A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife

by Sale, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781554071784
• ISBN10: 155407178X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-16
• Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd

Summary

The perfect reference to the Arctic and its wildlife, A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife looks in detail at the geology, climate, ecology and peoples of the region, as well as exploration, exploitation and the threats from climate change and pollution.

Author Biography

Richard Sale is the author of Polar Reaches: The History of Arctic and Antarctic Exploration. He lives in the UK. Per Michelsen frequently photographs the northern reaches of the globe. He lives in Norway.

Richard Sale is the author of Polar Reaches: The History of Arctic and Antarctic Exploration. He lives in the UK.

Per Michelsen frequently photographs the northern reaches of the globe. He lives in Norway.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 4
Preface	p. 5
Introduction	p. 6
Defining the Arctic	p. 6
Arctic geology	p. 9
The Arctic climate	p. 19
Humans in the Arctic	p. 23
Arctic habitats	p. 30
Adaptations for Arctic life	p. 36
Speciation and biogeography	p. 42
The fragile Arctic	p. 45
How to use the field guides	p. 54
Field guide to Arctic birds	p. 57
Loons	p. 58
Grebes	p. 66
Albatrosses, petrels and allies	p. 71
Cormorants	p. 78
Wildfowl	p. 82
Swans	p. 84
Geese	p. 88
Ducks	p. 102
Raptors	p. 138
Grouse	p. 160
Cranes	p. 165
Waders	p. 170
Plovers	p. 171
Stints and sandpipers	p. 179
Snipes and dowitchers	p. 203
Curlews, godwits and allies	p. 208
Turnstones	p. 222
Phalaropes	p. 224
Skuas	p. 232
Gulls	p. 240
Terns	p. 259
Auks	p. 261
Owls	p. 283
Kingfishers	p. 287
Larks	p. 288
Swallows	p. 290
Pipits and wagtails	p. 291
Thrushes and chats	p. 299
Warblers, tits and chickadees	p. 306
Crows	p. 310
New World warblers	p. 315
New World sparrows and buntings	p. 320
Finches	p. 334
Field guide to Arctic mammals	p. 341
Shrews	p. 342
Rodents	p. 348
Lagomorphs	p. 367
Ungulates	p. 372
Carnivores	p. 382
Dogs	p. 382
Bears	p. 389
Cats	p. 398
Mustelids	p. 400
Pinnipeds	p. 412
Cetaceans	p. 430
A visitor's guide to the Arctic	p. 456
Index	p. 462
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

PrefaceThe Arctic can appear empty. It can also appear an extremely harsh and unforgiving environment, demanding to all who venture there. It is both those things, but it can also be magical.This book is a celebration of the Arctic. It deals primarily with its wildlife, but a discussion of birds and mammals cannot restrict itself solely to identification, diet and breeding biology; it must also consider the wider picture. It cannot ignore the geology, the geography and the climate that define the habitat in which those animals and birds live. It cannot ignore the threats currently faced by the region, such as climate change, and the probable outcome for the wildlife if those threats are ignored.The book starts by defining the Arctic and by considering how animals and plants have evolved to cope with the tough Arctic environment. The adaptations of these creatures are discussed, as are the ways their evolution has been driven by the ebb and flow of polar ice. Next the book moves on to look at the human history of the area, followed by a discussion of the threats posed to the Arctic and its wildlife by human activity.Following the extensive field guide to the bird and mammal species, there is a visitor's guide to the Arctic, which looks in brief at what each region has to offer the wildlife observer, and the ease of travel to it.Richard Sale, June 2006