Rollo Beck - Contributions To Science

Contributions To Science

The work of Beck and other early ornithologists was undertaken primarily to document biodiversity before it was lost forever without being recorded, and to understand the evolution and ecology of the regions. The work of Beck and others brought an awareness of and a catalog of our biodiversity that is essential to have in order to do modern conservation. Much of what we know about Western US birds and Pacific ornithology - from Bent's "Life Histories of North American Birds" to Murphy's "Oceanic Birds of South America" rests on the work of Rollo Beck and other early ornithologists like him. Our understanding of biodiversity and our modern conservation biology, much of which seems to be anti-collecting, owes much to these early collectors who worked so diligently to document and preserve voucher specimens of our wildlife.