Avian Desert Predators

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Avian Desert Predators

William E. Cook
Avian Desert Predators Book PDF

Author : William E. Cook
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 135 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642603532

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Avian Desert Predators by William E. Cook Pdf

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.

Nomadic Desert Birds

W. Richard J. Dean
Nomadic Desert Birds Book PDF

Author : W. Richard J. Dean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2013-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783662089842

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Nomadic Desert Birds by W. Richard J. Dean Pdf

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.

Encyclopedia of Deserts

Michael A. Mares
Encyclopedia of Deserts Book PDF

Author : Michael A. Mares
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
Page : 695 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2017-01-19
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780806172293

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Encyclopedia of Deserts by Michael A. Mares Pdf

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.

Nomadic Desert Birds

W. Richard J. Dean
Nomadic Desert Birds Book PDF

Author : W. Richard J. Dean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Nature
ISBN : 3540403930

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Nomadic Desert Birds by W. Richard J. Dean Pdf

There are two basic strategies for coping with life in the desert. The first involves withstanding the extreme conditions using behavioural or physiological tactics. The second strategy is to be a migrant and to opportunistically or seasonally move to where the necessary resources are. Nomadism, i.e. the opportunistic and irregular movements from resource-poor to resource-rich patches, is a tactic that birds, with their mobility, can use, and it is explored by W.R.J. Dean in this volume. For many bird species, such movements between habitats or across landscapes to find patches of resources are essential for their continued existence. The relationship between climate, habitat and movements in the avifauna of arid and semi-arid regions and the advantages and disadvantages of a seasonally migratory or opportunistically nomadic lifestyle are elucidated.

Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants

Yitzchak Gutterman
Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants Book PDF

Author : Yitzchak Gutterman
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642559747

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Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants by Yitzchak Gutterman Pdf

Annual desert plant species of unrelated taxa in the Negev Desert of Israel have developed complementary sets of adaptations and survival strategies as ecological equivalents with physiological, morphological and anatomical resemblances, in the various stages of their life cycles. After 40 years of research in hot deserts Yitzchak Gutterman provides a comprehensive treatise of such adaptations and strategies. In doing so he covers the following topics: post-maturation primary seed dormancy, which prevents germination of maturing seeds before the summer; seed dispersal mechanisms with escape or protection strategies; cautious or opportunistic germination strategies; seedling drought tolerance. The day-length is an important factor in regulating flowering as well as the phenotypic plasticity of seed germination which is also affected by maternal factors.

Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants

Karen van Rheede van Oudtshoorn,Margaretha W. van Rooyen
Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants Book PDF

Author : Karen van Rheede van Oudtshoorn,Margaretha W. van Rooyen
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2013-03-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783662035610

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Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants by Karen van Rheede van Oudtshoorn,Margaretha W. van Rooyen Pdf

Dispersal processes have important effects on plant distribution and abundance. Although adaptations to long range dispersal (telechory) are by no means rare in desert plants, many desert plant species do not possess any features to promote dispersal (atelechory), while others have structures that hamper dispersal (antitelechory). The high frequency with which atelechorous and antitelechorous mechanisms are present in plants inhabiting arid areas indicates the importance of these adaptations. Among the benefits derived from these adaptations are the spreading of germination over time, the provision of suitable conditions for germination and subsequent seedling establishment, and the maintenance of a reservoir of available seeds (seed bank). This book describes 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.

Plants in the Deserts of the Middle East

Kamal H. Batanouny
Plants in the Deserts of the Middle East Book PDF

Author : Kamal H. Batanouny
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2000-12-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 3540525726

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Plants in the Deserts of the Middle East by Kamal H. Batanouny Pdf

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.

Desert Arthropods: Life History Variations

Fred Punzo
Desert Arthropods Life History Variations Book PDF

Author : Fred Punzo
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 1999-12-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783540660415

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Desert Arthropods: Life History Variations by Fred Punzo Pdf

It is difficult for me to recollect a time when I was not fascinated with the very notion of a desert. Walt Disney's film, The Living Desert, which I initially saw when I was 8 years of age, provided me with my first glimpse of this wondrous yet seemingly ho stile environment. The images were hypnotic and captivating. I looked on in amazement at the promenade Cl deux of the male and female scorpions during courtship. Their rhythmic and coordinated movements as they grasped one another made them appear to glide in unis on over the surface of the sand, each individual totally absorbed with its partner. In the next minute the fern ale had suddenly and utterly transformed herself like some Jekyll and Hyde act, into an aggressive predator whose prior gregarious embrace was now a hold of death for the male. The indomitable desert grasshopper mouse, the ever sentient kit fox, the graceful shovel-nosed snake swimming in an endless sea of sand.

Homeostasis in Desert Reptiles

Sidney Donald Bradshaw
Homeostasis in Desert Reptiles Book PDF

Author : Sidney Donald Bradshaw
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642603556

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Homeostasis in Desert Reptiles by Sidney Donald Bradshaw Pdf

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.

Ecophysiology of Desert Birds

Gordon L. Maclean
Ecophysiology of Desert Birds Book PDF

Author : Gordon L. Maclean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Nature
ISBN : 3540592695

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Ecophysiology of Desert Birds by Gordon L. Maclean Pdf

The scientific study of birds in arid regions has been conducted more or less intensively for about 40 years. This is an appropriate time to draw together the threads of the diverse research on birds living in such an extreme environment. Topics include: Desert Avifaunas; Food and Energy; Water - Drinking; Water Regulation; Thermoregulation; Timing of Breeding; Ecology of Breeding.

Ecophysiology of Desert Birds

Gordon L. Maclean
Ecophysiology of Desert Birds Book PDF

Author : Gordon L. Maclean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2013-12-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642609817

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Ecophysiology of Desert Birds by Gordon L. Maclean Pdf

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.

Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Gerald E. Wickens
Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi Arid Lands Book PDF

Author : Gerald E. Wickens
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2013-04-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783662037003

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Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands by Gerald E. Wickens Pdf

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.

Biotic Interactions in Arid Lands

John L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Biotic Interactions in Arid Lands Book PDF

Author : John L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 214 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642609770

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Biotic Interactions in Arid Lands by John L. Cloudsley-Thompson Pdf

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.

Arthropods of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems

George P. Stamou
Arthropods of Mediterranean Type Ecosystems Book PDF

Author : George P. Stamou
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 147 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642797521

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Arthropods of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems by George P. Stamou Pdf

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.

Ecophysiology of Amphibians Inhabiting Xeric Environments

Michael Warburg
Ecophysiology of Amphibians Inhabiting Xeric Environments Book PDF

Author : Michael Warburg
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642603570

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Ecophysiology of Amphibians Inhabiting Xeric Environments by Michael Warburg Pdf

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.