HISTORY OF ICHNOLOGY—Ichnological Eccentrics: The Curious Case of Dr. Joseph Barratt of Middletown,Connecticut

Joseph Barratt was a British-born and educated physician who settled in the United States in 1819. He had a great interest in natural history, collecting both plants and insects and studying geology, mycology, ornithology, chemistry, meteorology, Native Americans, and local history. He was apparently a man of great energy and ambition but one who could not focus to see a project to completion. Barratt was active in the early history of the discovery of vertebrate footprints in the Newark Supergroup in the eastern United States but latter developed some very strange theories regarding the age and significance of these deposits. In his latter years, Barratt's mental state deteriorated and he became even more obsessed with trying to publicize his outlandish theories. Dr. Joseph Barratt is remembered in ichnology for basically two things; he sold Edward Hitchcock a superb specimen of vertebrate tracks; and he may have the most elaborate ichnological tombstone ever constructed.     

Bill Ricker’s Entomological Contributions

Synopsis Bill Ricker was an internationally recognized expert on the stoneflies (Plecoptera). These insects have aquatic larvae that live mostly in cool and clear running water. They are of ecological significance in the breakdown of leaf-litter and the cycling of detritus in aquatic lotic habitats. Since they can account for a significant portion of the diet of some fishes in cold northern waters, they are linked with Ricker’s other work in fisheries. Within 1 year of taking up the study of stoneflies, Ricker was describing species new to science. He continued such activity through most of his life, describing or co-describing some 108 species and 46 genera. Ricker made other outstanding contributions, publishing in 1952 what is regarded as the most important publication dealing with stonefly systematics in the 20th century. Many names he coined in his studies clearly demonstrated his linguistic flair and humour. He made significant contributions to an understanding of the biogeography of stoneflies, and received many honours and citations for his research.     

A Response to Testart's Argument on the Evolution of Social Organization in Australia

Testart's hypothesis is placed in historical perspective. The Kaiabara case study, prominent in Testart's paper but of illustrative significance rather than as proof in his book, is discussed. Testart's mathematical analysis of the degree of coherence between the classifications of societies with patrimoieties as against those with matrimoieties provides an interesting means of reaching inferences about the evolution of social organization, although the required quantification involves some difficulties. Testart's further major contribution to the understanding of moiety organization is his proposed principle of classification based on the violator/non-violator diachotomy. He shows this principle to be more consistent with matrilineal than with patrilineal classifications. It is argued that the Eagle-Crow Myth, from which Testart derives the violator-non-violator diachotomy, refers to the Oedipal conflict, and that this is related to the formation of matrilineal moieties. It is further suggested that the taboo on blood, central to the ‘violator’ concept, is connected with matrilineality.     

One observed case of temporary adoption of an infant by unrelated nulliparous females among wild chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains,Tanzania

A 2.4-year-old male chimpanzee in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania became separated from his mother probably because of contagion of the flu-like sickness. He was adopted alternately by two unrelated immigrant females for at least six days before he was reunited with his mother. This episode is described and analyzed in relation to the babysitter relationships among female chimpanzees. The adaptive significance of the babysitting behavior of nulliparous females is discussed.     

Thomas Hunt Morgan as an Embryologist: The View from Bryn Mawr

Thomas Hunt Morgan taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1891 until1904. During his years there he concentrated his research interestson embryology; he included regeneration as an integral partof development. This article maintains that Morgan did not abandonhis interest in embryology when he became a geneticist at Columbia,but it deals mainly with his teaching and research while atBryn Mawr. He worked on the development of a great diversityof organisms, plant and animal, he used widely differing experimentalmethods to investigate them, and he concerned himself with manydifferent general and special problems. He strove to investigateproblems that were directly soluble by experimental intervention,and was highly critical, in the best possible way, of the experimentsand interpretations made by his contemporaries, who regardedhim as a leader. He exerted his influence on developmental biologynot only through his research, but also through a number offine textbooks, and by his teaching. During his Bryn Mawr yearshe encouraged his students, undergraduate and graduate, to carryout independent research. He sometimes published with them asco-author, but dozens of articles by his students were publishedwithout carrying Morgan's name as co-author.     

