摘要:

Avian systematics in southern Africa has been heavily dependent on a small number of museum-based specialists. They produced bird checklists which prescribed the names to be used by other scientists. After an initial phase of cataloguing the avifauna, a major preoccupation was the description of geographical variation, which was documented in an extensive subspecific nomenclature. Until recent years, few African ornithologists have been involved in systematics as a biological discipline. This historical overview considers the contribution of particular individuals from Andrew Smith to Phillip Clancey.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520409

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The history of seaweed systematics in South Africa may be divided into three phases. From the 18th century until 1930 collections were made primarily by visiting plant collectors, and were studied by European phycologists. The initiation of detailed ecological studies on rocky shores from 1932 necessitated the naming of species. G.F. Papenfuss, a South African who was trained in the U.S.A. and Sweden, was a major catalyst, supervising many students who included South African algae in their research. Pocock, Simons and Seagrief were prominent locally in documenting the flora in this period. Since 1980 there has been a major revival with, among others, Richard Norris from the USA producing a large body of work on Natal seaweeds, and Herre Stegenga from the Netherlands collaborating with local phycologists to produce a detailed flora of west coast seaweeds. More than 800 species of red, green and brown seaweeds have been recorded, making up one of the richest marine floras in the world, with a high level of endemism. Priorities for further work include detailed investigations on the south coast and the overlap with tropical East Africa, the green algae of the south and east coasts, as well as detailed phylogenetic studies on many groups.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520410

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Three clear phases can be discerned in the development of plant systematics in South Africa: (1) The Linnaean Phase in which Carl Linnaeus and C.P. Thunberg, two Swedish university academics, published the first methodically organised accounts of the Cape flora, 1753–1823, their work being based largely on the philosophical principles set out in Linnaeus'sPhilosophia Botanica(1751). (2) Apart from early attempts to publish locally by C.F. Ecklon and W.H. Harvey, the second phase, which continued throughout the Victorian period and beyond, was entirely dominated by talented, untrained amateurs like H. Bolus, J. Medley Wood and F. Guthrie (Angiosperms) as well as T.R. Sim (Bryophytes and Pteridophytes). Louisa Bolus continued the amateur tradition into the mid 1960s, describing 4¼% of the currently recognised species of Angiosperms in South Africa. Explicit theoretical and philosophical considerations were non-existent during this phase, their aim being to produce practical taxonomies. (3) The modern phase began in the early 20th century with the South African College offering a degree course in Botany containing basic systematics. This led ultimately to the awarding of the first local doctoral degree in plant systematics to M.R. Levyns in 1932 at the University of Cape Town. Formal academic training in systematics proceeded sporadically at other local universities until the mid 1950s when a minor renaissance took place under E.A. Schelpe at the University of Cape Town, leading to the emergence of a new generation of systematists having both theoretical and practical training. Natal University, under Kathleen Gordon-Gray, followed suit in the 1960s.

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520411

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

ISSN:0035-919X    

DOI:10.1080/00359199909520412

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor