What is a lepidopterist:LESSONS FROM ORNITHOLOGY

[Michael Gochfeld]

    I tried to post this last week, but I believe it didn't go through. With
regard to what
Chuck Vaughn wrote:

> > Likewise, the
> > term "lepidopterist" is better reserved for those with a strong link to
> > scientific activities - regardless of any professional affiliation.
>
> Why not use the terms "professional lepidopterist" and "amateur
> lepidopterist?"
>
> There are professional astronomers and amateur astronomers, professional
> radio people and radio amateurs. Why not the same for lepidopterists?
> There's no shame in being an amateur. Some amateurs are nearly as skilled
> as their professional counterparts, the difference being they don't
> get paid for their skills.
>
> Chuck <aa6g at aa6g.org>

================================================================
About a decade ago, Joanna Burger, Peter Stettenheim, and I conducted a
survey of all of the
Elective Members of the AOU and asked them for the name of their advisor for
their PhD research as well as for PhD students they had advised.
We constructed a family tree of ornithology, going back to just a very few
"fathers" of all ornithology doctorates in the Americas.

 Bob Arbib, very active in the Audubon Society and on the editorial board of
the American Birds (an Audubon publication), and a long time elective member
of the AOU (sans PhD), lambasted us publicly for this effort as being a slap
at amateur ornithologists and a divisive force, etc etc.  He wrote to urge
that the project be aborted.

It wasn't.  We used the results as a poster at an AOU meeting, and the matter
seemed to die after that.  We were amused that a number of professors
disavowed some who claimed them as advisors, while some students denied
association with professors who claimed them as proteges.  Some interesting
stories there but not relevant to the discussion of professional vs
amateur.   We were interested that a number of the PhD recipients  were no
longer working in ornithology.

It did not have a divisive effect (nor probably any other significant effect)
as far as we could tell.
Amateurs and professionals continue to contribute significant research
findings to ornithology, although amateurs are less likely to publish their
work in the "scientific" journals and more likely to publish in popular
journals that are beneath the dignity of some of the professionals.

Mike Gochfeld
non-professional lepidopterist (i.e. we didn't get royalties on our book) and
we have to pay for our field trips.


 
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