François Vuilleumier

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François Vuilleumier (born November 26, 1938 in Bern , † January 11, 2017 in Piermont , New York ) was a Swiss - American ornithologist and zoological curator .

Live and act

His father Willy Georges Vuilleumier (1898–1983) was an animal sculptor and hobby naturalist who influenced Vuilleumier in his early years. Even in his youth, François Vuilleumier began to keep a notebook and, influenced by his father, to make bird drawings. His interest in ornithology was also aroused by the Swiss ornithologist Paul Géroudet (1917–2006), with whom Vuilleumier spent many hours of his youth in the great outdoors. He initially spent his school career at the Collège Calvin in Geneva . Eventually he studied at the University of Geneva . In 1963 he went to the United States to study at the University of Illinois with Samuel Charles Kendeigh (1904–1985). Here he met Walter Joseph Bock (* 1933), who introduced him to Ernst Mayr (1904–2005). Under Mayr, he received his doctorate in 1967 from Harvard University with the thesis Speciation in High Andean birds .

During his time at Harvard University, Vuilleumier began to study the evolutionary history of South American birds. His focus was on the evolution and biogeography of Andean species. Conceptually, he imagined the Andes as a group of islands and expected similar species and distribution patterns as on an archipelago . This was the subject that occupied him for the rest of his life. For years, Vuilleumier traveled and explored the Andes from Venezuela and south to Tierra del Fuego . Further research trips took him to countless countries on all seven continents. With the corresponding enthusiasm for foreign cultures and people, paired with his love for the avifauna, there was something to discover for Vuilleumier everywhere. Despite everything, it was South America with its landscapes, people and wildlife that he had grown most fond of.

After Harvard, Vuilleumier received a Chapman Fellowship at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Relatively quickly afterwards, he spent a year at the station biologique de Roscoff . He then worked at the University of Massachusetts' Faculty of Biology . This was followed by the position of director of the Institute of Animal Ecology and Zoology at the University of Lausanne and a visiting professorship at the University of Paris .

In 1974 he returned to the AMNH as a deputy curator . He held this position until his retirement in 2005. From 1987 to 1992 he was chairman of the department. In his career he published more than 150 papers on the ecology, distribution and specialization of birds. For example, Forest birds of Patagonia was published by him in 1985 . In 1987 he edited High Altitude Tropical Biogeography with Maximina Monasterio . After retiring, he continued to serve as editor-in-chief for Birds of North America . He worked as an editor for at least six scientific journals.

Vuilleumier was fluent in English, French, German and Spanish. This not only helped him on his research trips, because he also taught and supported Latin American students in their language. He never gave up his hobby of painting birds and so after his retirement he exhibited at art shows in Rockland County .

He was married to Rebecca Finnell, the former editor of the journal Natural History . He had a daughter with her. A first marriage has two children.

Memberships

In 1963 he became a member of the American Ornithologists' Union , an elected member in 1970 and finally a fellow of the society in 1977. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , member and since 1977 elected member of the American Society of Naturalists , member of the Société de biogéographie and since 1975 elected member, member of the Société nationale de protection de la nature , member and corresponding member of the Société d Etudes Ornithologiques de France , member of Sigma Xi , member of the Society for the Study of Evolution and member of the Society of Systematic Zoology . He was president of the Neotropical Ornithological Society , which has a foundation called the François Vuilleumier Fund Grants .

Dedication names

Gary Russell Graves honored him in 1980 in the black-throated hook- beak subspecies Diglossa brunneiventris vuilleumieri . In his dedication he wrote:

"Etymology: I take pleasure in naming this new form for François Vuilleumier in recognition of his contributions to Andean evolutionary biology"

literature

  • Alan Brush: François Vuilleumier, 1938–2017 . In: The Auk . tape 134 , no. 3 , June 28, 2017, p. 776–777 , doi : 10.1642 / AUK-17-27.1 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 211 kB ]).
  • Gary Russell Graves: A new subspecies of Diglossa (Carbonaria) brunneiventris . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 100 , 1980, pp. 230–232 (English, biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Publications (selection)

