Zoogeomorphology: Animals as Geomorphic Agents

ISBN-13: 9780521433433 / Angielski / Twarda / 1995 / 240 str.

David R. Butler

Opis

Zoogeomorphology is the first and only book of its kind to examine the role animals play in sculpting the Earth's surface, thus integrating the ideas and literature from the fields of geomorphology and wildlife ecology. Dr. Butler describes how animals of all kinds--from small insects to large mammals such as elephants--can act as agents of erosion, transportation, and deposition of sediment. He discusses specific processes associated with the diversity of animal influences in geomorphology: burrowing and denning, nesting, lithophagy and geophagy, wallowing and trampling, food caching, excavating for food, and dam building by beavers.

Recenzje

"...a handy reference for the general phenomena associated with zoogeomorphology....Perhaps its most valuable role will be to stimulate both biologists and geomorphologists to further investigate what are likely to be interesting and important influences of animals on the Earth's surface and near surface environment." O.J. Reichman, Quarterly Review of Biology

Spis treści

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. The geomorphic influences of invertebrates; 3. The geomorphic accomplishments of ectothermic vertebrates; 4. Birds as agents of erosion, transportation and deposition; 5. The geomorphic effects of digging for and caching food; 6. Trampling, wallowing and geophagy by mammals; 7. The geomorphic effects of mammalian burrowing; 8. The geomorphic influence of beavers; 9. Concluding remarks; References; Index.