Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic by E. C. Pielou




This book is a practical, portable guide to all of the Arctic's natural history—sky, atmosphere, terrain, ice, the sea, plants, birds, mammals, fish, and insects—for those who will experience the Arctic firsthand and for armchair travelers who would just as soon read about its splendors and surprises. It is packed with answers to naturalists' questions and with questions—some of them answered—that naturalists may not even have thought of.


Table of Contents



  • Contents

    1 Sky
    The Land of the Midnight Sun
    What about the Midday Moon?
    A Compass near the Magnetic Pole
    The Geomagnetic Pole
    The Aurora Borealis, or "Northern Lights"

    2 Climate and Atmosphere
    The Arctic Climate
    The Seasons
    The Climate near the Ground
    Arctic Mirages
    The Air Made Visible

    3 Terrain
    Ice Caps and Glaciers
    Permafrost
    Traces of the Ice Age
    Tundra Polygons
    Pingos
    Peat: Peat Mounds, Palsas, and Peat Plateaus
    Tundra Hummocks
    Patterned Ground of Other Kinds
    Underground ice
    Thawing landscapes
    Arctic Rivers

    4 Seas
    Icebergs
    Sea Ice: The Pack
    Ice Islands
    Open Water: Polynyas and Leads
    Ice and Beaches

    5 Plant Life
    Why Trees Can't Grow in the Far North
    The Northernmost Tree Species
    The Wavering, Shifting Treeline
    Trees and Permafrost
    Tundra and Polar Desert
    Carbon in the Tundra Ecosystem
    Plant Adaptations to Arctic Conditions
    Arctic Flowers
    Seeds and Fruits: The Way Plants Spread
    When Seeds Fail
    Some Plant Communities
    Where Have They Come From?
    A Field Guide to Arctic Ferns and Their Relatives
    Arctic Mosses, Lichens, and Nostoc

    6 Birds
    Residents and Migrants: The Quest for Food
    More on Migration: Populations and Destinations
    Protection from the Cold
    Breeding in the Arctic
    More on Breeding: Nests and Eggs
    A Field Guide to Arctic Birds

    7 Mammals
    The Arctic as a Home for Mammals
    The Bear Family
    The Cattle, Sheep, and Goat Family
    The Deer Family
    The Dog, Fox, and Wolf Family
    The Weasel Family
    The Hare and Rabbit Family
    The Squirrel Family
    TheBeaver Family
    The Mouse, Lemming, and Vole Family
    The Shrew Family
    Walruses and Seals
    Two Whale Families

    8 Fish
    Fish and Naturalists
    The Salmon Family: Pacific Salmon
    Other Fish of the Salmon Family
    Some Other Arctic Fishes

    9 Insects
    Insect Life in the Arctic
    Insect Pollinators: Bumblebees and Flies
    Insects and Food for Birds: Flies
    Mosquitoes and Blackflies
    The Warble Flies and Nose Bots of Caribou
    Butterflies





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