biological sciences 5
B I O L O G I C A L S C I E N C E S
in the southern hemisphere, and probably scientific discipline with the greatest inter-
the most comprehensive collection of Afri- national impact (of 108 analysed), ranking
can bird literature in the world. third, equal with Canada behind the US and
the UK.
Although several ornithologists, some of
considerable international acclaim, worked Among the natural sciences, ornithology
at institutions other than UCT, the estab- has benefited by its large public appeal,
lishment of the PFIAO provided a formal fuelled in part by popular books produced
home for ornithology as a professional sci- by amateur and professional ornithologists
ence in South Africa. The 1960s saw unprec- alike. The 1980s saw a significant growth in
edented developments in the public stand- what has come to be known as ‘citizen sci-
ing of science and technology. Funds for ence’, using birdwatchers to gather large
research were available from abroad as well data sets, especially about the distribution
as locally, but this bounty was not fully ex- and abundance of birds. The biggest such
ploited by the PFIAO. Much of the first dec- project to date was the Atlas of Southern
ade of the PFIAO involved the documenta- African Birds. This project, started under the
tion of the region’s avifauna which, despite
aegis of the PFIAO, was subsequently hand-
handbooks dating back to the 1860s, was
ed over to UCT’s department of statistical
still poorly known. Namibia also featured
sciences. As it grew, it led to the formation
prominently on the PFIAO’s agenda, being
of the Avian Demography Unit (now the
the first step towards the institute realising
Animal Demography Unit), which is now
its mission as a centre for the study of Afri-
responsible for many other, similar projects
can ornithology.
across a suite of taxa. The bird atlas collated
information from thousands of volunteers
Under new directorship, the PFIAO built
in six countries. At the time it was the larg-
up a critical mass of graduate students by
est biodiversity project ever carried out in
the mid-1970s and its research prospered,
Africa, culminating in the production of a
including the setting up of major research
two-volume analysis in 1997. Preparation of
programmes on the South African-owned
the second regional atlas is now underway.
Prince Edward Islands in the sub-Antarctic
Ocean. These have subsequently expanded Whilst the value of birdwatchers to orni-
to include the British-owned Gough Island thology should never be dismissed, there
and the Tristan Group, as well as Antarctica. is a widespread misconception that bird-
But scientific expansion into the remainder watching and ornithology are necessarily
of continental Africa was slower, accelera- synonymous. This is far from true; some of
ting only from the 1990s. By the mid-1980s, the most seminal concepts in biology have
politically imposed intellectual sanctions arisen from scientific studies of birds. The
were firmly in place, with many journals formulation of Darwin’s Theory of Natural
refusing to consider contributions from Selection was strongly influenced by obser-
South Africa. Despite this, in 1989, orni- vations of birds, as were the advances in be-
thology was identified as the South African havioural science of Tinbergen and Lorenz.
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