Leo Joseph

Leo George Joseph (born October 22, 1958 in Adelaide , South Australia ) is an Australian ornithologist . His research focuses on the evolution of birds and the parrots of South America , Australia and New Guinea .

Life

From 1977 Joseph completed a degree in zoology at the University of Adelaide , where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1979 and a Bachelor of Science with honors in 1981. From 1978 to 1979, from 1983 to 1984 and from 1987 to 1988, he conducted field studies on various endangered bird species in Australia. From 1985 to 1987 he conducted research in South America. In 1989 he enrolled in the University of Queensland in Brisbane , where he in 1994 with a thesis A molecular approach to species diversity and evolution in eastern Australian rainforest birds under the direction of Craig Moritz for Ph.D. received his doctorate. To do this, he investigated the biodiversity and evolution of eastern Australian rainforest birds on a molecular level.

From 1994 to 1997 he was visiting professor for ornithology and evolution at the Laboratorio de Evolución at the Faculty of Science of the Universidad de la República in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he worked with Enrique P. Lessa . There his interest in the evolution of bird migration and the integration of ecological diversity and evolution was shaped. In 1997 he became chairman and assistant curator of the ornithology department of the then Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and stayed there until his return to Australia in 2005. Since November 2005 he has been director of the Australian National Wildlife Collection at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization .

Joseph's research covers the evolutionary biology of birds, in particular the systematics , ecology and avifauna of Australia, New Guinea and the Neotropical region, phylogeny and bird protection. He has published studies on Loris , Pennant parakeets , Rotschwanzsittichen , Gerygonen , honey eaters and authentics Gold cuckoos .

In 2000, in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Joseph published the study Beginning an end to 63 years of uncertainty: The Neotropical parakeets known as Pyrrhura picta and P. leucotis comprise more than two species , in which he stated that The species complex of the Red-bellied Parakeet ( Pyrrhura picta ) and the White-eared Parakeet ( Pyrrhura leucotis ) does not consist of two species , as classified by James Lee Peters in 1937 in the Check-list of birds of the world , but of twelve, several of which were previously identified as Taxa considered subspecies , including the Jaraquiel parakeet ( Pyrrhura subandina ), recognized as species in their own right.

In 2002, Joseph described the Rio Madeira Parakeet ( Pyrrhura snethlageae ) and the wave breast parakeet ( Pyrrhura peruviana ) and 2016 in collaboration with Joseph Forshaw subspecies Barnardius zonarius parkeri the ring parakeet .

In 2004 Joseph was involved in the chapter on the family of tyrants (Tyrannidae) in the ninth volume of the Handbook of the Birds of the World . In 2011 he published the book Stray Feathers: Reflections on the Structure, Behavior and Evolution of Birds with Penny Olsen .

Joseph's bibliography contains over 200 publications, including books, book chapters, and specialist articles. From 1980 to 1988 he was editor of the South Australian Ornithologist and from 1983 to 1988 published the RAOU Monographs series . He is also a member of the editorial boards of several magazines, including the specialist journal Emu , which he has supported and helped shape for many years.

Awards

In 2009, Boom and Bust: Bird Stories for a Dry Country , published in collaboration with Libby Robin and Robert Heinsohn, received the Whitley Award from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales . In 2018 Joseph was awarded the DL Serventy Medal from Birdlife Australia .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Joseph, Leo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Joseph, Leo George (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Australian ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH	October 22, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH	Adelaide , South Australia