Desert Biology: Special Topics on the Physical and Biological Aspects on Arid Regions, Volume I covers the biology, geophysical characteristics, and ways of life in arid regions.
This book is composed of 11 chapters, and begins with a brief description of a desert community, the Merkhiyat Jebels, with its diverse fauna and flora. The subsequent chapters look into the climate, geographical distribution, geologic and geomorphic aspects, and the evolution of desert community. These topics are followed by intensive discussions on desert plants, animals, and limnology. The last chapter describes the adaptive processes and human adaptation capacity to arid environments.
This book will prove useful to upper division and graduate students in desert biology.

Desert RainList of ContributorsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsVolume II: Topics to be Discussed (Tentative)Chapter I. The Merkhiyat Jebels: A Desert Community I. Climate and Vegetation II. Rain Fauna III. Mammals IV. Reptiles V. Arthropods VI. Interrelationships ReferencesChapter II. Causes, Climates, and Distribution of Deserts I. Geographical Definitions of Deserts II. Genetic Classification of Desert Climates III. Subtropical Deserts IV. Cool Coastal Deserts V. Rain Shadow Deserts VI. Continental Interior Deserts VII. Polar Deserts BibliographyChapter III. Geologic and Geomorphic Aspects of Deserts I. Introduction II. The Desert Landscape III. Surficial Deposits in Desert Lowlands IV. Hydrologic Aspects of Desert Basins V. Desert Soils VI. Surficial Geological Processes in Desert Regions VII. Climate Changes in Desert Regions VIII. Concluding Statement ReferencesChapter IV. The Evolution of Desert Vegetation in Western North America I. Introduction II. Paleobotanical History of Tertiary and Quaternary Western North America III. The Vegetation of the Californian Deserts IV. The California Desert Flora V. The Origin of the California Desert Flora on Distributional Grounds VI. Endemism and the Origin of the California Desert Flora VII. Evidence of Origin from Cytological Evidence VIII. Conclusions ReferencesChapter V. The Biology of Desert Plants I. Introduction II. Flora of Deserts III. Adaptations of Plants to Arid Environments IV. Desert Cryptogams, Ferns, and Fern Allies V. Ecological Considerations ReferencesChapter VI. Biology of Desert Amphibians and Reptiles I. Introduction II. Amphibians III. Turtles IV. Lizards V. Snakes ReferencesChapter VII. Temperature Regulation and Water Economy of Desert Birds I. Introduction II. Temperature Regulation III. Water Economy IV. Adaptations of Breeding Biology V. Discussion and Summary ReferencesChapter VIII. Temperature Regulation in Desert Mammals I. Introduction II. Ecological and Evolutionary Considerations III. Large Herbivorous Mammals IV. Small and Medium Sized Mammals V. Carnivorous Mammals VI. Special Considerations VII. Summary and Conclusions ReferencesChapter IX. Desert Limnology I. Introduction II. Physical Features III. Chemistry of Desert Waters IV. Productivity V. Biota of Saline Water VI. Biota of Temporary Waters VII. Special Situations VIII. Endemism, Relictism, and Special Habitats ReferencesChapter X. Venoms of Desert Animals I. Scorpions: Order Scorpionida II. Spiders: Order Araneida III. Miscellaneous Desert Arachnids IV. Venomous Insects V. Centipedes and Millipedes VI. Amphibians VII. Venomous Reptiles ReferencesChapter XI. Human Adaptations to Arid Environments I. The Problems II. Adaptive Processes General References Specific ReferencesAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3Appendix 4Author IndexSubject IndexGenus and Species Index