Herman Jan Phaff: professor,mentor, friend and colleague

Herman Jan Phaff, the father of yeast ecology, was born in the Netherlands in 1913. In his early years, he spent much time in his family's winery, which sparked his interest in microbes. Trained in the famous Delft tradition, Phaff discovered many unrecognized ecological niches of yeast, such as shellfish, rabbit stomach, frass of bark beetles, tree exudates, cactus roots, Capri figs, sewage, Drosophila flies and shrimp. He is also remembered for his pioneering work on the coevolution of yeasts, insects and plants as well as for his work on yeast -glucanase, which resulted in major advances in the understanding of the nature of the yeast cell wall. Phaff's legacy includes research on pectin degradation by fungal enzymes and the application of molecular approaches to yeast systematics. He discovered and described many yeasts, such as the yeast named in his honor, Phaffia rhodozyma, which led to the establishment of a very important industrial fermentation process yielding high concentrations of the pigment astaxanthin, used throughout the world to provide a natural source of this important carotenoid.     

Species concepts and floras: what are species for?

In 1992, in a special paper in the American Journal of Botany, Ernst Mayr attempted to ‘prove’ the biological species concept (BSC) worked as well in plants as it did in animals by analyzing the flora of the Concord region of northern Massachusetts. He concluded that there were minimal difficulties when applying the BSC for the plants of this particular area, and concluded that botanists were misguided in not accepting the BSC. He suggested that what he called ‘typological’ thinking was prevalent in the taxonomic community, and that this was a factor in botanical resistance to the BSC. Typology, as defined by Mayr in his 1992 foray into botany, is to a certain extent a straw‐man and, by the late 20th Century, no longer a way of thinking in widespread use in the taxonomic community in any organismal group. Here, I examine his analysis in the light of current interest in plant diversity. Species can be characterized as hypotheses about the distribution of variation in nature, subject to test with new data of many kinds. Species concepts like the BSC, although of interest philosophically and to researchers looking at mechanisms of speciation, may actually get in the way of achieving a baseline understanding of the diversity of life on Earth. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 95 , 17–25.     

Robert Chambers and Thomas Henry Huxley, Science Correspondents: The Popularization and Dissemination of Nineteenth Century Natural Science

Robert Chambers and Thomas Henry Huxley helped popularize science by writing for general interest publications when science was becoming increasingly professionalized. A non-professional, Chambers used his family-owned Chambers' Edinburgh Journal to report on scientific discoveries, giving his audience access to ideas that were only available to scientists who regularly attended professional meetings or read published transactions of such forums. He had no formal training in the sciences and little interest in advancing the professional status of scientists; his course of action was determined by his disability and interest in scientific phenomena. His skillful reporting enabled readers to learn how the ideas that flowed from scientific innovation affected their lives, and his series of article in the Journal presenting his rudimentary ideas on evolution, served as a prelude to his important popular work, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Huxley, an example of the new professional class of scientists, defended science and evolution from attacks by religious spokesmen and other opponents of evolution, informing the British public about science through his lectures and articles in such publications as Nineteenth Century. He understood that by popularizing scientific information, he could effectively challenge the old Tory establishment -- with its orthodox religious and political views -- and promote the ideas of the new class of professional scientists. In attempting to transform British society, he frequently came in conflict with theologians and others on issues in which science and religion seemed to contradict each other but refused to discuss matters of science with non-professionals like Chambers, whose popular writing struck a more resonant chord with working class readers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

I. P. Pavlov and K. Lorenz

In the thirtieth, the founder of ethology Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz put forward the new theory of behavior, which was met with considerable resistance of the dominant views on the mechanisms of behavior, including Pavlov's concept. From his first theoretical works and later on Lorenz debated with Pavlov. However, these debates were not reduced to a disagreement. He appreciated greatly the scientific contribution of Pavlov, and the ideas of the Russian physiologist were often the starting point of his own speculations. His polemics with Pavlov differed very much from his uncompromising controversies with behaviorists. When Lorenz compared Pavlov's views with behaviorism, he often preferred Pavlov's ideas. Lorenz also draw some parallels between the Pavlov's understanding of behavior and the ethological approach. Lorenz's discussion with Pavlov about the nature of conditioned reflex is of particular interest, since it stimulated Lorenz to develop the theory of this phenomenon.     

