative account of interspecific relationships, feeding specializations, and species diversity in the two taxa is described. The purpose of the book is to provide a new and up-to-date analysis that will stimulate further research along these lines.
ENGLISH

Seed Germination In Desert Plants

by Yitzchak Gutterman

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 During germination, the most resistant stage of the life cycle - the seed - changes to the most sensitive stage, namely the seedling. Therefore, in desert plant species seed dispersal and subsequent germination in the optimum time an place place are particularly critical parameters. Discussed here are the ways and means by which desert plants have adapted through the course of evolution to their extreme environment. Two such strategies which have evolved are a) plants with relatively large and protected seeds which germinate when the chance of seedling survival is high and the risk relatively low or b) those with an opportunistic strategy: minute seeds which germinate after low rainfall under high risk for seedling survival if additional rain does not follow. Most species adopt a combination of the two mechanisms. Species have adapted both genotypically and phenotypically, both aspects of which are also discussed in this thorough text. The reader is provided with a good understanding of the complex influences on each seed traced through from initial development to germination stage regarding germination preparation and subsequent survival.
ENGLISH

Plant Nutrients In Desert Environments

by Arden D. Day e Kenneth L. Ludeke

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Plant nutrients are found in a relatively thin layer of soil materials that covers all of the continents of the entire world. These plant nutrients provide the necessary food, clothing, and shelter for human existence. As the population of the world increases, the plant nutrients in desert environments become more and more important for the survival of mankind. Plant Nutrients in Desert Environments is a general information book for both professionals and laymen. The common plant nutrients present in deserts are identified, and detailed instructions are given on how to effectively utilize them in commercial agriculture, home gardening, home landscaping, for disturbed land reclamation and for recreational purposes. Outstanding photographs illustrate the topics.
ENGLISH

Behavioural Adaptations Of Desert Animals

by Giovanni Costa

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 After a brief survey of biotopic and vegetational features and an account of the main groups of desert animals, the most unusual patterns of the behaviour of the xerophilous fauna are examined.
ENGLISH

Invertebrates In Hot And Cold Arid Environments

by Lauritz Somme

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 Comparisons are made of the adaptations of invertebrates from polar deserts with those of temperate and subtropical deserts. These regions represent some of the most hostile environments on earth and an array of strategies for survival has been developed. Polar species are well adapted to cold and experience arid conditions due to low precipitation and lack of liquid water during the winter. Similarly, temperate desert invertebrates are adapted to dry conditions and are also exposed to low winter temperatures. Terrestrial arthropods maintain their water balance through behavioural and physiological adaptations. Tardigrades and nematodes are remarkable in their ability to lose all their water, enter a state of anhydrobiosis and be revived when moisture becomes available again.
ENGLISH

Arthropods Of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems

by George P. Stamou

118,59€ + 10% CARD

 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.
ENGLISH

Dispersal Biology Of Desert Plants

by Karen Van Rheede Van Oudtshoorn e Margaretha W. Van Rooyen

264,34€ + 10% CARD

 This is a description of the ways and means - anatomical, morphological and ecological - by which dispersal in desert plants has evolved to ensure the survival of these species in their harsh and unpredictable environment.
ENGLISH

Carnivore Ecology In Arid Lands

by Jacobus Du P. Bothma

171,59€ + 10% CARD

 Focusing on the arid regions of Africa, but making reference to other areas where applicable, this work discusses the ecology of carnivores in arid lands. Emphasis is placed on the canids, felids and hyaenids. Behavioural, physiological and morphological, and ecological adaptations are covered.
ENGLISH

Ecophysiology Of Economic Plants In Arid And Semi-Arid Lands

by Gerald E. Wickens

171,59€ + 10% CARD

 This text focuses on arid and semi-arid environments and their classification, and the physiological restraints and the adaptations of plants to the environment. It also discusses economic botany and the needs and methods of conserving economic plants.
ENGLISH

Desert Arthropods: Life History Variations

by Fred Punzo

171,59€ + 10% CARD

 Provides an account of the life cycles and life history strategies of the major groups of desert arthropods. This book covers a variety of topics including an overview of major adaptations in desert arthropods, characteristic features of deserts, a review of life history theory, and a description of embryonic and postembryonic development.
ENGLISH

Plants In The Deserts Of The Middle East

by Kamal H. Batanouny

237,84€ + 10% CARD

 Usually authors write introductions for their books, although they know that not many readers will read it. Despite this, authors insist on writing an introduction and no publisher will publish a book without one. I would like to inform my dear readers that I have spent almost all of the first quarter of my life in a village in the Nile Delta, 65 km north of Cairo. The everyday scenery there was the beautiful green landscape dissected with canals full of running water. All of these were bordered with the huge sycamore, mulberry and acacia trees. The desert was something unknown to me at that time, except for the very basic information given in geography books, which explained that the desert is a place without water or cultiva tion. Some of my ideas about the desert came to me from the stories in the history of Islam and the desert lands where Islam originated. My real attraction to the desert developed in the last year of my under graduate studies. This was during the field courses in Ecology (Prof. A.M.
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