Bücher der Reihe Adaptations of Desert Organisms

Plant nutrients are found in a relatively thin layer of soil materials that covers all of the continents of the entire world.

Since small mammals have a large surface to mass ratio, one would expect them to quickly dehydrate and perish at high environmental temperatures. 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.

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.

A comparison of the adaptations made by invertebrates in polar deserts with those of temperate and subtropical deserts. Similarly, temperate desert invertebrates have adapted to dry conditions and are also exposed to low winter temperatures.

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.

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.

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.

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. Seasonal activity and phenology are described, adaptations for burrowing, the avoidance of enemies, and defence, are also outlined.

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.

For centuries biologists have been extremely interested in the structure of desert plants as examples of natural selection to harsh environmental conditions.

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.

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.

Desert invertebrates live in an environment where resources alternate unpredictably between brief periods of plenty and prolonged scarcity. The adaptive modes of economizing on scarce energy resources are diverse and lead to an appreciation of the intricate interactions of animals living close to their environmental limits.

Unlike mammals, birds are not particularly well suited to desert life. 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.

Rodents are conspicuous and important components of the desert biome. 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.

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}.