Life in the Cold

by Marchand, Peter J.; Walker, Libby

• ISBN13: 9780874517859
• ISBN10: 0874517850
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-12-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of New England

Summary

Peter Marchand believes that winter is unfairly misunderstood, a season associated with "stillness, darkness, and death." Yet as each spring affirms, living things somehow manage to reappear. Since 1987, when the first edition appeared and was chosen by Library Journal as one of the year's 101 Best Sci-Tech Books, Marchand has been treating thousands of readers to a winter world that is very much alive. Now in this enlarged third edition, he offers a brand new chapter adding complete information on three major animal groups: northern cervids (deer, elk, moose, and caribou); semiaquatic mammals (beaver, otter, mink, and muskrat); and gallinaceous birds (grouse and ptarmigan). Experts and novices alike will find Life in the Cold indispensable and enjoyable.

Author Biography

PETER J. MARCHAND has devoted much of the last 20 years to the research and teaching of winter ecology. Founder of the winter ecology program at the Center for Northern Studies in Wolcott, VT, he teaches winter ecology at The Colorado College. He is also the author of Autumn: A Season of Change.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of Unit Conversion Factors	xiii
Winter Paths: Options For Overwintering Success	1	(10)
Migration	3	(2)
Hibernation	5	(2)
Resistance	7	(4)
The Changing Snowpack	11	(30)
Destructive Metamorphism	12	(2)
Constructive Metamorphism	14	(4)
Melt Metamorphism	18	(1)
Insulative Value of a Snowcover	19	(4)
Snow and Radiant Energy	23	(18)
Plants And The Winter Environment	41	(52)
Acclimating to the Cold	43	(13)
Weathering the Winter Drought	56	(20)
The Evergreen Advantage	76	(4)
Mechanical Problems: The Brute Forces of Winter	80	(13)
Animals And The Winter Environment	93	(50)
The Basics of Energy Exchange	94	(4)
Warm Bodies in Cold Environments	98	(19)
Bergmann's and Gloger's Rules: Is It Really Better to Be Big and White?	117	(8)
The Cold-Blooded Gamble: To Freeze or Not to Freeze	125	(18)
Life Under Ice	143	(20)
Temperature/Density Relationships	144	(4)
Freezing Around the Edges	148	(5)
Dormancy versus Activity: Compensating for the Cold	153	(5)
Dealing with Oxygen Depletion	158	(5)
Plant-Animal Interactions: Food For Thought	163	(22)
Plant Deterrents to Winter Browsing	165	(7)
Coevolution of Plants and Browsers	172	(2)
Plants and the Quality of Subnivean Life	174	(4)
The Carbon Dioxide Debate	178	(7)
Winter Profiles: A Season In The Lives Of Selected Animals	185	(54)
The Northern Cervids	186	(26)
Semiaquatic Mammals	212	(19)
Gallinaceous Birds	231	(8)
Humans In Cold Places	239	(16)
Circulatory Responses to Cold	241	(6)
Increasing Heat Output	247	(5)
Mind over Temperature: Psychological Responses to Cold	252	(3)
Appendix A. Measuring Temperatures of Microhabitats and Small Objects: Thermocouple Thermometry	255	(3)
Appendix B. Measuring Insect and Plant Freezing Resistance: Differential Thermal Analysis	258	(3)
Appendix C. Measuring Respiratory Oxygen Consumption of Small Invertebrates	261	(3)
Appendix D. Measuring Dietary or Habitat Preferences in Winter: The Rank Preference Index	264	(3)
Notes	267	(24)
Glossary	291	(8)
Index	299