Most of this research was performed in the late 1970s.
He authored Sonoran Desert Spring (1994) which was illustrated by Marilyn Hoff Stewart, and also authored In a Desert Garden: Love and Death Among the Insects (1999) illustrated by Turid Forsyth.Īlcock is one of the original scientists to participate in the Ask A Biologist program and continues to participate in interviews as well as answering questions from students around the world.Īlcock has performed extensive research and is the leading authority on the bee Centris pallida which is common in Arizona. He has authored several books, including The Kookaburras' Song: Exploring Animal Behavior in Australia (1988), Sonoran Desert Summer (1990), The Triumph of Sociobiology (2003), and Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (tenth edition, 2013). Books such as this serve a vital function in bringing the mysteries of the desert to the attention of a wider public.His research interests include the evolution of diversity in insect populations, studying the adaptive value of different ways in which males find mating partners. A book of this kind allows its author, more accustomed to the rigours and constraints of writing academic papers and books, to relate revealing anecdotes and simply to express their fascinating for natural history. Alcock provides delightful insights into how insects provision their developing young, how parasites find their victims and how flowers attract pollinators. Only the desert itself, arrayed in its April apparel, can rival the beauty of this book."- Arizona Highways "Deserts are not as bereft of life as they seem their barren landscapes can support a remarkable variety of plant and animal life, though it may require a patient and skilled naturalist to reveal its mysteries.
Alcock's approach to his subject is an elegant combination of science and literature. To Alcock, the desert has a constant evolutionary beauty he never seems to tire of. Within these well-written pages, Alcock exposes us to the plant and animal life of a land many regard as desolate. "Spring on the Sonoran Desert can be a four-month-long spectacle of life and color.
Only the desert itself, arrayed in its April apparel, can rival the beauty of this book."- Arizona Highways "Deserts are not as bereft of life as they seem.
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