主席致辞:国际鸟类学的三个世纪

科学需要国际交流 ,国际会议也许是国际交流和认识其他同行的最好方法。然而 ,国际科学会议起步较晚 ,于 1884年举办的第一届国际鸟类学大会即是最早的国际科学会议之一。召开那次国际会议的起因是探讨鸟类生物学中一个超越国界的自然现象 ,即鸟类的迁徙。许多鸟类每年一次的南北迁移运动是鸟类生物学中最具魅力的问题之一 ,但 19世纪的人们对鸟类的迁徙了解甚少。在多国组成的欧洲 ,如果研究鸟类迁徙则必须进行国际合作。RudolfBlasius和GustavvonHayek制定了一个欧洲多国合作研究鸟类迁徙的宏伟计划 ,并得到了匈牙利 -奥地利王储的支持。与此同时 ,二人发表了一项公告 :于 1884年 4月在维也纳召开第一届世界鸟类学大会 ,会议主题是鸟类迁徙。会议制定了详细的收集和出版鸟类迁徙资料的方案。在 19世纪 90年代 ,由于大量的数据没有分析 ,因而这项计划被迫终止。第二届世界鸟类学大会于 1891年在布达佩斯举行。会议的主题仍然是鸟类迁徙 ,但增加了鸟类生物学中其它方面的议题 ,包括对R .B .Sharpe鸟类分类系统的总结。第三届世界鸟类学大会于 190 0年在巴黎举行 ,会议内容涉及到鸟类学研究的各个领域 ,随后 ,世界鸟类学大会于 190 5年在伦敦举行 ,于 1910年在柏林举行。在第一次世界大战前夕 ,于 1915年

Presidential address:three centuries of international ornithology

Science is always claimed to be international; and perhaps the best way to achieve that goal is through international meetings in which individuals attending have the opportunity to meet many others. But international congresses in science were slow in starting, and the 1st International Ornithological Congress in 1884 was one of the earliest of them. Fittingly, this Congress started because of a problem in avian biology that was in itself without borders, namely avian migration. One of the most fascinating aspects of avian biology is the annual north/south movement of many species of birds, about which little was known in the late 19th century. In multi-country Europe, the study of avian migration obviously had to be an international effort. Rudolf Blasius and Gustav von Hayek developed a grand plan for a multi-nation program on avian migration in Europe, obtained the support of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary, and announced the 1st International Congress of Ornithology in Vienna, April 1884 which was dedicated largely to migration studies. An elaborate scheme was established to collect and publish migration data from Europe which subsequently collapsed under a great mass of unanalyzed data in the 1890s.Ornithological congresses have continued to increase in size and complexity, and most importantly in cost to members, making it difficult for many interested ornithologists to attend. So the future of such congresses as a primary means of international contact among ornithologists is no longer entirely clear, and much effort needs to go into solving major organizational and programming problems so that ornithologists can look forward to another century of these valuable and pleasant meetings[Acta Zoologica Sinica 50(6):880-912,2004].