Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

132 3 The New York Years (1931–1953)
Chance and Change. Ecology for Conservationists (1998) for which he wrote a Foreword
(1998a) emphasizing that predictions in ecology and field natural history
are probabilistic; naturalists are impressed by the uniqueness of everything. In
a brief note on endangered coral reefs Mayr (1970d) pointed out the dangers of
ecotourism, scuba diving and shell collecting for marine organisms. It is possible
that the elimination of triton snails (Triton), the principal enemy of the crown-ofthorns
starfish (Acanthaster), through collecting of triton snails contributed to the
starfish’s sudden population explosion and the destruction of many coral reefs, as
this starfish feeds on coral polyps.
In general discussions, Mayr (e.g., 1984a) summarized the contributions of
ornithologists to conservation biology. In many cases the prohibition of shooting
birds was insufficient to halt the decline of certain rare species. In other cases
supplementing the wild stock by captive-bred releases was the solution, as in the
Hawaiian goose Nene. In many other cases it became evident that the study of the
native habitat was a prerequisite for the adoption of sound conservation measures.
Conservation research is an area in which ornithologists have been pioneers and
Mayr was one of them.
As to the protection of subspecies he wrote: “The possibility that a subspecies
carries ecologically relevant adaptations coupled with the potential to become
a unique new species are compelling reasons for affording them protection against
extinction. […] The Hybrid Policy of the Endangered Species Act should discourage
hybridization between species, but should not be applied to subspecies
because the latter retain the potential to freely interbreed as part of ongoing natural
processes” (O’Brien and Mayr 1991b).
Later in life Mayr donated his Japan Prize (1994) to the Nature Conservancy
for the protection of a desert river in New Mexico and continued his annual
contributions to a number of conservation organizations totaling, for instance,
$6,550 in the year of 2001.
Contact with Geneticists
Early in his work on South Sea island birds, Mayr encountered several cases of
conspicuous geographic variation in sexual dimorphism and corresponded about
hormonal and/or genetic control of bird plumages with Walter Landauer at the
University of Connecticut at Storrs who worked on such problems with chickens.
He introduced Mayr to L.C. Dunn, geneticist at the Department of Zoology of
Columbia University (New York), in late 1931 or early 1932, and from then on Mayr
participated at first occasionally and later regularly, in the genetics seminars. He
attempted to include genetic research into his own work such as the article on
the physiological-genetic determination of bird plumages (1933l), a presentation
at the IOC in Rouen 1938 on sex ratio (1938n, 1939a), his lectures at Columbia
University in early 1938 and a talk on speciation in birds at the AAA meeting in
December 1939 discussing processes of isolation and divergence (Mayr 1940c).
Hereafter L.C. Dunn invited him to give the Jesup lectures in March 1941, together