  • Systematics and evolution in Diglossa (Aves, Coerebidae) . In: American Museum novitates . No. 2381 , July 9, 1969, p. 1–44 (English, digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 3.5 MB ]).
  • with William John Smith: Evolutionary relationships of some South American ground tyrants . In: Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College . tape 141 , no. 5 , 1971, p. 181-268 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • with Michael Gochfeld: Notes sur l'Avifaune de Nouvelle-Caledonie . In: Alauda . tape 44 , no. 3 , 1976, p. 237-273 .
  • Five great Neotropical Ornithologists: An appreciation of Eugene Eisenmann, Maria Koepcke , Claës Christian Olrog , Rodulfo Philippi , and Helmut Sick . In: Ornitologia Neotropical . tape 16 , no. 2 , 1983, p. 97–111 (English, ibiologia.unam.mx [PDF; 1.6 MB ]). ´
  • Patchy distribution and systematics of Oreomanes fraseri (Aves,? Coerebidae) of Andean Polylepis woodlands. In: American Museum novitates . No. 2777 , 1984, pp. 1–17 (English, digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 2.0 MB ]).
  • Forest birds of Patagonia: Ecological geography, speciation, endemism, and faunal history . In: Ornithological Monographs . No. 36 , 1985, pp. 255–304 (English, umag.cl [PDF; 880 kB ]).
  • with Maximina Monasterio: High Altitude Tropical Biogeography . 21 & 22 Atlas. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1987, ISBN 978-0-19-503625-1 .
  • with Ernst Mayr: New species of birds described from 1976 to 1980 . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 128 , no. 4 , 1987, pp. 137-150 , doi : 10.1007 / BF01661691 (English).
  • In Memoriam: William H. Phelps Jr. In: The Auk . tape 107 , no. 1 , 1990, p. 181–183 (English, sora.unm.edu [PDF; 211 kB ]).
  • with Mary LeCroy, Ernst Mayr: New species of birds described from 1981 to 1990 . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . 112A, no. 4 , 1992, pp. 267–309 (English, biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • with Angelo Paul Capparella, Ivan Lazo: Two notable bird records from Chilean patagonia . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 113 , 1993, pp. 85-87 (English, biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  • with Allison Victor Andors: Breeding of Agriornis murina (Aves: Tyrannidae) in Patagonia, with comments on its habitat preferences and taxonomic position . In: Ornitologia Neotropical . tape 7 , no. 2 , 1996, p. 109–118 (English, ibiologia.unam.mx [PDF; 751 kB ]).
  • Some reflections about the problem of diffusion of publications among ornithologists studying Neotropical birds . In: Ornitologia Neotropical . tape 11 , no. 2 , 2000, pp. 185–188 (English, ibiologia.unam.mx [PDF; 137 kB ]).
  • In memoriam: Jean Dorst, 1924–2001 . In: The Auk . tape 121 , no. 4 , October 1, 2004, p. 1289–1290 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 121.4.1289 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 78 kB ]).
  • with Zachary A. Cheviron, Angelo Paul Capparella: Molecular Phylogenetic Relationships Among the Geositta Miners (Furnariidae) and Biogeographic Implications for Avian Speciation in Fuego-Patagonia . In: The Auk . tape 122 , no. 1 , January 1, 2005, p. 158–174 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 122.1.158 (English, [1] [PDF; 546 kB ]).
  • Dean of American Ornithologists: The Multiple Legacies of Frank M. Chapman of the American Museum of Natural History . In: The Auk . tape 122 , no. 2 , April 1, 2005, p. 389–402 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 122.2.389 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 4.2 MB ]).
  • In memoriam: Karel Hendrik Voous, 1920–2002 . In: The Auk . tape 122 , no. 1 , January 1, 2005, p. 355–356 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 122.1.355 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 78 kB ]).
  • Ernst Mayr's biogeography: A lifetime of study . In: Ornithological Monographs . No. 58 , 2005, pp. 58-72 , doi : 10.2307 / 40587710 (English).
  • In Memoriam: Jack Davies Goodall Callaway (Galloway?), 1892 (1893?) - 1980 . In: The Auk . tape 123 , no. 2 , April 1, 2006, p. 355–356 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 123.2.594 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 77 kB ]).
  • In memoriam: Paul Géroudet, 1917–2006 . In: The Auk . tape 124 , no. 4 , October 1, 2007, p. 1457–1459 , doi : 10.1093 / auk / 124.4.1457 (English, watermark.silverchair.com [PDF; 820 kB ]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Alan Brush (2017), p. 776.
  2. ↑ a b c d Alan Brush (2017), p. 777.
  3. ^ Gary Russell Graves (1980), p. 230.
personal data
SURNAME Vuilleumier, François
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss-American ornithologist and zoological curator
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 2017
Place of death Piermont