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From: ORNITH-L: the scientific discussion of Ornithology
On Behalf Of Ellen Paul
Sent: Saturday, 28 March 2009 7:27 AM
To:
Subject: Allen Keast, 1922 - 2009
I just learned that Allen Keast died on March 8. This article, from Picoides
(the newsletter of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists). Bloody hell.
Loss of an amazing scientist and human being. No wonder the world is so
lacking a sense of humor lately.
Ellen
Dr. Allen Keast passed away on Sunday, 8 March, at about noon, in Kingston
General Hospital where he was admitted about three weeks ago due to an
infection in his
heart. He was in his 87th year.
Allen was born November 15, 1922 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He
was an avid naturalist from his earliest boyhood - a passion that continued
throughout his
career. A family myth suggests that as soon as Allen opened his eyes, his
old Scottish grandfather pushed his head up to a bird's nest so he could see
into it. As a young boy, he fashioned his interest in natural history by
finding nests and being fascinated by the details of colour
and pattern of birds' eggs, finding it both a challenge and a
thrill to find a nest and add to his egg collection. Even at
this early age, his love of nature and his curiosity led him
to many outdoor adventures on his own; he told with
great pride and fondness how his grandmother allowed
him, at age 8, to take a billy can and matches into the
bush alone to make tea.
Following high school, Allen served in the Australian Army, being stationed
for some 20 months in
New Guinea, specifically in New Britain. By this time, his exploration of
natural history and, in
particular, of the world of birds had led him to develop his typing skills
so that he could transcribe his
nature notes. This in turn got him a typing job with the command in New
Guinea, and provided him
with the opportunity to explore the natural history and the avifauna in this
tropical rainforest habitat
that was of such great interest to him. Rumour has it that his fellow
soldiers delighted in putting
whatever specimens they could lay their hands on (snakes or otherwise) into
his bed for him to find.
Upon completion of his military service, Allen attended the University of
Sydney from 1946 to 1950
when he was awarded a B.Sc. with first class Honours. He continued his
education at Sydney, while
also holding a post as Assistant Curator of Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
at the Australian Museum,
and earned a M.Sc. degree in 1952. He recounted with great delight and
gratitude how, as an
ornithologist at the Australian Museum, he had many opportunities to learn
from some of the great
amateur naturalists and ornithological masters of the time. Many of these
colleagues were self-taught
in this regard.
In 1953, Allen was awarded the Peter Brooks Saltonstall Scholarship at
Harvard University for his
Ph.D. studies. At Harvard, Allen was the first graduate student supervised
by one of the leading
evolutionary biologists of our time, Professor Ernst Mayr. He also worked
with the renowned
comparative anatomist, Alfred Sherwood Romer. The Museum of Comparative
Zoology at Harvard
published Allen's PhD thesis, "Bird Speciation on the Australian Continent"
in 1961.
After earning his PhD in 1955, Allen became Curator of Birds, Reptiles and
Amphibians at the
Australian Museum in Sydney, a position he held from 1955 to 1960. He then
held a Visiting
Researcher position at the Edward Grey Institute at Oxford University, as
well as an appointment in
1962 as Visiting Biologist in South African National Parks, Pretoria, South
Africa.
Allen had a very strong interest in Australian natural history and he was
also keenly interested in
functional morphology and the role of evolution in shaping adaptations and
hence community
structure. He recognized that the fauna of the isolated island-continent of
Australia was very different
from that of the southern continents of Africa and South America, and this
led Allen to produce major
works on evolution in the southern continents.
Allen joined the Biology Department at Queen's University at Kingston in
1962 as Assistant Professor,
and quickly moved up through the ranks to Full Professor, a position that he
held until his retirement
in 1989.
Upon coming to Queen's, and finding himself in Canada, Allen was faced with
a different biota in the
cold-dominated, highly seasonal north temperate region, and he saw an
opportunity to study
biogeography and the forces molding community structure on a much smaller
scale - that of the fish
fauna in the isolated lakes of southern Ontario. He established a field
program at the Queen's
University Biological Station at Lake Opinicon, and for more than 30 years
examined comparative
morphology and competition in those fish communities. This work extended to
bird communities, and
led to his edited volume "Biogeography and Ecology of Forest Bird
Communities," published in 1990
and spanning a diversity of communities from around the globe.
Allen's early interest in natural history and in birds led him to continued
work on birds, and
involvement with the ornithological communities in both Australia and North
America throughout his
career. Similarly, his interest in biogeography and the evolution of faunas
led him to also continue
work on large-scale biogeography and on vertebrate community structure.
Hence, Allen never had to
choose between these somewhat disparate but complimentary avenues of
endeavour, and he
managed to balance three major research thrusts, dealing with birds, with
fish, and with large-scale
biogeography.
Throughout his career, Allen was a strong proponent of field studies and
field stations for both
research and teaching, recognizing the value of exposing both undergraduate
and graduate students
to study organisms in their natural environment.
During Allen's time at Queen's, he trained many undergraduates and at least
27 graduate students.
He published at least 50 primary research papers, 60 book and conference
chapters and 7 books on
biogeography. His work served to draw the attention of the world's
ecologists and evolutionary
biologists to the unique biogeography of Australia. In the Canadian lakes,
he was a leader in
demonstrating that the ecology of fishes changes dramatically as they grow.
He recognized and took
advantage of the unique opportunity that lakes provide - that of a suite of
organisms locked in
isolation in a common environment, often competing for common resources.
Over the 25 years he
studied fish communities in Eastern Ontario's myriad lakes, especially at
the Queen's University
Biological Station, he produced another 30 scientific papers in this field.
One of Allen's great strengths was to synthesize. During his career, he
edited or co-edited numerous
volumes on evolution, biogeography and the relationships of biota, including
several on birds. One of
his more significant works was a 1980 volume on "Migrant Birds in the
Neotropics" co-edited with
Eugene Morton, that focused attention on issues of conservation for species
that inhabit multiple
regions throughout their life cycle, and highlighted a deficiency in our
knowledge of Neotropical
migrant birds on their wintering grounds.
As Professor Emeritus following his retirement, Allen continued his
involvement in field studies, and
persisted with his passion for writing. He maintained an active interest in
the department, and
especially in the Queen's University Biological Station, right up until his
death. Allen's generosity and
passion for field studies and for the biology station led him to endow the
J. Allen Keast Lake Opinicon
Undergraduate Research Fellowship in addition to establishing endowments for
lectureships at both
the University of Sydney and Queen's University.
In many ways, Allen Keast was larger than life - a generous, passionate, and
dedicated biologist with
a charm and personality that were both unique and memorable. He will be
greatly missed by many
friends and colleagues.
Allen was predeceased by a younger brother, John. His sister, Janet Baker,
who with her husband,
Sydney, lives near Seattle, survives him.
--
Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET
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www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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