Carl Rettenmeyer: Difference between revisions
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Rettenmeyer attended [[Swarthmore College]] as an undergraduate, majoring in Biology and graduated in 1953.<ref name=paperobit/> Whilst in his junior year he was contacted by [[Theodore Schneirla]], an acquaintance of his professor. Schneirla was studying the behaviour of army ants and needed an assistant to work for six months on [[Barro Colorado Island]] (BCI) in [[Panama]], which Rettenmeyer accepted.<ref name=swath>http://media.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/?p=143</ref> Schneirla was interested in army ants behaviour as he thought that by studying it he could understand how it would be possible for humans to fight wars more effectively. They spent many nights observing army ant trails and it was at this time that Rettenmeyer noticed that other animals lived on the ants.<ref name=Dunn2010>{{cite book|author=Rob Dunn|title=Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=i_eFRGLiyLEC&pg=PA115|accessdate=27 September 2011|date=27 April 2010|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-143031-2|pages=115–124}}</ref> |
Rettenmeyer attended [[Swarthmore College]] as an undergraduate, majoring in Biology and graduated in 1953.<ref name=paperobit/> Whilst in his junior year he was contacted by [[Theodore Schneirla]], an acquaintance of his professor. Schneirla was studying the behaviour of army ants and needed an assistant to work for six months on [[Barro Colorado Island]] (BCI) in [[Panama]], which Rettenmeyer accepted.<ref name=swath>http://media.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/?p=143</ref> Schneirla was interested in army ants behaviour as he thought that by studying it he could understand how it would be possible for humans to fight wars more effectively. They spent many nights observing army ant trails and it was at this time that Rettenmeyer noticed that other animals lived on the ants.<ref name=Dunn2010>{{cite book|author=Rob Dunn|title=Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=i_eFRGLiyLEC&pg=PA115|accessdate=27 September 2011|date=27 April 2010|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-143031-2|pages=115–124}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | After graduating he studied a PhD in [[entomology]] at the [[University of Kansas]] under the supervision of [[Charles Duncan Michener]], which he completed in 1962.<ref name=paperobit/><ref name=swath/><ref>http://entomology.biodiversity.ku.edu/graduate-alumni</ref> During his PhD ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine approached him asking him to accompany a photographer to BCI to photograph army ants. Rettenmeyer says that this was his "lucky break" and during nine weeks spent on BCI he collected thousands of specimens, including 147 species of mite found living on the ants. Upon his return to Kansas he was encouraged by faculty members to apply for funding so he could return to study army ants in the rainforest.<ref name=swath/> |
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| ⚫ | After graduating he studied a |
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<ref>{{cite doi|10.1641/B580115}}</ref> |
<ref>{{cite doi|10.1641/B580115}}</ref> |
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In 1963 he rediscovered the army ant ''[[Neivamyrmex sumichrasti]]'' which was first described by [[François Sumichrast]] in the 1860s but then never studied again. He helped another expedition in 2003 to try and find the species again and in particular a species of beetle associated with it. The species ''[[Ecitosius robustus]]'' or the robust army ant beetle is almost impossible to distiguish physically from the host ant. Although researchers did find the ant, Rettenmeyer was unable to find any robust army ant beetles among the samples that were collected.<ref name=Dunn2010/> |
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Science paper about laying trails <ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rq8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3215,3875184&dq=carl-rettenmeyer&hl=en</ref><ref>{{cite doi|10.1126/science.1215991}}</ref> |
Science paper about laying trails <ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rq8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3215,3875184&dq=carl-rettenmeyer&hl=en</ref><ref>{{cite doi|10.1126/science.1215991}}</ref> |
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''[[Ecitosius robustus]]'' - robust army ant beetle<ref name=Dunn2010/> |
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Working with his wife, Rettenmeyer identified 557 species of animals associated with ''[[Eciton burchellii]]'', the greatest number of animals known to associate with any single animal species. Although many of the associations are likely to be opportunistic, over 300 species are thought to be reliant on the ant to survive. As well as these species, Rettenmeyer collected many thousands of specimens that have not been identified.<ref name=berghoff>{{cite doi|10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8}}</ref> He spent his later years examining samples from 1600 army ant colonies he had collected and in total found 45,000 mites. Of these mites, only 3% have been studied and whilst doing so, three new mite [[family (biology)|families]] were identified as well as over 100 new species. Those identified often have inconceivably strange lifestyles; one species only lives on the feet of one particular species of ant acting as a kind of second foot; another only lives on the eye of another species; ''[[Rettenmeyerius carli]]'' lives on the base of worker's [[mandible]]s.<ref name=Dunn2010/> |
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==Teaching== |
==Teaching== |
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BBC<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9209000/9209345.stm</ref> |
BBC<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9209000/9209345.stm</ref> |
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<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gotwald W.H.|date=2009 |title=In memoriam - Carl W. Rettenmeyer (1931-2009). |journal=M''yrmecological'' News |volume=12 page=250}}</ref> |
<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gotwald W.H.|date=2009 |title=In memoriam - Carl W. Rettenmeyer (1931-2009). |journal=M''yrmecological'' News |volume=12 |page=250}}</ref> |
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He retired in 1996<ref>http://articles.courant.com/1996-11-24/news/9611220161_1_natural-history-connecticut-state-museum-ants</ref> |
He retired in 1996<ref>http://articles.courant.com/1996-11-24/news/9611220161_1_natural-history-connecticut-state-museum-ants</ref> |
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Revision as of 14:02, 1 October 2011
Carl W. Rettenmeyer (February 10 1931 - April 9 2009)[1] was an American biologist who specialised in army ants.
