The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
1855-1942
American zoologist and a founder of the National Geographic Society. Merriam was noted for bringing major attention to the study of North American land vertebrates and to the biogeographical settings in which they lived. Born in upstate New York, he was trained as a physician at Columbia University. Beginning in 1885 he directed the newly formed Division of Entomology (later the Bureau of Biological Survey) in the federal Department of Agriculture. He left in 1910 to study tribes of disappearing native Americans in California. His thorough field methods, and the many regional biological surveys and major revisions of mammalian genera published under the aegis of the Biological Survey, were very influential well into the twentieth century. His conclusion that temperature was the major determinant in controlling the geographical distribution of animals later underwent considerable revision at other hands but is still considered useful in the western United States.