A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert

by Phillips, Steven J.; Comus, Patricia Wentworth; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson, Ariz.)

• ISBN13: 9780520220294
• ISBN10: 0520220293
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

The only comprehensive general-interest reference work on the most biologically rich of North American deserts . It combines essays on general topics (climate, geology, prehistory, etc.) with species accounts of the flora and fauna. Beautiful line illustrations as well as b/w photos and a color section.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Welcome to the Sonoran Desert	1	(2)
Biomes and Communities of the Sonoran Desert Region	3	(16)
Sonoran Desert Natural Events Calendar	19	(10)
Nature Watching in the Sonoran Desert Region	29	(12)
Desert Storms	41	(10)
Desert Air and Light	51	(10)
The Deep History of the Sonoran Desert	61	(10)
The Geologic Origin of the Sonoran Desert	71	(16)
Desert Soils	87	(18)
Human Ecology of the Sonoran Desert	105	(14)
Biodiversity: The Variety of Life that Sustains Our Own	119	(8)
Plant Ecology of the Sonoran Desert Region	127	(26)
Flowering Plant of the Sonoran Desert	153	(112)
Desert Grasses	265	(16)
Invertebrates	281	(84)
The Desert Adaptations of Bird & Mammals	365	(8)
Bird Accounts	373	(86)
Mammal Accounts	459	(50)
Fishes of the Desert	509	(18)
Adaptations of Desert Amphibians & Reptiles	527	(6)
Reptile & Amphibian Accounts	533	(54)
Afterword	587	(2)
Glossary	589	(4)
Index	593	(32)
Contributors	625