Overview

The Sonoran Desert is a distinctive biotic region that fascinates scientist, students, and nature lovers. This book offers an accessible introduction to Sonoran Desert ecology. Eight original essays by Sonoran Desert specialists such as Paul Martin and Richard Felger provide an overview of the practice of ecology at landscape, community, and organismal scales. The essays explore the rich diversity of plant life in the Sonoran Desert and the ecological patterns and processes that underlie it. They also reveal the history and scientific legacy of the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, which has conducted research on the Sonoran Desert since 1903. Coverage includes diversity and affinities of the flora, physical environments and vegetation, landscape complexity and ecological diversity, population dynamics of annual plants, form and function of cacti, and the relationship between plants and the animals that use them as feeding and breeding resources. The text also examines the ecological consequences of modern agricultural development, as well as the impact on the modern biota of 40,000 years of change in climate, vegetation, megafauna, and ancient cultures. This comprehensive book covers a broad range of spatial and temporal scales to highlight the diversity of research being pursued in the Sonoran Desert. It is both a testament to these ongoing studies and an authoritative introduction to the diverse plant life in the region. Contents 1. Diversity and Affinities of the Flora of the Sonoran Floristic Province, Steven P. McLaughlin and Janice E. Bowers 2. Vegetation and Habitat Diversity at the Southern Edge of the Sonoran Desert, Alberto Bórquez, Angelina Martínez Yrízar, Richard S. Felger, and David Yetman3. The Sonoran Desert: Landscape Complexity and Ecological Diversity, Joseph R. McAuliffe 4. Population Ecology of Sonoran Desert Annual Plants, D. Lawrence Venable and Catherine E. Pake 5. Form and Function of Cacti, Park S. Nobel and Michael E. Loik 6. Ecological Genetics of Cactophilic Drosophila, William J. Etges, W. R. Johnson, G. A. Duncan, G. Huckins, and W. B. Heed 7. Ecological Consequences of Agricultural Development in a Sonoran Desert Valley, Laura L. Jackson and Patricia W. Comus 8. Deep History and a Wilder West, Paul S. Martin

Full Product Details

9780816535408

Table of Contents

Reviews

A comprehensive introduction into the diversity of plant life in the region. Anyone interested in the flora and ecology of the American Southwest should have this book on their shelf, both as a reference of past research and a guide for directing future research. -Economic Botany This collection of essays is an informative sampler of ongoing studies that will please those who wish to learn about the Sonoran Desert and the people who are involved in investigating its ecology. . . . A good addition to the library of anyone studying the arid regions of the world. -Plant Systematics and Evolution

A comprehensive introduction into the diversity of plant life in the region. Anyone interested in the flora and ecology of the American Southwest should have this book on their shelf, both as a reference of past research and a guide for directing future research. Economic Botany This collection of essays is an informative sampler of ongoing studies that will please those who wish to learn about the Sonoran Desert and the people who are involved in investigating its ecology. . . . A good addition to the library of anyone studying the arid regions of the world. Plant Systematics and Evolution

A comprehensive introduction into the diversity of plant life in the region. Anyone interested in the flora and ecology of the American Southwest should have this book on their shelf, both as a reference of past research and a guide for directing future research. --Economic Botany This collection of essays is an informative sampler of ongoing studies that will please those who wish to learn about the Sonoran Desert and the people who are involved in investigating its ecology. . . . A good addition to the library of anyone studying the arid regions of the world. --Plant Systematics and Evolution

Author Information

Robert H. Robichaux is Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available