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Dear Dr. Barbour

Frederick Rowe Davis

in The Man Who Saved Sea Turtles: Archie Carr and the Origins of Conservation Biology

Thomas Barbour occupied many roles in the lives of Archie and Marjorie Carr: mentor, parent figure, colleague, collaborator, benefactor, role model, and most of all, friend. Over the course of their ... More

Thomas Barbour occupied many roles in the lives of Archie and Marjorie Carr: mentor, parent figure, colleague, collaborator, benefactor, role model, and most of all, friend. Over the course of their friendship with Barbour, the Carrs matured as scientists. Archie in particular published extensively as a result of his taxonomic research on the turtle collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). Later, when his interests shifted from systematics to ecology and conservation, Carr continued to draw on taxonomy to determine which species most needed protection. In fact, throughout his long career, he cited taxonomy as one of the critical components of conservation. The Carrs reciprocated Barbour's kindness in many ways, from sending oranges to arranging for an honorary doctorate to heaping lavish praise on his popular books. It is possible to identify in the long friendship with Barbour the seeds of the characteristics that would make Carr a renowned scientist, conservationist, and writer.Less

. Naturalists in New England: Thoreau, Agassiz, and Gray

John G. T. Anderson

in Deep Things out of Darkness: A History of Natural History

In which we examine the beginnings of the decline of natural history and the rise of nature writing or environmental literature. Thoreau’s role as an iconic figure in literature is examined as are ... More

In which we examine the beginnings of the decline of natural history and the rise of nature writing or environmental literature. Thoreau’s role as an iconic figure in literature is examined as are his studies in natural history. These are presented against the backdrop of the long-running feud between the zoologist Louis Agassiz and the botanist Asa Gray and their struggles to control the direction of science in the United States.Less

Sounding the Alarm About Continent-Wide Wildlife Extinction

in Nature's Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Ecology

In 1876, Joel Asaph Allen, a curator at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology, issued a series of publications in which he lamented the decline of North America's wildlife and chronicled ... More

In 1876, Joel Asaph Allen, a curator at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology, issued a series of publications in which he lamented the decline of North America's wildlife and chronicled numerous native species that had either been lost or greatly diminished in number. He spoke briefly of the forces that threatened those that still managed to hang on and offered concrete proposals that might stem their decline, including that of birds and mammals. While naturalists, sport hunters, and others had previously noted in passing how humans had driven individual species to extinction or near extinction, Allen's publications marked one of the earliest extended discussions of the larger process of human-induced wildlife extinction. Romanticism, nationalism, and the recognition that humans could profoundly change the natural world provided frameworks for eliciting concern about human-caused extinction of wildlife in America. At the same time, the rise of recreational hunting and fishing offered a large, politically vocal constituency that sought to reverse the decline of numerous species, especially those pursued as game.Less