California Wild Fall 2002

The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Fall 2002
Vol. 55:4

Many bat species, such as this dawn bat, are important nighttime pollinators. Their facial whiskers carry pollen from flower to flower.
Image by Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation International

Departments
Life On The Edge
When the Light Goes Out
•Keith K. Howell

Horizons
Turn Off the Lights!
•Kathleen Wong

Habitats
Salamanders Rock
•Gordy Slack

Counterpoints in Science
Crazy about Food
•Jerold M. Lowenstein

Here At The Academy
The Reluctant Astronomer
•Cameron Walker

Letters to the Editor
Bonobos

Reviews
•Erika Kelly
on Gorillas
•Adrian Barnett
on Museums
•Karen Cebra
on Corpses
•Editors' Recommendations

Features
Whiskers! A Feel for the Dark
From manatees to mice, mammals stay in touch with a dark world by deploying their amazing whiskers.
•Kathleen M. Wong

Night Bloomers
As twilight descends each evening, a whole new cast of characters--bats, moths and other insects--assembles to visit flowers that bloom only at night
•Andrei Sourakov

At Home in the
Natural World
Skyguide
Lord of the Rings
•Bing F. Quock

Naturalist's Almanac
What to Look for This Fall
•David Lukas

A C loser Look
The inhabitants of Empire Cave
•Suzanne Ubick

Not available online:
Lenses in the Sky
The power of gravity bends light and pulls distant galaxies into focus.
•Robert Irion

Wild Lives
Ringtails: Black and White Acrobats
•Phil Barber

Desert Dreamers
Common poorwills sleep the winter away.
•Kim Todd

Denizens of the Dirt
Living in cold, clammy soil calls for a suite of strange survival skills. Moles, gophers, and a lizard missing legs show how to get down in the dirt.
•Liese Greensfelder

The Cave that Microbes Built
The fantastic formations in one of North America's largest caves were etched by a crew of billions. Visit the microbial wonders of Lechuguilla Cave.
•Pamela Turner

Hell's Gape
Hot gases spewed by fissures along the ocean bed sustain whole communities of animals that survive without sunlight.
•Anne M. Rosenthal