Derek Almey Ratcliffe (9 July 1929 – 23 May 2005) was one of the most significant

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

nature conservationists of the 20th century. He was Chief Scientist for the

Nature Conservancy Council The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover Northern ...

at the Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, retiring in 1989. Ratcliffe was the author of the 1977

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

, a document which set out the most important sites for

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He also published various works on nature and conservation.

Biography

Derek Ratcliffe grew up in Carlisle, and married his wife, Jeannette, in March 1978.Obituary, Des Thompson & H.J.B. Birks ''British Wildlife'' Vol. 16 No.6 pp. 410–412, August 2005 Ratcliffe was the first person to discover the link between the use by farmers of

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are used to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for a ...

—such as

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

and

Dieldrin Dieldrin is an organochlorine compound originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the i ...

—and the decline of British populations of birds of prey, particularly the

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

. He was instrumental in persuading the UK government to end the tax advantages available for planting non-native

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

forests on Scottish

peat bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and mus ...

, which was threatening the internationally important large wetland area of

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

and

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

known as the

Flow Country The Flow Country () is a vast area of bog peatland in Caithness and Sutherland, northern Scotland. It is the largest blanket bog in Europe, and covers about . It is an area of deep peat, dotted with bog pools, and is a very important habitat fo ...

. Ratcliffe studied for a PhD at the

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

, completing it in 1953. He then undertook

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. He was awarded the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

's Bernard Tucker Medal in 1964. One of his most often cited works is a study on egg shell breakage conducted in the 1960s. Some, including

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) are credited with advancing mari ...

in her book ''

Silent Spring ''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT, a pesticide used by soldiers during World War II. Carson acc ...

'', have interpreted the study as establishing a causal link between

contamination and thinning of egg shells in raptors. Among his many other studies of the topic are papers on the effect on specific bird species, such as the

, the

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

, In these studies he developed "Ratcliffe's Index," considered "a reliable measure of relative shell thickness"

Publications

Derek Ratcliffe's most important publications include: * ''Plant Communities of the Scottish Highlands'' (1962, with Donald McVean) * ''

A Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

'' (1977 ) * ''The Peregrine Falcon'' (Poyser, 1980; expanded second edition 1993) * ''Bird Life of Mountain and Upland'' (Cambridge University Press, 1991 ) * ''The Raven'' (Poyser, 1997) * ''In Search of Nature'' (Broadfield, 2000) * ''Lakeland'' (Collins

New Naturalist The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...

, 2002 ) * ''Lapland: a natural history'' (Poyser, 2005 ) * ''Galloway and the Borders'' (Collins

, 2007 . Completed a few days before his death in 2005)

References

External links

Joint Nature Conservation Committee
– press release on Ratcliffe's death {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Derek British ornithologists British ecologists British environmentalists 1929 births 2005 deaths People educated at Carlisle Grammar School Alumni of Bangor University Non-fiction environmental writers New Naturalist writers 20th-century British zoologists