Alfred Newton's contribution to ornithology: a conservative quest for facts rather than grand theories

Alfred Newton (1829–1907) was a founding member of the British Ornithologists’ Union, served as editor of The Ibis, and became one of the best‐known British ornithologists of the nineteenth‐century. Between 1855 and 1864 he travelled in Europe and North America, making a trip to Iceland in 1858 with John Wolley in search of information about the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. In 1866 Newton obtained the chair of Zoology and Comparative Zoology at the University of Cambridge, where he remained for rest of his career. An unenthusiastic teacher, Newton nevertheless encouraged successive generations of young ornithologists through the soirées he held in his college rooms. Newton published extensively, but his most significant publication was the Dictionary of Birds (1896). Newton's death marked the beginning of the end of a long period in which scientific ornithology comprised little more than taxonomy and nomenclature, although Newton was also instrumental in initiating conservation legislation. Extremely conservative in most aspects of his life, Newton was nevertheless the first ornithologist to appreciate the significance of natural selection. He therefore constitutes an important figure in an era of ornithology that immediately precedes the current interest in field ornithology.     

Goethe's Morphology: Urphänomene and Aesthetic Appraisal

This paper examines the relationships betweenGoethe's morphology and his ideas on aestheticappraisal. Goethe's science of morphology was toprovide the method for making evident purephenomena [Urphänomene], for makingintuitable the necessary laws behind theperceptible forms and formation of livingnature, through a disciplined perception. Thisemphasis contrasted with contemporary studiesof generation, which focused upon hiddenformative processes. It was his views onaesthetic appraisal that informed theseepistemological precepts of his science. Hisstudy of antique artefacts convinced Goethethat these should be prototypes for all art,since they made perceptible the ideal of art,its archetypes or objective forms. His ambitionwas to eliminate the subjective elements hecontended were leading contemporary art astray.He argued that the techniques he developed forcultivating the perception of the idealexemplars of art could become a model forscience, enabling the intuition of theobjective forms of nature through a similardisciplined and cultivated perception. Thispaper also examines some of the widermotivations for the particular emphases Goethegave to his science and aesthetics, noting asimilar impulse to discipline unruly forces inhis life – in his work as an administrator forthe Weimar court and Jena University, in hisvision of an ideal German culture centred onthe aristocracy, and in his literaryproductions and biographical writings. Finallyit discusses the extent to which those unrulyelements nevertheless remained a potent anddisturbing presence in his understanding ofnature, his art and his life.     

On the trail of Dr. Fifer.

A gift from a patient drew Hope, BC, family physician Gerd Asche irrevocably into the local medical history of the 1858 Fraser River Gold Rush. Because of his interest in Dr. Max William Fifer, Asche undertook research missions in British Columbia, England and the US, converted his computer room to a research and writing centre, and wrote a biography of his predecessor and colleague. He recounts his experience and the growing satisfaction provided by his interest in medical history.     

The real objective of Mendel's paper: A response to Monaghan and Corcos

Mendel's work in hybridization is ipso facto a study in inheritance. He is explicit in his interest to formulate universal generalizations, and at least in the case of the independent segregation of traits, he formulated his conclusions in the form of a law. Mendel did not discern, however, the inheritance of traits from that of the potential for traits. Choosing to study discrete non-overlapping traits, this did not hamper his efforts.     

John Salter and the Ediacara Fauna of the Longmyndian Supergroup

John W. Salter's papers of 1856 and 1857 reported trace and body fossils from rocks of the Longmyndian Supergroup, Shropshire, that conventional wisdom had deemed literally “Azoic.” The significance of this work is reflected by its mention in On the Origin of Species, where it is cited as evidence for the existence of life prior to the Cambrian radiation. This study of Salter's historic specimens combined with recent field studies confirms that these structures likely represent microbial rather than metazoan markings. Nevertheless, this review confirms Salter as the unheralded founder of Precambrian palaeontology, many years before the existence of a Precambrian fossil record was widely known. This study also gives credit to a highly skilled palaeontologist, who appears to have struggled with psychological problems throughout his life. Salter had once been Adam Sedgwick's “youthful and cheerful companion” in the field, prior to embarking on an initially successful Geological Survey career. He was a widely renowned expert on Palaeozoic palaeontology, especially trilobites, but eventually fell into serious depression, which culminated in his suicide in 1869. Study and reinterpretation of his original materials reaffirms the importance of Salter's discoveries, and the Longmynd for our understanding of late Ediacaran palaeobiology.     

