Armadillos to Ziziphus

David M. Hillis is the director of the Biodiversity Center at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1999 and was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2008. He is also known for his discovery of numerous new species, including Austin's iconic Barton Springs Salamander. Harry W. Greene is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University and the author of Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art, among other books.

Foreword by Harry W. Greene Preface I. The Texas Hill Country: A Naturalist's Paradise 1. Geological Setting of the Edwards Plateau 2. From Acid Sands to Alkaline Clays 3. Hill Country Weather: Droughts, Floods, and Severe Storms 4. Some Texas Icons Haven't Been Here All That Long 5. Hill Country Endemics 6. What Is the Value of Biodiversity? II. The Seasonal Life of a Vernal Pool 7. Tilting at Tiny Windmills 8. Crustacean Wonders 9. The Fascinating Flora of Vernal Pools 10. Those Who Live in Glass Houses 11. A Season of Symphonies 12. What Happened to All Our Frogs? III. Flowing Waters: Aquifers, Caves, Springs, and Rivers 13. Life without Light 14. Lanterns of Summer 15. Musings about Mussels 16. The Last Wild River IV. Life of a Grassland 17. Why Do Some Grasses Grow in the Winter, but Others in the Summer? 18. Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and Other Pollinators 19. The Noble Life of a Dung-Roller 20. Where Have All the Quail Gone? 21. Grasshoppers, Locusts, and Plagues 22. The History of Texas Cattle Written in Their DNA V. In the Woodlands and Brushlands 23. Containing and Preventing Oak Wilt 24. The Challenges of Being an Oak Tree in the Hill Country 25. How Do Trees Sense When It Is Time to Leaf Out and Bloom? 26. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Trees 27. Spring Is Here, and So Are the Snakes 28. Songs of the Summer Dog Days 29. Going Batty 30. Deer Densities on the Edwards Plateau 31. Bucks in Velvet 32. The Future of Hill Country Deer Populations 33. The Carbon Cycle and How It Affects Our Daily Lives VI. Backyard Biology 34. The Remarkable Life of Hummingbirds 35. Ways to Attract and Increase Bird Populations 36. The Unexpected Beauty and Diversity of Lichens 37. There Is More to Mistletoe than Kissing 38. The Ups and Downs of Ants 39. A Pattern in the Web 40. Caterpillar Plagues and Their Connection to the Weather 41. Predators and Second Chances VII. Climatic Adaptations 42. Toadally Cool 43. The Surprising Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly 44. How Do Animals Survive the Winter? Part 1: Migrating 45. How Do Animals Survive the Winter? Part 2: Keeping Warm and Active 46. How Do Animals (and Plants) Survive the Winter? Part 3: Waiting Out the Cold VIII. Restoration and the Future of the Hill Country's Natural Resources 47. The Restoration and Benefits of Native Grasses 48. The Pros and Cons of Brush Control 49. Recovery of a Texas Icon: The Texas Horned Lizard 50. Avoiding the Dangers of Lead Poisoning in Game Meat 51. Our Climate Future in Central Texas 52. If the Earth Is Warming, Why Did We Just Have a Record Cold Snap? 53. Practical, Painless, and Significant Solutions to Climate Change 54. Six Resolutions for Supporting Native Plants and Animals Index