Olivier Pauwels

Olivier Sylvain Gérard Pauwels (born September 1, 1971 in Asse , Province of Flemish Brabant ) is a Belgian biologist . His research focus is herpetology .

Life

Already in his childhood in Groot-Bijgaarden near Brussels , Pauwels developed a passion for zoology. He spent a large part of his school holidays at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren , where he learned the methods of morphology and systematic herpetology from the taxonomist Danny Meirte . This led Pauwels to study life sciences at the Université libre de Bruxelles , where he obtained his master’s degree.

Pauwels specializes in environmental impact assessments and environmental project management in industry. From 2001 to mid-2011 he was based in Gabon . In his various roles as training director for the WWF Gabon, as head of the Gabon program at the Smithsonian Institution or as coordinator for environmental, social and health impact assessment for Shell Gabon, he was given the opportunity to undertake scientific expeditions to remote and unexplored primeval forests and with to live with the pygmies . Through numerous articles and books he contributed to a better knowledge of Gabon's rich and endangered biodiversity .

From mid-2011 to 2015, Pauwels led environmental monitoring programs for a large oil consortium in Kazakhstan. During his tasks, which he carried out at times in extreme weather conditions in numerous remote outdoor and offshore areas , he acquired in-depth knowledge of the ecology and biodiversity of the Eurasian steppes and the Caspian Sea .

In addition to his activities in the areas of environmental project management, bio-monitoring and environmental and health impact assessment in industry, Pauwels is involved in various biodiversity research projects. His work here mainly focuses on taxonomy, phylogeny, nature conservation and the ecology of reptiles and amphibians. Occasionally, Pauwels also deals with other taxonomic groups such as insects, mammals, fish, and birds, as well as other disciplines such as ethnobiology and archeozoology .

Pauwels' research projects include contributions to a monograph on the biodiversity and ecosystems of the Ogooué Delta in Gabon (with Tariq Stévart from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Jean Pierre Vande Weghe from the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon), the systematics and Phylogeny of Southeast Asian geckos (with Aaron M. Bauer from Villanova University , Larry Lee Grismer from La Sierra University, Roman Nasarow and Nikolai Poyarkow from Lomonosov University Moscow and Montri Sumontha from Ranong Marine Fisheries Station), zoogeography of the amphibians of Gabon (with Piero Carlino from the Museo di Storia Naturale del Salento ), possible effects of invasive reptiles in Spain (with Vicente Sancho from the Asociación Herpetológica Española) and the investigation of vertebrate remains in prehistoric excavation sites in northwest Kazakhstan (with Nursultan Bairow from the Aqtöbe Regional Museum) .

Since 1996 Pauwels has been a research assistant at the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels. He is on the editorial board of the African Journal of Ecology and Thailand Natural History Museum Journal .

Since 2005 he has worked for the Red List of Endangered Species and the IUCN's Global Amphibian Assessment .

Pauwels is one of the first to describe more than 65 reptile species (including numerous geckos) from the Malay Peninsula , Thailand , Indonesia , Singapore , Cambodia , Laos and Vietnam , 12 amphibian species from West Africa and Central Africa and four insect species from Malaysia , New Guinea and Australia .

Dedication names

The orchid species Bulbophyllum pauwelsianum from Gabon, the blind snake species Letheobia pauwelsi from Gabon, the beetle species Nitorus pauwelsi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the bug species Taedia pauwelsi from French Guiana are named after Pauwels .

Web links

• Olivier Pauwels' website with biography and bibliography
• Brief biography at the Smithsonian Institution