Desert Biology

Special Topics on the Physical and Biological Aspects of Arid Regions

G. W. Brown

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2013
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Print ISBN:
  9781483198682
• Subtopic: Biology
• eBook ISBN:
  9781483223711
• Index: Biological Sciences

Desert Biology: Special Topics on the Physical and Biological Aspects on Arid Regions, Volume I covers the biology, geophysical characteristics, and ways of life in arid regions. This book is composed of 11 chapters, and begins with a brief description of a desert community, the Merkhiyat Jebels, with its diverse fauna and flora. The subsequent chapters look into the climate, geographical distribution, geologic and geomorphic aspects, and the evolution of desert community. These topics are followed by intensive discussions on desert plants, animals, and limnology. The last chapter describes the adaptive processes and human adaptation capacity to arid environments. This book will prove useful to upper division and graduate students in desert biology.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Desert Biology: Special Topics on the Physical and Biological Aspects of Arid Regions
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contets
• Desert Rain
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• VOLUME II: TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED (Tentative)
• CHAPTER I. THE MERKHIYAT JEBELS: A DESERT COMMUNITY
• CHAPTER II. CAUSES, CLIMATES, AND DISTRIBUTION OF DESERTS
• CHAPTER III. GEOLOGIC AND GEOMORPHIC ASPECTS OF DESERTS
• CHAPTER IV. THE EVOLUTION OF DESERT VEGETATION IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
• CHAPTER V. THE BIOLOGY OF DESERT PLANTS
• CHAPTER VI. BIOLOGY OF DESERT AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
• CHAPTER VII. TEMPERATURE REGULATION AND WATER ECONOMY OF DESERT BIRDS
• CHAPTER VIII. TEMPERATURE REGULATION IN DESERT MAMMALS
• CHAPTER IX. DESERT LIMNOLOGY
• CHAPTER X. VENOMS OF DESERT ANIMALS
• CHAPTER XI. HUMAN ADAPTATIONS TO ARID ENVIRONMENTS
• APPENDIX 1
• APPENDIX 2
• APPENDIX 3
• APPENDIX 4
• AUTHOR INDEX
• SUBJECT INDEX
• GENUS AND SPECIES INDEX