Personal life
Rettenmeyer was born in Meriden, Connecticut, to his parents Frederick and Gertrude; he had one sister. He married his wife Marian in 1955, together having a son and a daughter.[1]
Education
Rettenmeyer attended Swarthmore College as an undergraduate, majoring in Biology and graduated in 1953.[1] Whilst in his junior year he was contacted by Theodore Schneirla, an acquaintance of his professor. Schneirla was studying the behaviour of army ants and needed an assistant to work for six months on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama, which Rettenmeyer accepted.[2] Schneirla was interested in army ants behaviour as he thought that by studying it he could understand how it would be possible for humans to fight wars more effectively. They spent many nights observing army ant trails and it was at this time that Rettenmeyer noticed that other animals lived on the ants.[3]
After graduating he studied a PhD in entomology at the University of Kansas under the supervision of Charles Duncan Michener, which he completed in 1962.[1][2][4] During his PhD Life magazine approached him asking him to accompany a photographer to BCI to photograph army ants. Rettenmeyer says that this was his "lucky break" and during nine weeks spent on BCI he collected thousands of specimens, including 147 species of mite found living on the ants. Upon his return to Kansas he was encouraged by faculty members to apply for funding so he could return to study army ants in the rainforest.[2]
In 1963 he rediscovered the army ant Neivamyrmex sumichrasti which was first described by François Sumichrast in the 1860s but then never studied again. He helped another expedition in 2003 to try and find the species again and in particular a species of beetle associated with it. The species Ecitosius robustus or the robust army ant beetle is almost impossible to distiguish physically from the host ant. Although researchers did find the ant, Rettenmeyer was unable to find any robust army ant beetles among the samples that were collected.[3]
Science paper about laying trails [6][7]
Working with his wife, Rettenmeyer identified 557 species of animals associated with Eciton burchellii, the greatest number of animals known to associate with any single animal species. Although many of the associations are likely to be opportunistic, over 300 species are thought to be reliant on the ant to survive. As well as these species, Rettenmeyer collected many thousands of specimens that have not been identified.[8] He spent his later years examining samples from 1600 army ant colonies he had collected and in total found 45,000 mites. Of these mites, only 3% have been studied and whilst doing so, three new mite families were identified as well as over 100 new species. Those identified often have inconceivably strange lifestyles; one species only lives on the feet of one particular species of ant acting as a kind of second foot; another only lives on the eye of another species; Rettenmeyerius carli lives on the base of worker's mandibles.[3]
Teaching
Although the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History He was the founding director of the which opened in 1985.[1]
After his death a set of papers on army ants were published in Insectes Sociaux in memory of his work.[9]
BBC[10]
He retired in 1996[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e http://mansfield.htnp.com/2009/04/14/carl-w-rettenmeyer-%E2%80%93-feb-10-1931-april-9-2009/
- ^ a b c http://media.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/?p=143
- ^ a b c Rob Dunn (27 April 2010). Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys. HarperCollins. pp. 115–124. ISBN 978-0-06-143031-2. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ http://entomology.biodiversity.ku.edu/graduate-alumni
- ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1641/B580115, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1641/B580115instead. - ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Rq8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3215,3875184&dq=carl-rettenmeyer&hl=en
- ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1126/science.1215991, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1126/science.1215991instead. - ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8instead. - ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1007/s00040-011-0178-6, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1007/s00040-011-0178-6instead. - ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9209000/9209345.stm
- ^ Gotwald W.H. (2009). "In memoriam - Carl W. Rettenmeyer (1931-2009)". Myrmecological News. 12: 250.
{{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|journal=(help) - ^ http://articles.courant.com/1996-11-24/news/9611220161_1_natural-history-connecticut-state-museum-ants