Wildlife of the Deserts

Fülszöveg

Wildlife of the Deserts
Frederic H. Wagner
22S illustrations, including 158 plates in full color
I iii

A blazing sun that sends air temperatures soaring to 50°C (145°F) in the shade . . . windblown sand that carves rocks into bizarre sculpture . . . powder-dry soil that has had no rain for ten years. This environment is one of the harshest on Earth, forcing desert organisms to develop some of the most extreme and fascinating adaptations to cope with hardships they face. Burrowing lizards and rodents literally swim down into the sand to escape the heat, while Bataleur eagles of the Kalahari soar skyward on updrafts of air. During times of abundant food, Bactrian camels store fat in two large and distinctive humps, but in times of scarcity these growths shrink until the animal has merely a slightly arched back.
Those who think all deserts are merely vast seas of sand will be amazed at the variety shown in these pages: deserts shimmering with black stones, blooming with... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Wildlife of the Deserts
Frederic H. Wagner
22S illustrations, including 158 plates in full color
I iii

A blazing sun that sends air temperatures soaring to 50°C (145°F) in the shade . . . windblown sand that carves rocks into bizarre sculpture . . . powder-dry soil that has had no rain for ten years. This environment is one of the harshest on Earth, forcing desert organisms to develop some of the most extreme and fascinating adaptations to cope with hardships they face. Burrowing lizards and rodents literally swim down into the sand to escape the heat, while Bataleur eagles of the Kalahari soar skyward on updrafts of air. During times of abundant food, Bactrian camels store fat in two large and distinctive humps, but in times of scarcity these growths shrink until the animal has merely a slightly arched back.
Those who think all deserts are merely vast seas of sand will be amazed at the variety shown in these pages: deserts shimmering with black stones, blooming with spring poppies and primroses, or dotted with pa m-fringed oases. The illuminating text, accompanied by 158 magnificent color photographs, presents all types of deserts from the Sahara to the Kyzyl Kum of Central Asia, from the Ataeama-Sechura of South America and Mojave of the United States to Australia's great deserts. The text is filled with informative and colorful accounts of pumas and jackrab-bits, roadrunners, sidewinder rattlesnakes, a North American leopard hzard that can run on its hind legs hke a miniature dinosaur, scorpions, woolly tarantulas, and Gila monsters. The desert echoes with sound—the piping of a meadowlark, the scream of a red-tailed hawk, an autumnal chorus of coyotes. And cacti, bearing purple, golden, and crimson flowers, exist in almost endless forms: prickly pear, chollas, and towering saguaro and cardon.
Valuable additions to the text include (Continued on back flap)
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Jacket photograph by Giorgio Guaico/ Bruce Coleman, Inc.
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(Continued from front flap) descriptions and drawings of atmospheric circulation, topography, dune formation, oases, ephemeral lakes, and the accelerated life cycles of the creatures they support. There is also a supplement featuring desert lizards and succulents.
This is a book for anyone who admires the lonely grandeur of deserts and their inhabitants' miraculous capacity to
The Author
Frederic H. Wagner is Associate Dean of Natural Resources, Director of the Ecology Center, and Professor of Wildlife Science at Utah State University. Formerly director of the Desert Biome Project of the U.S. International Biological Program, he has spent time in the deserts of each continent. He has published many , articles as well as longer works on animal ecology, and the ecology of arid lands.
Other Abrams Titles in This Series
Wildlife of the Forests
By Ann and Myron Sutton Wildlife of the Islands By William H. Amos Wildlife of the Mountains By Edward R. Ricciuti Wildlife of the Oceans By Albert C. Jensen Wildlife of the Polar Regions By G. Carleton Ray and M. G. McCormick-Ray Wildlife of the Prairies and Plains By Kai Curry-Lindahl Wildlife of the Rivers By William H. Amos
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