Bradley C. Livezey

Bradley Curtis Livezey (born June 15, 1954 in Massachusetts , † February 8, 2011 in Pine Township , Allegheny County , Pennsylvania ) was an American ornithologist . His research included the development of flightless birds , the ecology and behavior of steamboat ducks , genetic analysis of birds and diseases in birds.

Live and act

Livezey was born in Massachusetts, but grew up mostly in Chicago . He moved several times in his childhood. He developed an interest in birds early on. In 1976 Livezey graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor's degree . In 1979 he earned his first Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in 1984 his second in Mathematics from the University of Kansas . In 1985 he received his doctorate with the thesis Systematics and flightlessness of steamer-ducks (Anatidae: Tachyeres) at the University of Kansas for Ph.D.

Much of Livezey's work has dealt with the contentious areas of bird phylogenesis and systematics . While many of Livezey's colleagues backed up their research with DNA analysis , Livezey took a more traditional approach, based on thorough studies of the shape and properties of bones. Livezey's general interests included the phylogenetic relationships of bird families, phylogenetic relationships of waterfowl, the development of flight incapacity in birds, comparative osteology , multivariate morphometry, and paleornithology .

In 1993, Dr. Livezey staff at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History . As curator of the bird department, he was responsible for the ninth largest bird collection in the United States with 195,000 bellows.

Livezey died on February 8, 2011, when two cars collided on an icy road on Pennsylvania Route 910 near his home in Pine Township.

Dedication names

In 2018, the fossil New Zealand rale species Litorallus livezeyi from the Miocene was named in honor of Brad Livezey.

Works (selection)

• 1992: Taxonomy and identification of steamer-ducks (Anatidae: Tachyeres) . Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas
• 2003: Evolution of Flightlessness in Rails (Gruiformes: Rallidae): Phylogenetic, Ecomorphological, and Ontogenetic Perspectives . Ornithological Monographs No. 53
• 2007: Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion (with Richard Laurence Zusi). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, Issue 149, pp. 1-95.

Web links

• Vivian Nereim: Obituary: Bradley Livezey / Nationally respected expert on birds at Carnegie Museum In: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 10, 2011
• Rick Wills: Car-crash victim was 'best avian anatomist' In: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review of February 10, 2011
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History Grieves the Loss of Brad Livezey