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Deserts
An introduction to the characteristics of deserts and the plants and animals that inhabit them.
Book
In the desert
As global climate change advances, more parts of Earth are becoming desert. How to slow this process is just one area of research scientists study in the desert biome. Like the animals and plants that can survive it, scientists must learn how to work in the hot, dry conditions of the desert. Readers find out their strategies for working in deserts, such as using solar power and even burning human waste! In addition, STEM topics such as robotics, drones, and climate research are described and illustrated through full-color photographs.
Book
Black bees in the desert: Description of a new species of wool carder bee (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Anthidium) from the northern Sahara with colouration atypical for xeric environments
Bees inhabiting xeric environments often exhibit, like many other insects, brown, beige, and sandy colours, aligning with the hues of the desert landscape. In this study, we study two bee species belonging to the tribe Anthidiini that defy this general colour pattern. These species feature an almost entirely black integument, contrasting with the typical rich yellow or beige colour pattern found in most members of the genus Anthidium Fabricius, 1804. The new species, A. nigrum Kasparek, sp. nov., was found in the deserts of the northern Sahara, where also another dark congener lives, the little-known Anthidium pullatum Morice, 1916, which is re-described here based on the rediscovery of the type material which has been thought lost. We hypothesise that this colouration phenomenon may be explained by an adaptation to the strong day-and-night temperature differences in the desert environment. The black colouration enables bees to harness solar energy early in the day, capitalizing on enhanced heat retention due to the lower reflectance of their integument. It is hypothesized that this allows bees to optimize their activity pattern during the brief period before temperatures rise to levels posing a high risk of overheating.
Journal Article
Where on earth are deserts?
Explores what deserts are and the different types while detailing specific deserts around the world.
Book
Sonoran Desert Journeys
Lizards dashing rapidly between plants. Songbirds and woodpeckers
flying to and from their nests. Hawks perched on saguaros. What
kinds of journeys have these and many other animals and plants and
their ancestors taken in space and time to arrive in the Sonoran
Desert? How long have these species been living together here? In
Sonoran Desert Journeys ecologist Theodore H. Fleming
discusses two remarkable journeys. First, Fleming offers a brief
history of our intellectual and technical journey over the past
three centuries to understand the evolution of life on Earth. Next,
he applies those techniques on a journey of discovery about the
evolution and natural history of some of the Sonoran Desert's most
iconic animals and plants. Fleming details the daily lives of a
variety of reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, describing their
basic natural and evolutionary histories and addressing intriguing
issues associated with their lifestyles and how they cope with a
changing climate. Finally, Fleming discusses the complexity of
Sonoran Desert conservation. This book explores the evolution and
natural history of iconic animals and plants of the northern
Sonoran Desert through the eyes of a curious naturalist and
provides a model of how we can coexist with the unique species that
call this area home.
eBook
Let's visit the desert
Examines the desert biome's important features, plants, and animals and how they all work together to support life.
Book
The Arid Lands
Deserts are commonly imagined as barren, defiled, worthless places, wastelands in need of development. This understanding has fueled extensive anti-desertification efforts -- a multimillion-dollar global campaign driven by perceptions of a looming crisis. In this book, Diana Davis argues that estimates of desertification have been significantly exaggerated and that deserts and drylands -- which constitute about 41% of the earth's landmass -- are actually resilient and biodiverse environments in which a great many indigenous people have long lived sustainably. Meanwhile, contemporary arid lands development programs and anti-desertification efforts have met with little success. As Davis explains, these environments are not governed by the equilibrium ecological dynamics that apply in most other regions. Davis shows that our notion of the arid lands as wastelands derives largely from politically motivated Anglo-European colonial assumptions that these regions had been laid waste by \"traditional\" uses of the land. Unfortunately, such assumptions still frequently inform policy. Drawing on political ecology and environmental history, Davis traces changes in our understanding of deserts, from the benign views of the classical era to Christian associations of the desert with sinful activities to later (neo)colonial assumptions of destruction. She further explains how our thinking about deserts is problematically related to our conceptions of forests and desiccation. Davis concludes that a new understanding of the arid lands as healthy, natural, but variable ecosystems that do not necessarily need improvement or development will facilitate a more sustainable future for the world's magnificent drylands.
eBook