Human Adaptability

Emilio F Moran

List of Illustrations Preface to the Third Edition List of Acronyms PART ONE - ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY History, Theory, and Method 1 People in Ecosystems Human Adaptability as a Response to Constraints Modeling Energy Matter Information Ecosystems and Global Change Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Note 2 Theories of Human-Habitat Interaction Environmental Determinism Cultural Determinism: Nature as a Limiting Factor Human Adaptation to Environment Cultural Ecology: Comparison in Human-Environment Research Applications of the Cultural Ecological Method Ecological Anthropology Ethnoecological and Cognitive Approaches Historical Ecology Political Ecology Political Economy and Human Adaptability Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Notes 3 Fundamental Concepts and Methods Ecosystem Relationships Soils and Plant Productivity Physiological Responses Sociocultural Regulatory Adjustments Information and Decisions: Toward Actor-Based Approaches Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Note 4 Environmental Change and Spatial Analysis The Challenge of Scale and Levels of Analysis Human Adaptability to Global Environmental Change The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Social Sciences Experimental Approaches in the Social Sciences Spatial Analysis and the Study of Institutions Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Notes PART TWO - STUDIES OF HUMAN ADAPTABILITY 5 Human Adaptability to Arctic Zones The Arctic Ecosystem Adaptation to Cold Stress Coping with Snow and Sea Ice Adaptation to Prolonged Light and Darkness Coping with Low Biological Productivity Change in the Arctic Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Note 6 Human Adaptability to High Altitudes Mountain Ecosystems Adaptation to Hypoxia Adaptability to Cold Stress in the Andes Aridity and Low Productivity Climate Change and High Altitude Ecosystems Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Notes 7 Human Adaptability to Arid Lands Desert Ecosystems Adjustments to Dry Heat Utilization of Resources Irrigation Change in Desert Ecosystems Suggested Readings and Useful Websites 8 Human Adaptability to Grasslands Grasslands Ecosystems Herd Management Relations with Cultivators Adaptive Strategies in the Northern Plains Global Change and the Future of Grasslands and Pastoralism Suggested Readings and Useful Websites 9 Human Adaptability to the Humid Tropics Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems Coping with Ecosystem Complexity Adaptability to Humid Heat Global Change Processes and Alternatives to Deforestation Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Notes PART THREE - URBAN SUSTAINABILITY 10 Urban Ecology and Urban Sustainability The History of Cities The Ecology of Cities Spatial Aspects of the City: Compact Versus Sprawl Patterns Reducing Dependence on the Automobile Cities and the Upcoming Water Crisis An Integrative View of the Urban Ecosystem The Urban LTERs Final Remarks Suggested Readings and Useful Websites Glossary Bibliography Index