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Deserts
An introduction to the characteristics of deserts and the plants and animals that inhabit them.
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
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
Collapse of a desert bird community over the past century driven by climate change
Climate change has caused deserts, already defined by climatic extremes, to warm and dry more rapidly than other ecoregions in the contiguous United States over the last 50 years. Desert birds persist near the edge of their physiological limits, and climate change could cause lethal dehydration and hyperthermia, leading to decline or extirpation of some species. We evaluated how desert birds have responded to climate and habitat change by resurveying historic sites throughout the Mojave Desert that were originally surveyed for avian diversity during the early 20th century by Joseph Grinnell and colleagues. We found strong evidence of an avian community in collapse. Sites lost on average 43% of their species, and occupancy probability declined significantly for 39 of 135 breeding birds. The common raven was the only native species to substantially increase across survey sites. Climate change, particularly decline in precipitation, was the most important driver of site-level persistence, while habitat change had a secondary influence. Habitat preference and diet were the two most important species traits associated with occupancy change. The presence of surface water reduced the loss of site-level richness, creating refugia. The collapse of the avian community over the past century may indicate a larger imbalance in the Mojave and provide an early warning of future ecosystem disintegration, given climate models unanimously predict an increasingly dry and hot future.
Journal Article
Where on earth are deserts?
Explores what deserts are and the different types while detailing specific deserts around the world.
Book
The First Side-Necked Turtle of Egypt
The Quseir Formation is an Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) deposit in the Kharga oasis of the Southwestern Desert (Egypt). This formation comprises a clastic sequence of bioturbated mudstone and sandstone intercalations, including rare scattered and fragmented vertebrate remains such as shark teeth, dinosaur remains, and turtle plates. These deposits indicate a supratidal marsh environment. A complete shell of a turtle discovered from the Quseir Formation, at the Kharga oasis, is attributed here to Bothremydini (Pleurodira, Bothremydidae), and determined as a new taxon: Khargachelys caironensis gen. et sp. nov. This form represents the only Bothremydini member currently identified in the Campanian record not only of Egypt but also of North Africa. Therefore, it helps fill the missing evolutionary gap from the Late Cretaceous pleurodires in Egypt and in North Africa.
Journal Article
Correction: Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen): A new chronology for the oldest site in Australia's Western Desert
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202511.].
Journal Article
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