Barbara Hibbs Blake (August 6, 1937 – August 18, 2019) was an American

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems. The archive of number of mammals on earth is constantly growin ...

and college professor.

Early life

Barbara Jo Hibbs was born in

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is the most populous city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Oregon. It is located in the Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 at the 2020 census, making it the principal city of th ...

, the daughter of Gordon Reid Hibbs and Marybelle Hauskins Hibbs (later Ramsby). Her mother was a nurse. She graduated from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

in 1959, and completed doctoral studies at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1967. Her dissertation under entomologist

Charles Lee Remington Charles Lee Remington (January 19, 1922 – May 31, 2007) was an American entomologist known for studies of butterflies and moths, a Yale University professor, and is considered the father of modern lepidoptery. He established a Periodical Ci ...

was titled "A comparative study of energy and water conservation throughout the annual cycle in ground dwelling ''

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

''."

Career

Blake was a mammalogist. Her physiology research resulted in articles including "The annual cycle and fat storage in two populations of

golden-mantled ground squirrel The golden-mantled ground squirrel (''Callospermophilus lateralis'') is a ground squirrel native to western North America. It is distributed in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, and through much of the western United States. D ...

s" (''Journal of Mammalogy'' 1972), "The effects of kidney structure and the annual cycle on water requirements in golden-mantled ground squirrels and chipmunks" (''Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology'' 1977), and "Reproduction of Asian chipmunks ('' Tamias sibiricus'') in captivity" (''Zoo Biology'' 1984, with K. E. Gillett). In her later work, she studied the vocalizations of voles, in "Ultrasonic vocalization and body temperature maintenance in infant voles of three species (Rodentia: '' Arvicolidae'')" (''Developmental Psychobiology'' 1992), and "Ultrasonic calling in isolated infant prairie voles (''

Microtus ochrogaster The prairie vole (''Microtus ochrogaster'') is a small vole found in central North America. Description The vole has long, coarse grayish-brown fur on the upper portion of the body and yellowish fur on the lower portion of the body. It has sh ...

'') and

montane vole The montane vole (''Microtus montanus'') is a species of vole native to the western United States and Canada. Description Montane voles are medium-sized voles, with a total length of , including the tail. Adults typically weigh anything from , ...

s (''M. montanus'')" (''Journal of Mammalogy'' 2002). Blake worked at

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

Queen Mary College Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

Bennett College Bennett College is a private university, private historically black colleges and universities, historically black liberal arts college, liberal arts Women's colleges in the Southern United States, college for women in Greensboro, North Carolin ...

, and

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

. She was a member of the science professional fraternity

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

, and of the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

. From the latter organization, she received the Hartley H.T. Jackson Award in 2007. She was editor in chief of the ''

Journal of Mammalogy The ''Journal of Mammalogy'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists. Both the society and the journal were established in 1919. The journal covers rese ...

''.

Personal life

Barbara Hibbs married Anthony Groverman Blake Jr. in 1962. They had daughters Virginia and Elizabeth (Eliza). Barbara Hibbs Blake died in 2019, aged 82 years, in Lincoln, Massachusetts. There is an Anthony and Barbara Blake Scholarship Fund at

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

in Greensboro, North Carolina.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Barbara Hibbs 1937 births 2019 deaths People from Roseburg, Oregon American mammalogists Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American academic journal editors