Hubert Roer

Hubert Franz Maria Roer (born November 19, 1926 in Heessen ; † November 17, 2002 in Wachtberg-Villiprott ) was a German biologist, entomologist, bat researcher and conservationist.

youth

Hubert Roer was the son of a government superstructure inspector and attended the Catholic elementary school in Hamm from 1933 to 1936 , then from 1937 the Graf-Adolf-von-der-Mark-Oberschule, also in Hamm.

After being called up as an anti-aircraft helper in February 1943, then for the Reich Labor Service and military service, he was deployed to the front in the East and was a Soviet prisoner of war until September 18, 1945. Therefore, Roer was only able to take the final examination in 1946.

Professional career

After graduating from high school, Hubert Roer trained as a gardener in Münster and studied horticulture at the TH Munich .

In 1952 he graduated with a thesis on the limits and possibilities of bird protection in the context of biological pest control .

This was followed by a doctoral degree at the University of Bonn with the phytomedicist Hans Blunck , and a job at the Koenig Museum was made available to him for his doctoral thesis .

1956, after receiving his doctorate as Dr. agr., Roer joined the scientific staff of the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig with a research grant from the German Research Foundation .

In 1959, the director of the Museum Koenig , Martin Eisentraut , decided to set up the central office for bat ringing at the Museum Koenig. He entrusted the associated tasks to Hubert Roer, initially financed by a research grant from the German Research Foundation .

From 1963, Hubert Roer was the curator of the beetle collection and a scientific employee of the museum, but continued to oversee the central office for bat ringing.

This activity also resulted in a circular for bat ringers, which later became the world's second journal for bat studies, Myotis , published by Museum Koenig. Hubert Roer was responsible for editing this magazine until 1997.

From April 1, 1987 to June 30, 1989, Hubert Roer was acting director of the Museum Koenig.

Scientific work

Hubert Roer's dissertation dealt with the problems of insect migration , primarily butterflies. In the course of his subsequent activity at the Koenig Museum, he also researched butterfly migrations , for which he used, among other things, markings made of aluminum foil on the wings of the animals to facilitate their observation.

A focus of his scientific work was the research of black beetles of the genus Onymacris ( Coleoptera : Tenebrionidae ) from desert areas of South West Africa, which Roers was interested in because of their periodic migrations.

Hubert Roer wrote more than 140 scientific publications in the fields of entomology and bat studies during his professional life and afterwards.

natural reserve

From Hubert Roer's work as head of the ringing center for bats and as editor of Myotis, extensive work on the protection and preservation of bats in Germany grew . Roer was able to save numerous threatened bat colonies from destruction through his commitment. He also carried out this activity until his retirement and became one of the most important bat researchers and conservationists in Germany and Europe.

retirement

After his retirement in 1991, Hubert Roer continued his scientific work as editor of the journal Myotis until 1997 and as an author of scientific publications.

Hubert Roer died on the morning of November 17, 2002 in his hometown when he was collecting the Admiral's caterpillars in order to be able to observe their further development in his garden.

Honors

Hubert Roer was a holder of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . In addition, he was awarded the Rhineland Taler by the Rhineland Regional Council. More than twenty insect species have been named in his honor (list in).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Michael Schmitt: On the death of Hubert Franz Maria ROER. In: Bonn zoological contributions. 51 (2002), No. 1, pp. 79-86. ( online ; PDF; 928 kB)