T.D.A. Cockerell (1866–1948) of the University of Colorado: His contributions to the natural history of the California islands and the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument

Western North American Naturalist
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Abstract

Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell was a naturalist at the University of Colorado from 1904 to 1947 and studied botany, zoology, and paleontology in North and South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. In the latter part of his career, he studied the California islands and published many papers on their natural history, 16 of them in four years (1937–1940). He made important contributions to the natural history of the islands in four distinct ways: entomology of the islands, including identification of a number of new species of bees; discovery of fossil marine invertebrate faunas and recognition that the zoogeography of the taxa reflects the position of the islands relative to converging cool and warm currents; discovery of abundant land snails, both living and in fossil form, and recognition that the fossils are in close stratigraphic association with mammoth fossils; and island biogeography, with considerations of species dispersal mechanisms and endemism. Newly discovered letters and memos also reveal that Cockerell played a pivotal role in the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title T.D.A. Cockerell (1866–1948) of the University of Colorado: His contributions to the natural history of the California islands and the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument
Series title Western North American Naturalist
DOI 10.3398/064.078.0304
Volume 78
Issue 3
Year Published 2018
Language English
Publisher Brigham Young University
Contributing office(s) Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Description 25 p.
First page 247
Last page 271
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