عنوان

Biology of Desert Invertebrates

3540108076

3642857949

9783540108078

9783642857942

b574709

Biology of Desert Invertebrates

[Book]

by Clifford S. Crawford.

Berlin, Heidelberg

Springer Berlin Heidelberg

1981

(xvi, 314 pages 181 illustrations)

1 Deserts and Desert Invertebrates --; 1 Perspectives --; 2 The Array of Desert Invertebrates --; Summary Comments: Part 1 --; 2 Adaptations to Xeric Environments --; 3 The Use of Light and Timing of Activity --; 4 Water Relations: Short-Term Water Balance --; 5 Seasonal Water Relations: Long-Term Water Balance --; 6 Temperature Relations --; 7 Energetics --; Summary Comments: Part 2 --; 3 Life-History Patterns --; 8 Short Lives: Multivoltine Species --; 9 Short Lives: Univoltine Species --; 10 Long Lives: Herbivores and Detritivores --; 11 Long Lives: Carnivores --; Summary Comments: Part 3 --; 4 Invertebrate Communities: Composition and Dynamics --; Introduction: Use of the Community Concept --; 12 Soil and Litter Community: Nematodes and Microarthropods --; 13 Soil and Litter Community: Social Arthropods --; 14 Soil and Litter Community: Temporary Dwellers --; 15 Temporary Vegetation Community: Emphasis on Herbivores --; 16 Perennial Shrub Community --; 17 The Invertebrate Community of Ephemeral Waters --; 5 Invertebrates in Desert Ecosystems: Summary Remarks --; A. Introduction --; B. The Temporal Dimension --; C. The Spatial Dimension --; D. Models of Invertebrate Activity in Desert Ecosystems --; E. Future Studies --; F. Final Comments --; References.

What little we know of the biology of desert invertebrates stems largely from inferences based on intensive and repeated observations. Such informa­ tion is not gained easily, since despite the actual abundance of these animals, relatively few of them are ever seen. In fact, except for species impacting on the well-being of human populations, historically most have been ignored by scholars in the western world. Indeed, it was ancient Egypt, with its reverence for the symbolism of the scarab, that probably provided us with the clearest early record of prominent desert types. A more modest resurgence of the story had to wait until the arrival of the present century. To be sure, some of the more obvious species had by then been elevated by European collectors to the level of drawing-room curios­ ities, and expeditions had returned large numbers to museums. But by 1900 the task of describing desert species and relationships among them was still in its infancy; and as for careful natural history studies, they too were just coming into their own.

Ecology.

Life sciences.

Zoology.

by Clifford S. Crawford.

Clifford S Crawford

[Book]

Y