Paul Bert, scientist and politician

Paul Bert worked with Claude Bernard, one of the leading physiologists of the 19th century. In his laboratory at the Collège de France in Paris, Paul Bert carried out fascinating experiments in particular on respiratory processes, leading him to publish "La pression barométrique" in 1878. In this book are recalled his discovery of oxygen pressure decrease with altitude, divers diseases, the improved safety protocols in hyperbaric conditions, and the first development of gas anaesthetics for surgery. He was the third President of the Société de Biologie. Paul Bert was also a politician with strong convictions. Minister of Education under Gambetta's short term government, he initiated the fight for social equality and secular education and became one of the most prestigious figures of the developing socialist party. He received many distinctions and was given a state funeral.     

Conrad Hal Waddington: the last Renaissance biologist?

Conrad Hal Waddington was a leading embryologist and geneticist from the 1930s to the 1950s. He is remembered mainly for his concepts of the 'epigenetic landscape' and 'genetic assimilation'. This article reviews his life and work, and enquires to what extent his ideas are relevant tools for understanding the biological problems of today.     

Who was... Frank Buckland?

Frank Buckland introduced salmon and trout to Australia. He was also one of the most popular writers on natural history in the 19th century and this interest, particularly in fish farming, rapidly overtook his work as a doctor.     

Introduction to the Nigel Barlow Symposium

Dr Nigel Barlow died on 4 June 2003 aged 53 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nigel completed his PhD at the University of East Anglia in 1977 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1979 where he worked initially at Palmerston North and for the last 12 years for AgResearch at Lincoln. Nigel made an enormous contribution to New Zealand ecological science through the use of mathematically based models. In particular, he worked on insect pests such as grass grubs and vertebrate pests such as possums and rabbits, producing over 130 papers. Nigel’s models of bovine tuberculosis underpinned the current strategies and expenditure of over $50 million each year on the control of wildlife vectors on this disease. Nigel’s capabilities as a scientist were not only in the applied field but also reflected in his ability to win funds with his student John Kean from the prestigious Marsden Fund for basic research on the causes of rarity. He was Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Ecology from 1985 to 1990 and of the Journal of Applied Ecology. Nigel was awarded the New Zealand Ecological Society Award for his outstanding contribution to applied ecology in 1996 and posthumously in 2003 the Caughley Medal for lifetime contributions to wildlife management and ecology by the Australasian Wildlife Management Society. Nigel was a true polymath and enthusiast about all natural history. He had an interest in bird-winged butterflies and regularly vanished into the jungles of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to study them. He was fascinated by crocodilians and anacondas, mountain climbing, landscape painting, and malt whisky. At work he was resistant to bureaucratic interference but happy to pass on his abilities and insights to his students and numerous colleagues.     

Challenges and opportunities for biogeography—What can we still learn from von Humboldt?

Alexander von Humboldt was arguably the most influential scientist of his day. Although his fame has since lessened relative to some of his contemporaries, we argue that his influence remains strong—mainly because his approach to science inspired others and was instrumental in furthering other scientific disciplines (such as evolution, through Darwin, and conservation science, through Muir)—and that he changed the way that large areas of science are done and communicated. Indeed, he has been called the father of a range of fields, including environmental science, earth system science, plant geography, ecology and conservation. His approach was characterized by making connections between non‐living and living nature (including humans), based on interdisciplinary thinking and informed by large amounts of data from systematic, accurate measurements in a geographical framework. Although his approach largely lacked an evolutionary perspective, he was fundamental to creating the circumstances for Darwin and Wallace to advance evolutionary science. He devoted considerable effort illustrating, communicating and popularizing science, centred on the excitement of pure science. In biogeography, his influence remains strong, including in relating climate to species distributions (e.g. biomes and latitudinal and elevational gradients) and in the use of remote sensing and species distribution modelling in macroecology. However, some key aspects of his approach have faded, particularly as science fragmented into specific disciplines and became more reductionist. We argue that asking questions in a more Humboldtian way is important for addressing current global challenges. This is well‐exemplified by researching links between geodiversity and biodiversity. Progress on this can be made by (a) systematic data collection to improve our knowledge of biodiversity and geodiversity around the world; (b) improving our understanding of the linkages between biodiversity and geodiversity; and (c) developing our understanding of the interactions of geological, biological, ecological, environmental and evolutionary processes in biogeography.