Troy L. Best

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Troy Lee Best (born August 30, 1945 in Fort Summer , New Mexico ) is an American zoologist with a focus on mammalogy , ornithology, and herpetology . He is Professor of Zoology at Auburn University in the State of Alabama and the editor and author of numerous books and scientific articles.

life and work

Troy L. Best was born in Fort Summer, New Mexico in 1945 and attended various schools in Clayton, Clovis, Lovington, Portales and Tatum. He graduated from high school in Clayton in 1963 and then studied at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales . He did his Bachelor of Science there in 1967 in biology and anthropology. He first went to New Mexico State University and then to the University of Oklahoma in Norman , where he did his Master of Science in zoology in 1971 and also received his doctorate in 1976 . His dissertation was entitled Morphologic variation in kangaroo rats (Genus Dipodomys) of the Heermanni Group in Baja California, Mexico . From 1974 to 1976 he was Best Assistant Professor at Northeastern University in Boston and then became Research Professor at Eastern New Mexico University, where he stayed until 1986. From 1982 to 1983 he was also adjunct professor and from 1983 to 1988 assistant professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque . Also in 1983 he became a wildlife biologist at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish , where he mainly worked on rare and endangered species. In 1988 he moved to Auburn University, where he was Assistant Professor until 1991 and then Associate Professor until 1996, and finally Professor of Zoology from 1996 until today. He is also the curator of the mammals at the Auburn University Natural History Museum and the Julian L. Dusi Collection, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists. Best is also a member of the Sigma Xi Research Community and has served on the editorial boards of Mammalian Species , the Journal of Mammalogy, and The Southwestern Naturalist .

His main research interests are the ecology and taxonomy of vertebrates, mammalogy, ornithology and herpetology. He also deals with the biogeography of the North American desert regions and the threatened animal species. He was also honored with the Joseph Grinnell Award for his performance in training and public relations work in the field of mammals, including for public events on the protection of bats .

In 2018, Best wrote the chapter about the hedgehogs in volume eight of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World .

Awards

Troy L. Best has received several awards for his research work and also for his teaching work, in particular:

  • Founder's Award at the Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States , 2009
  • George Miksch Sutton Award in Conservation Research from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists, 2009
  • Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Lifetime Achievement Award , 2010
  • Joseph Grinnell Award from the American Society of Mammalogists , 2014

Publications (selection)

Troy L. Best has published more than 200 scientific and popular science articles, including, alone or with various co-authors, several editions of the Mammalian Species on North American small mammals , especially squirrels , rabbits and bats . He is also the author or co-author of a number of specialist academic books.

  • Troy L. Best, Julian L. Dusi: Mammals of Alabama. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 2014.
  • MJ Harvey, JS Altenbach, Troy L. Best: Bats of the United States and Canada. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland 2011.
  • MJ Harvey, JS Altenbach, Troy L. Best: Bats of the United States. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Little Rock, Arkansas 1999.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d About the authors. In: Troy L. Best, Julian L. Dusi: Mammals of Alabama. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 2014. ( Google Books )
  2. ↑ a b Troy L. Best at Auburn University, Alabama; Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b c 2014 Grinnell Award - Troy Best on the homepage of the American Society of Mammalogists ; Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  4. ^ Books . A list of the books published by Troy L. Best; Retrieved June 29, 2016.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Best, Troy L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Best, Troy Lee (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American zoologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 30, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Summer , New Mexico