Ebbe Nielsen
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Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen (7 June 1950 – 7 March 2001) was a Danish
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
influential in
systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...
and
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
research, and an early proponent of
biodiversity informatics Biodiversity informatics is the application of informatics (academic field), informatics techniques to biodiversity information, such as Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, biogeography or ecology. It is defined as the application of information technolog ...
. The journal ''Invertebrate Systematics'' was established with significant contributions from Nielsen, and he assisted in the founding of the
Global Biodiversity Information Facility The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around th ...
(GBIF). Nielsen wrote several books, published over eighty scientific papers, and was highly regarded within the scientific community. Following his death, the GBIF organised the Ebbe Nielsen Prize in his memory, awarded annually to promising researchers in the field of biodiversity informatics. The moth '' Pollanisus nielseni'' is named after Nielsen.


Early life and education

Nielsen was born on 7 June 1950 in Ry, Denmark. His parents were farmers, and he and his brother frequently explored the surrounding Jutland countryside, playing in forests and by the shores of Mossø, a lake near their home. Inspired by reading about collecting and identifying moths and butterflies, Nielsen began gathering specimens at the age of fourteen and later joined an entomology club based in
Ã…rhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Ã…rhus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
. Nielsen attended
Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...
while working part-time for a local museum. Following graduation, he was solicited to join a project on the ecosystem of Danish beech forests, which the museum had been involved in. With this appointment, Nielsen began his masters research, collecting numerous specimens as part of the project and studying their
phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...
and distribution, gaining his MSc in zoology in 1976.


Career

Following writing a volume on the moth family
Elachistidae The Elachistidae (grass-miner moths) are a family of small moths in the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea. Some authors lumpers and splitters, lump about 3,300 species in eight subfamilies here, but this arrangement almost certainly result ...
and working on the checklist of Danish Lepidoptera, Nielsen was invited through the
University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...
to participate in a six-month expedition to South America. The trip commenced in 1978 and focused on extensive biodiversity surveys of the
Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
region. Nielsen managed much of the expedition and was involved with it for the whole of the period, one of only two of the original fifteen scientists to see the project through to completion. The experience provided him with considerable material for his PhD and he developed an appreciation for the fauna of the southern hemisphere, where he would live for the next two decades. Nielsen acquired his PhD from the University of Copenhagen in 1980. A year later, he was engaged by the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...
(CSIRO) to work in Australia on primitive
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
and other Lepidoptera inventories. He focused less on pure research after 1990, when he was appointed director of the Australian National Insect Collection in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
. He was instrumental in the establishment of
CSIRO Publishing CSIRO Publishing is an Australian-based science and technology publisher. It publishes books, journals and magazines across a range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, natural history and enviro ...
in 1996, and in particular the journal ''Invertebrate Taxonomy'' (known as ''Invertebrate Systematics'' since the beginning of 2002). He chaired the editorial committee for the journal and was a frequent contributor. Nielsen enthusiastically advocated for a comprehensive repository of data on species and their characteristics, recognising
informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...
as a key to understanding and managing biodiversity. During the 1990s, he and other scientists pushed for an extensive global biodiversity resource, designed to utilise up-to-date informatics software and capable of collating data held on various separate databases. In 1999, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
endorsed a proposal for the establishment of 'a global biodiversity information facility', and on 1 March 2001, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility was officially launched. As Australia's Head of Delegation for the GBIF and a founding member, Nielsen was en route to Montreal to attend the first meeting of the governing board when he died of a heart attack. The Karl Jordan Medal for lepidopterology was awarded to Nielsen by the Lepidopterist' Society in 1990, and he was later a member of the award committee. That same year he was the recipient of the David Rivett Medal from the
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...
, and in 1992 of the Ian Mackerras Medal, awarded to him by the Australian Entomological Society. Nielsen was a member of several committees, societies, and advisory boards, was a Foreign Associate of the
United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, and a Foreign Fellow of the
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters ({{Langx, da, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab or ''Videnskabernes Selskab'') is a Danish academy of science. The Royal Danish Academy was established on 13 November 1742, and was create ...
. Nielsen was the author or co-author of eight books and monographs, and was editor or co-editor of many more. He also wrote over eighty other published pieces, mostly research and academic papers. The majority of his publications were on the topics of systematics, Lepidoptera, biological inventories, biodiversity, and informatics.


Death and legacy

Nielsen died in his sleep of a heart attack on 7 March 2001. He was in California for a conference while on his way to Montreal from Australia to attend the inaugural session of the governing board for the newly established GBIF, a project with which he had been significantly involved. A few days after his death, during the meeting Nielsen had been due to participate in, the GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Prize was created to honour his memory. The annual prize recognized a researcher who had made substantial contributions to biodiversity informatics. In 2015, GBIF revamped the award as an incentive competition, now known as the GBIF
Ebbe Nielsen Challenge The Ebbe Nielsen Challenge is an international science competition conducted annually from 2015 onwards by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), with a set of cash prizes that recognize researcher(s)' submissions in creating software ...
.www.gbif.org: Awards
/ref> A special issue of ''Invertebrate Systematics'' was published in 2003 as a tribute to Nielsen, and contained articles written by his friends and colleagues about him and his work. In 1995, a new species of moth was discovered in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and in 2005 it was formally described by Gerhard M. Tarmann. The moth, of the genus ''
Pollanisus ''Pollanisus'' is a genus of moths of the family Zygaenidae. They are native to Australia and many species have metallic forewings and bodies. Species *''Pollanisus acharon'' (Fabricius, 1775) *''Pollanisus angustifrons'' Tarmann, 2005 *''Pollani ...
'', was given the
specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
'' nielseni'' by Tarmann, in memory of his colleague's extensive work in lepidopterology.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Ebbe 1950 births 2001 deaths Danish lepidopterists People from Skanderborg Municipality Aarhus University alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Danish expatriates in Australia 20th-century Danish zoologists