Archive of 36 offprints by legendary ecologist and Director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley

1948 - 1989. First editions. 1948 - 1989

ARCHIVE OF OFFPRINTS BY EMINENT ECOLOGIST OLIVER PAYNE PEARSON, DIRECTOR OF MUSEUM OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY AT UC BERKELEY.

Collection of 36 offprints, including 6 of the 7 cited as "seminal papers" by WZ Lidicker Jr and JL Patton in their obituary of Oliver Pearson (https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/inmemoriam/html/oliverpaynepearson.html). The offprints are in very good condition with the exception of curled corners on a few, and are unmarked save for occasional underlining of Pearson's name under the title, and signature of J. M. Taylor on upper right corner of 5 papers.

PROVENANCE: likely Jocelyn Mary Taylor (1931 –2019), an American mammalogist, who served as president of the American Society of Mammalogists from 1982 to 1984.

OLIVER PAYNE PEARSON (1915 - 2003) earned both an M.A. (1939) and Ph.D. degree (1947) from Harvard University. In 1947 he was appointed instructor in zoology at UC Berkeley, and in 1948 he was also appointed assistant curator of mammals in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, thus initiating a 56-year association with the University. By 1955, Pearson had achieved tenure with his appointment as associate professor and associate curator. Then in 1957 he decided to "retire" so as to spend more time on his research, which increasingly was taking him to South America for long field seasons. In December 1966, he returned to the professorial track as acting director of the museum and professor of zoology. Three and a half months later he was made director, a demanding administrative position he held until 1971. At that time he retired a second time. As mentioned, his research and active involvement with the museum continued until his death. Pearson began his research career with three published papers based on two trips to Panama that he took with his undergraduate advisor Robert K. Enders. His first independent project was on the toxic bite of the short-tailed shrew. There followed a productive period of work on the reproductive biology of a variety of carnivores, while continuing his interest in shrew biology. Another area that soon attracted his attention was comparative metabolic studies of various vertebrates, including hummingbirds. After that his research became so eclectic that it defied classification. For many years he worked in the altiplano and deserts of Peru, and later switched his attentions to Argentina, especially the vicinity of Bariloche. A classic project involved a functional and descriptive account of the entire biota of the Atacama Desert, a region so arid that its only moisture comes from fog. He also contributed importantly with his studies of population outbreaks involving several species of rodents in the Peruvian deserts. His work in South America led him to pursue several major works on the systematics of various groups of mammals. Back in California he made major contributions to predator-prey theory with innovative research on California voles and their numerous predator species. In Argentina he studied bat reproduction and in 1976 began a long-continuing investigation of the rodent fauna along the eastern side of the Andes. He was particularly interested in the infrequent, massive, and coordinated flowering of bamboo with its subsequent dramatic effects on small mammal populations, which in turn had secondary effects throughout the community. In typical fashion, he greatly increased understanding of the ecological relations in that region.

PUBLICATIONS: His publication list totals 101, and the 36 papers offered here include the best of them. He published seminal papers in (one example given for each discipline, each included in the collection offered here): ecology ("History of two local outbreaks of feral house mice," Ecology 44:540-548; 1963); systematics (Oliver P. Pearson and J. L. Patton, "Relationships among South American phyllotine rodents based on chromosome analysis," Journal of Mammalogy 57:339-350; 1976); biogeography (Oliver P. Pearson and A. K. Pearson, "Ecology and biogeography of the southern rainforests of Argentina," pp. 129-142 in M. A. Mares and H. H. Genoways, eds., Mammalian biology in South America; 1982); reproductive biology (Oliver P. Pearson, E. R. Koford, and A. K. Pearson, "Reproduction of the lump-nosed bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) in California," Journal of Mammalogy 33:273-320; 1952); community ecology ("The prey of carnivores during one cycle of mouse abundance," Journal of Animal Ecology 35:217-233; 1966); and behavior ("Habits of the lizard Liolaemus multiformis at high altitude in southern Peru," Copeia 2:111-116; 1954). His research mostly concerned mammals, but he also published important work on birds, reptiles, amphibians, bamboos, and most recently on the familiar banana slug.
COMPLETE LIST OF OFFPRINTS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.