Charles Gald Sibley

Its formation

As of the 5 years age, it is interested in the birds and at 7 years, it reads specialized works (Seton and Burroughs) and knows that he will be naturalist. Its choice is encouraged by a professor with the college and an older friend, impassioned ornithology. At the time of its studies at the University of California to Berkeley, it does its first work of ground in Mexico (1939-1941). During the Second world war, he becomes officer in the communications of the U.S. Navy, spending 19 month in the Salomons Islands and Philippines, where he collects hundreds of specimens before going back to the USA, to finish its studies.

Its career

1948-1949 : professor of zoology, conservative of the birds, university of the Kansas.
1949-1953: assisting professor of zoology, San Jose State College, California.
1953-1965: professor associated with biology and professor of zoology; conservative of the birds, university of Cornell.
1965-1986: professor of biology, professor of ornithology, conservative of the birds, Natural history museum of natural history Peabody, university of Yale.
1970-1976: director, Natural history museum of Peabody natural history, university of Yale.
1986: professor emeritus of biology, university of Yale.
1986-1992: senior, professor of sciences and biology, university of State of San Francisco.
1993 -: professor emeritus of biology, university of State de Sonoma.

Its work

1939-1942 : studies and research on the fossil birds (paleontology).
1941-1957: studies of the geographical variations, the Speciation S, and interspecific hybridizations in the populations of wild birds.
1957-1993: studies in Biochemistry and Phylogeny, of the molecules of Protein S and DNA in the birds and the mammals.

Sibley starts to be interested in the Hybridation at the wild species and in its implications in the evolution and the Taxonomie. As of the beginning of the year 1960, it specializes in molecular biology: electrophoresis of proteins of blood (Hemoglobin) and of the egg white (Albumin).

With the beginning of the year 1970, Sibley is a pioneer of the Hybridation of the DNA, with the aspiration to discover, once and for all, the true relations between the various orders of birds. Very discussed by some of his/her colleagues at the beginning, the duration of its research and the reliability of its methods, reverse the opinion of some of them.

From the middle of the years 1980, the results of its work revise the phylogeny of the current birds in the light of the analyzes of DNA, results published in various articles between 1986 and 1993, at the same time discussed and of a major influence. In 1990, he is elected President of the international Congrès of ornithology.

Its principal publications “Phylogeny and Classification off Birds” (written with Jon Ahlquist) and “Distribution and Taxonomy off Birds off the World” (with Burt Monroe) are among the most quoted ornithological work. He is regarded as one of the largest ornithologists of the XXe century.

Its currency

: The perfection is for the future, but our task is to reach it as of now.

Posthumous publications

van Tuinen Mr., Sibley C.G. & Hedges S.B. (2000) The Early History off Modern Birds Inferred from DNA Sequences off Nuclear and Ribosomal Mitochondrial Genoa. Mol. Biol. Evol. , 17: 451-457

External bonds

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