Miroslav Zei (25 July 1914 – 2 November 2006) was a Slovene

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, specialist in

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

and

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

. Zei was born in Nabrežina near

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

in 1914. He studied Biology at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

from 1932 to 1936. He specialized at the Oceanographic Institute in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

from 1937 to 1941 where he was also an assistant until 1941 and then senior scientific researcher until 1948 when he was appointed professor at the

. He lectured until 1962 and then joined a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

oceanographic project and worked in

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and the Western African coast from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

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until 1975. He was then head of the Marine Biology Station in

Piran Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...

run by the of the University of Ljubljana. He died in

Drniš Drniš is a town in the Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. Located in the Dalmatian Hinterland, it is about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in 2006. He wrote numerous scientific texts but also a number of

popular science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

books. He won the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award () is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established by a Slovene publishin ...

twice, in 1952 for his book ''Iz ribjega sveta'' (The World of Fish) and in 1957 for ''Iz življenja sesalcev'' (The Lives of Mammals). The Miroslav Zei Award for outstanding scientific achievements in Biology bestowed by the Slovenian National Institute of Biology since 2010 are named after him.National Institute of Biology site: News 26 November 2010 ''The 50th Anniversary of the National Institute of Biology''
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Selected published works

* ''Življenje Jadrana'' (Life in the Adriatic), 1947 * ''Iz ribjega sveta'' (The World of Fish), 1951 * ''Jadranske girice'' (Picarels of the Adriatic), 1951 * ''Morja bogati zakladi'' (Rich Treasures of the Sea), 1956 * ''Pelagic Polychaetes of the Adriatic'', 1956 * ''Morski svet'' (Marine World), 1956 * ''Iz življenja sesalcev'' (The Lives of Mammals), 1957 * ''Dvoživke in plazilci'' (Amphibians and Reptiles), 1958 * ''Zoologija'' (Zoology), secondary school textbook, 1959 * ''Človek in ocean'' (Man and the Ocean), 1961 * ''Vretenčarji'' (Vertebrates), 1961 * ''Skrivnostna bitja globokega morja'' (Mysterious Creatures of the Deep Sea), 1962 * ''Morski ribji trg'' (The Sea Fish Market), 1982 * ''Jadranske ribe'' (Fish of the Adriatic), 1984 * ''Obrazi morja'' (Faces of the Sea), 1987 * ''Življenje živali v morju'' (The Life of Sea Animals), 1988 * ''Prvi koraki v morje'' (First Steps Into the Sea), 1998 * ''Povest o hrbtenici'' (The Story of the Spinal Cord), with Kazimir Tarman, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zei, Miroslav 1914 births 2006 deaths Slovenian biologists Ichthyologists Levstik Award laureates University of Ljubljana alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana Yugoslav zoologists