Jon Edward Ahlquist
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Jon Edward Ahlquist (27 July 1944 –7 May 2020Jon Edward Ahlquist obituary
''The Huntsville Times,'' 9–10 May 2020.) was an American molecular biologist and
ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
who has specialized in
molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
. He collaborated extensively with Charles Sibley, primarily 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 ...
. By 1987, both Ahlquist and Sibley had left Yale. In 1988, Ahlquist and Sibley were awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal by the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...
. In January 1991 (often listed as 1990), Charles Sibley and Ahlquist published ''Phylogeny and Classification of Birds,'' which presented a new
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
for
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s based on DNA-DNA hybridisation techniques, known as the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. At that time, he was an
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
of
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
at
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
. In 1999, Ahlquist was retired.


See also

* Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy


References

American ornithologists Living people Ohio University faculty 1944 births {{US-ornithologist-stub