Nature's Conscience: The Life and Legacy of Derek Ratcliffe

Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-1-904078-59-3
Verlag: Pelagic Publishing Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 598 Seiten, Format (B × H): 169 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 1611 g

Reihe: Wildlife and People

Derek Ratcliffe was arguably the most outstanding field biologist and conservationist of the 20th century. This book explores the breadth, quality and legacy of Derek’s work and has many personal reminiscences. The 30 contributors provide fascinating insights to a remarkable person, and events and issues which have shaped wild nature as we see it today. Each part ends with an article written by Derek.

Derek was passionate about nature and used his huge knowledge of nature to good effect. He possessed an intense curiosity which drove him to understand and protect nature. His interests ranged from birds, butterflies and dragonflies, and mountain flora and vegetation to the ecology and biogeography of peatlands and of mosses, liverworts, and ferns. He documented birds, plants, and insects in their habitats and maintained long-term population studies on several birds of prey as well as Raven, Golden Plover, Greenshank, and Dotterel. He documented the decline of the Peregrine Falcon and famously established the role of pesticides as its cause. He led the fight that saved the wild and remote Flow Country of northern Scotland from extensive afforestation. As the Nature Conservancy's Chief Scientist, he masterminded A Nature Conservation Review, which still underpins so much conservation policy and practice in Britain. His books have become classics of natural history writing. Through his employment as a conservationist and his books and articles, he massively influenced our awareness of nature – and its vulnerability.

Beautifully illustrated, this is a deeply inspiring book. It will appeal to a wide readership, curious about what makes such a towering figure so special, and united by an eagerness to see wildlife flourish.

With a foreword by Professor Sir John Lawton.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thompson, Des

Birks, Hilary

Birks, John

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Tier- und Umweltschutz
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften, Biologie: Sachbuch, Naturführer

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contributors  

Preface, acknowledgements, and nomenclature  

Foreword by Sir John Lawton  

The young naturalist – early days and influences

1. Derek Ratcliffe - early days in pursuit of nature / John Birks, Des Thompson, and Hilary Birks   

2. National Service and beyond / John Mitchell  

3. Personal observations on some local birds / Derek A. Ratcliffe  

The botanist – a quest for rarities and understanding plants in the landscape

4. Derek Ratcliffe - botanist and plant ecologist / John Birks and Hilary Birks  

5. Derek Ratcliffe and plant-hunting in southern Scotland and northern England / Rod Corner  

6. Bryology in the Highlands and Island of Scotland / David Long and Gordon Rothero  

7. Derek Ratcliffe and the Atlantic bryophytes of Britain and Ireland / Chris Preston

8. In the field with Derek Ratcliffe: long days and driving at speed / Lynne Farrell  

9. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and caring for Scotland’s flora / David Rae  

10. The mountain flora of Britain and Ireland / Derek A. Ratcliffe

The ornithologist – searching for and saving birds in wild places

11. Contributions to field ornithology – in search of nesting birds / Des Thompson  

12. North-West Highland reminiscences / Dick Balharry  

13. In Galloway and the Borders – in search of an enduring youth / Chris Rollie  

14. “lt seemed like a dream come true” – Derek Ratcliffe and the Peregrine surveys / Jeremy Greenwood and Humphrey Crick   

15. Pesticides and birds of prey – the breakthrough / Ian Newton  

16. Fouling our nest / Elspeth Huxley   

17. A thousand nest cards – from Derek Ratcliffe to the University Museum of Bergen / lngvar Byrkjedal  

18. Upland birds and their conservation / Derek A. Ratcliffe   

The conservationist – protecting nature

19. Nature conservation and the Nature Conservation Review – a novel philosophical framework / Des Thompson, William J. Sutherland, and John Birks  

20. Fighting for wildlife - from the inside / Stuart Housden  

21. Battling forestry and building consensus: woodland conservation post-1949 / Keith Kirby  

22. Forestry, ‘acid rain’, and the acidification of lakes / Rick Battarbee   

23. The Flow Country: battles fought, war won, organisation lost / David Stroud, Tim Reed, Mike Pienkowski, and Richard Lindsay   

24. A letter to Derek Ratcliffe / Richard Lindsay   

25. National and global biodiversity politics and legalities – some reflections / Peter Bridgewater   

26. Thoughts towards a philosophy of nature conservation / Derek A. Ratcliffe 

The communicator – landscape art and correspondence

27. Derek and l: a correspondence / Peter Marren  

28. Landscape art and nature / Will Williams and David Bellamy   

29. Lapland images / Derek Ratcliffe  

30. A reminiscence – from the introduction to The Peregrine Falcon / Derek A. Ratcliffe  

Bibliography of Derek Ratcliffe / Cathy Jenks   

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Thompson, Des
Professor Des Thompson is Principal Adviser on Science and Biodiversity with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Des works closely with government, and leads on key policy and science matters relating to nature. Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group advising the UN Convention on Migratory Species on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Eurasia and Africa, Des has specialist interests in birds and the uplands, and has published 15 books and more than 200 papers. An Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology, Chairman of the Field Studies Council (the UK’s leading provider of outdoor environmental education), he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Birks, John
Professor John Birks is an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has published more than 20 books and 400 papers, John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His research achievements are in the field of Quaternary science and environmental history. This includes quaternary palaeoecology, linking pollen analysis and vegetation history with modern ecology; and in quantitative palaeoecology, using numerical methods to analyse numerical palaeoecological data. In receipt of prestigious medals for his research from four countries, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal from the International Paleolimnology Association, John has editorial roles for nine scientific journals, and had a special issue of The Holocene dedicated to his lifetime work - entitled ‘At the frontiers of palaeoecology’. A Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, John is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Birks, Hilary
Professor Hilary Birks is Professor Emerita in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Hilary’s research focuses on reconstructing vegetation, environment and climate over the past 15,000 years, using macroscopic plant remains and pollen preserved in lake sediments. She worked extensively in Scotland before moving to Bergen in 1985, where she was appointed to a personal Chair in 2001. Hilary has made major contributions to knowledge on the development of Norwegian ecosystems and climate since the end of the last glacial period. A Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters,  Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Hilary received a lifetime achievement award from the International Paleolimnological Society.

Professor Des Thompson is Principal Adviser on Science and Biodiversity with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Des works closely with government, and leads on key policy and science matters relating to nature. Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group advising the UN Convention on Migratory Species on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Eurasia and Africa, Des has specialist interests in birds and the uplands, and has published 15 books and more than 200 papers. An Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology, Chairman of the Field Studies Council (the UK’s leading provider of outdoor environmental education), he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

Professor Hilary Birks is Professor Emerita in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Hilary’s research focuses on reconstructing vegetation, environment and climate over the past 15,000 years, using macroscopic plant remains and pollen preserved in lake sediments. She worked extensively in Scotland before moving to Bergen in 1985, where she was appointed to a personal Chair in 2001. Hilary has made major contributions to knowledge on the development of Norwegian ecosystems and climate since the end of the last glacial period. A Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters,  Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Hilary received a lifetime achievement award from the International Paleolimnological Society. 

Professor John Birks is an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has published more than 20 books and 400 papers, John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His research achievements are in the field of Quaternary science and environmental history. This includes quaternary palaeoecology, linking pollen analysis and vegetation history with modern ecology; and in quantitative palaeoecology, using numerical methods to analyse numerical palaeoecological data. In receipt of prestigious medals for his research from four countries, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal from the International Paleolimnology Association, John has editorial roles for nine scientific journals, and had a special issue of The Holocene dedicated to his lifetime work - entitled ‘At the frontiers of palaeoecology’. A Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, John is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.