Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology

Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology

The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology (EGI), at Oxford University, England is an academic body which conducts research in ornithology and the general field of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on understanding organisms in natural environments. It is named in honour of Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, a notable politician and ornithologist.

The Institute houses the Alexander Library, the best ornithological library in Europe and one of the best in the world, which is named after W. B. Alexander.

History

The Edward Grey Institute (EGI) was founded in 1938, having grown out of the Oxford Bird Census, itself founded in 1927. It was the brainchild of Max Nicholson, Bernard Tucker, and Wilfred ('W. B.') Alexander, and was initially founded to promote the economic study of ornithology. It took its name from Viscount Grey, at one time Chancellor of the University and UK Foreign Secretary, and a life-long birdwatcher, perhaps best known as the man who remarked, on the eve of the First World War:

"The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime"

The first Director of the fledgling Institute was W.B. Alexander, remembered in the name of the EGI's library, the Alexander Library. Alexander was succeeded in 1945 by former school-teacher David Lack, one of the pioneers of population biology, who had already published The Life of the Robin. Lack served as Director until his death in 1973, and oversaw the growth of the EGI into an internationally known centre for research in to population biology of birds.

Lack was succeeded by Chris Perrins in 1974, who continued as Director until his official retirement in 2002. During this time, work in the EGI expanded from the field of population biology to encompass the new field of Behavioural Ecology, with John Krebs and Nick Davies (then at Oxford, now Professor of Behavioural Ecology at Cambridge) co-authoring the textbooks which defined the field. The EGI was also the centre for work on Birds of the Western Palearctic, up to its completion in 1990s, and became increasingly important as a training centre for ornithologists who went on to play important roles in Conservation.

Following Chris Perrins's retirement, a major endowment in honour of Dr Luc Hoffmann's eightieth birthday led to the establishment of the Luc Hoffmann Chair in Field Ornithology. Ben Sheldon was elected as the first holder of this chair, and as Director of the EGI in 2004.

By the end of 2006, a total of 165 DPhil students had successfully defended their theses based on work carried out at the EGI; this number is at least matched by the number of postdoctoral and other research visitors who have spent time at the Institute. Scientific research work on birds has been conducted on all continents, and the major research themes of the EGI, population and evolutionary ecology of birds, have been supplemented by a very wide range of research activities.

External links

* [http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/ Institute website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology — El Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, de la Universidad de Oxford es una organización académica que realiza investigaciones en ornitología, ecología de la evolución y biología de la conservación haciendo énfasis en la comprensión de los… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon — Infobox Officeholder honorific prefix = name = The Viscount Grey of Fallodon honorific suffix = KG, PC, DL imagesize = order1 = Foreign Secretary term start1 = 10 December 1905 term end1 = 10 December 1916 monarch1 = Edward VII George V… …   Wikipedia

  • Instituto Edward Grey de Ornitología de Campo — El Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, de la Universidad de Oxford es una organización académica que realiza investigaciones en ornitología, ecología de la evolución y biología de la conservación haciendo énfasis en la comprensión de los… …   Wikipedia Español

  • British Trust for Ornithology — The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles.ActivitiesThe BTO carries out research into the lives of birds, chiefly by conducting population and breeding surveys, and by… …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of ornithology — The following is a timeline of ornithology events:BC up*1500 800 BC The Vedas mention the habit of brood parasitism in the Asian Koel ( Eudynamys scolopacea ). (Ali, S. (1979), Bird study in India : its history and its importance. ICCR, New Delhi …   Wikipedia

  • British Trust For Ornithology — Le British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) (Trust britannique pour l’ornithologie) est une organisation consacrée à l’étude des oiseaux fondée en 1932 en Grande Bretagne. Sommaire 1 Activités 1.1 Publications 1.2 Atlas …   Wikipédia en Français

  • British trust for ornithology — Le British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) (Trust britannique pour l’ornithologie) est une organisation consacrée à l’étude des oiseaux fondée en 1932 en Grande Bretagne. Sommaire 1 Activités 1.1 Publications 1.2 Atlas …   Wikipédia en Français

  • British Trust for Ornithology — Le British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) (Trust britannique pour l’ornithologie) est une organisation consacrée à l’étude des oiseaux fondée en 1932 en Grande Bretagne. Sommaire 1 Activités 1.1 Publications 1.2 Atlas …   Wikipédia en Français

  • David Lack — Born 16 July 1910(1910 07 16) London Died 12 March 1973(1973 03 12) (aged 62) …   Wikipedia

  • Denis Owen — Denis Frank Owen (b. London 4 April 1931 – d. Oxford 3 October 1996) was a prominent British ecologist, naturalist, author, broadcaster and teacher. During his career he published 240 scientific papers, 40 popular articles and 10 books. His first …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”