Despite heat and drought, deserts are inhabited by a diversity of organisms. Prof. A. Allan Degen has examined this fascinating phenomenon for many years. In his book he describes how small mammals manage to survive under such harsh environmental conditions.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 1.1 Ecophysiology.- 1.2 Small.- 1.3 Desert.- 1.4 Mammal.- 1.5 Small Desert Mammals.- 2 Deserts.- 2.1 Definition of Deserts.- 2.2 Formation of Deserts.- 2.3 World Deserts.- 2.4 Desert Soils.- 3 Body Size and Allometry.- 3.1 Allometric Scaling.- 3.2 Body Size and Environment.- 4 Heat Transfer and Body Temperature.- 4.1 Heat Exchange Between Animal and Environment.- 4.2 Operative and Standard Operative Environmental Temperatures.- 4.3 Body Temperature of Mammals.- 4.4 Overall Thermal Conductance.- 4.5 Shivering and Non-Shivering Thermogenesis.- 5 Behavioural Adaptations.- 5.1 Temporal Patterns.- 5.2 Refuge Microhabitat.- 5.3 Dietary Habits.- 5.4 Locomotion.- 6 Water Requirements and Water Balance.- 6.1 Water Input.- 6.2 Water Output.- 6.3 Total Body Water Volume and Its Distribution..- 6.4 Body Fluid Regulation.- 6.5 Cardiac Output and Its Distribution During Dehydration.- 6.6 Water Flux.- 7 Energy Requirements and Energy Flux.- 7.1 Digestibility and Energy Value of Food.- 7.2 Anti-Nutritional Compounds.- 7.3 Digestive Tract and Absorption of Nutrients.- 7.4 Basal Metabolic Rate.- 7.5 Average Daily Metabolic Rate.- 7.6 Field Metabolic Rate.- 8 Reproduction.- 8.1 Timing of Reproduction.- 8.2 Water Intake, Milk Production and Pup Growth.- 8.3 Water Budget During Pregnancy and Lactation.- 8.4 Energy Requirements for Pregnancy and Lactation.- 8.5 Reproduction, Metabolic Rate and Body Size.- References.