A desert calling : life in a forbidding landscape / Michael A. Mares.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mares, Michael A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mammals.

Desert animals.

Biology--Fieldwork.

Biology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For most of us the word "desert" conjures up images of barren wasteland, vast, dry stretches inimical to life. But for a great array of creatures, perhaps even more plentiful than those who inhabit tropical rainforests, the desert is a haven and a home. Travel with Michael Mares into the deserts of Argentina, Iran, Egypt, and the American Southwest and you will encounter a rich and memorable variety of these small, tenacious animals, many of them first discovered by Mares in areas never before studied. Accompanying Mares on his forays into these hostile habitats, we observe the remarkable behavioral, physiological, and ecological adaptations that have allowed such little-known species of rodents, bats, and other small mammals to persist in an arid world. At the same time, we see firsthand the perils and pitfalls that await biologists who venture into the field to investigate new habitats, discover new species, and add to our knowledge of the diversity of life. Filled with the seductions and trials that such adventures entail, A Desert Calling affords an intimate understanding of the biologist's vocation. As he astonishes us with the range and variety of knowledge to be acquired through the determined investigation of little-known habitats, Mares opens a window on his own uncommon life, as well as on the uncommon life of the remote and mysterious corners of our planet.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Prologue

1. The Search for Undiscovered Life

2. The Immortal Animals

3. Elfin Farmers and Cactophylic Carpenters

4. Darkness and the Cave of the Jaguar

5. The Winding Path to Field Biology

6. The Desert at the Bottom of the World

7. Different Actors, Different Scripts

8. Desert in the Sky

9. The Vampire and the Phantoms of All Hallows' Eve

10. Land of the Shah

11. Impenetrable Land of Thorns

12. The Devil's Town

13. In the Shadow of the Pyramids

14. Naming the Anonymous

15. From Howling Wolf Mice to Fairy Armadillos

16. Aridity's Cornucopia

17. Life in the Desert of Salt

18. Land of Diamonds

Epilogue

Appendix. Scientific and Common Names of Species Mentioned in the Text, by Region and Major Category

Selected Readings

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [293]-306).

ISBN:

9780674040588

0674040589

OCLC:

433413685