naming expeditions

[Jones, Brian Dr]

Off the subject a bit - but relevant to names of expeditions:

During WW2 the New Zealand Govt stationed observers on the sub-antarctic
islands (which had been used by German surface raiders in WW1).  They chose
biologists to stop boredom setting in (biologists stay sane in remote wind
swept places apparently), and the results of the various observations were
published under the name of the "Cape Expedition", a title vague enough to
hide the fact that the members were all military coastwatchers. Many of the
participants went on to become senior members of the scientific community.

Perhaps the military could be induced to fund young taxonomists in out of
the way places under a similar scheme!
Dr Brian Jones
Senior  Fish Pathologist, Fisheries WA
phone +61-8-9368-3649 fax +61-8-9474-1881

> ----------
> From:         Prof. Dov Por[SMTP:dovpor at NETVISION.NET.IL]
> Reply To:     Prof. Dov Por
> Sent:         Friday, 28 January 2000 2:41
> To:   TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
> Subject:      naming expeditions
>
> I fully agree with the dangers of the  "new", but  institutionalised
> selling
> of species names.  Instead, and in order still to obtain soft money from
> patrons, I suggest to return to an old practice of naming expeditions
> after
> patrons, like for instance "The Percy-Sladen Expedition". This was the
> name
> of a trust fund.  To finance a collecting trip  can give to the patron a
> title that is everlasting . For instance: " The Collembola" of the XXXX
> Expedition to  Ruritania" .  This would be necessarily more  money and
> better used. There will be no problems of hasty and irresponsible naming
> and
> no cluttering of the lists of synonyms.
> Dov Por
> **********************************
> Prof.Francis Dov Por
> Department of Evolution,Systematics and Ecology
> the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
> home 23 Kubovy 96757 Jerusalem
> voice 972.2.6410421
> fax 972.2.6416831
> e-mail : dovpor at netvision.net.il
>