Fairy Circles of the Namib Desert

 

Norbert Jürgens et al.

Fairy circles of the Namib Desert
Ecosystem engineering by subterranean social insects

Biodiversity & Ecology 7
Edited by Ute Schmiedel and Manfred Finckh

376 pp, 780 figures and 15 tables. Hardcover 21 x 30 cm

Germany/Europe: ISBN: 978-3-933117-96-0, 40 EUR

Namibia/Southern Africa: ISBN 978-99916-57-44-8, 830 N$/ZAR

The fairy circles of the Namib Desert in southern Africa are often regarded as an outstanding mystery of nature and several scientific hypotheses for their causation have been proposed and are subject of an ongoing debate. In this book fifteen authors offer a wealth of information based on numerous in-depth studies on the morphology, ecology and biology of fairy circles and the organisms which create, use and maintain them. Other regular vegetation patterns of the Namib Desert and neighbouring biomes are introduced and discussed, as well. Stunning photographs invite the reader to enjoy a journey to the diversity of fairy circle landscapes in Namibia, Angola and South Africa. Very clearly is proved that termites are the causators of the phenomenon "fairy circles".

Contributing Authors: Alicia Geppert, Alexander Gröngröft, Felicitas Gunter, Joh R. Henschel, Katharina J. Huber, Joe McAuliffe, Jens Oldeland, Jörg Overmann, Javier Pascual, Mike Picker, Rasmus Revermann, Priscilla Sichone, Johannes Sikorski, Andrey Yurkow