13.02.2007 |
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| Passing of Canadian shark expert R. Aidan Martin | |
R. Aidan Martin was the Director of the ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research, a Research Associate of the Zoology Department of the University of British Columbia, and an Adjunct Professor of the Oceanographic Center of Nova Southeastern University. Aidan died of unknown causes on February 13. Aidan was internationally recognized as an expert in shark biology and behavior. He carried out his first grass-roots shark research project at the age of nine and began his Bachelor of Science (Hon.) in Marine Biology at only 13. He studied elasmobranch fishes (sharks and rays) for over 30 years in some 40 countries and territories. His main areas of research were the evolution, phyletic relationships, functional morphology, life history, behavioral ecology, distribution, and conservation of elasmobranchs. A prolific writer and illustrator, Aidan published over 130 scientific and popular articles and four books. He had also organized international scientific symposia on the biology of deep-sea cartilaginous fishes and the biology and conservation of freshwater elasmobranchs. Aidan was much sought after as a public speaker and television presenter. He was also an avid diver, having logged more than 14,000 hours in the ocean with some 90 species of sharks and rays. Everyone who had the opportunity of working with Aidan will remember him for his friendly and optimistic nature, for his witty sense of humor, and for his geniality. Aidan positively and lovingly impacted the lives and careers of so many people. He will be greatly missed and his loss will be felt by the Canadian shark science community for many years. |
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| Jeffrey Gallant and R. Aidan Martin were speakers at a diving jamboree in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, in 1996. Photo © GEERG (All rights reserved) | |
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