Melanie Stiassny

Last updated
Melanie Stiassny
Born1953-01-17
Bielefeld, Germany
Alma materKing's College London
Scientific career
FieldsIchthyology, evolutionary biology
Institutions
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • Richard Gilder Graduate School
  • Harvard University
  • Columbia University

Melanie Lisa Jane Stiassny (born 17 January 1953 in Bielefeld, Germany) is the Axelrod Research Curator of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History. Her research interests focus on freshwater biodiversity documentation and systematic ichthyology in the Old World tropics, including tropical Africa (especially in the Congo River) and Madagascar. [1] She has published broadly on the biogeography conservation and systematics of teleosts. [2]

Contents

Education

Stiassny holds both a BS and a Ph.D. from King's College London, and has previously taught at Harvard University and Columbia University and is now a professor in the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History. She is a member of the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund, the Advisory Council of Conservation International’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, the Advisory Board of National Geographic Society’s Conservation Trust, [1] [3] and the Deutsche Cichliden Gesellschaft (DCG, German Cichlid Society).

Research interests and contributions

Dr. Stiassny's early career began with large-scale and groundbreaking morphological studies exploring the evolution and relationships of the cichlids, labroids, and spiny-rayed fishes. As her fieldwork continued, she became ever more concerned with the conservation and biodiversity of freshwater fishes leading to her continued focus on fishes from Madagascar and Africa proper. [4] Over a 10-year period, a multidisciplinary team led in part by Stiassny studied the complex ecosystems of the lower Congo River. Using a genetic analysis of fishes of the Teleogramma genus in the area, she has found evidence that the strength of the current and the extensive rapids in the last 200 km of the river form multiple barriers for fish, thus creating a series of tightly-packed, isolated habitats where populations develop independently: "We'd take fish from the other side of the river, and we looked at their DNA, we realized something very strange is happening, they're separated from each other. In some areas, only one fish crosses the river every two or three generations." This peculiar phenomenon accounts for the region's exceptional biodiversity, with 300 species of fish. [5] [6] [7] She realized how complex the ecosystem was when they found fishes dying of decompression on the surface, which made them realize they were also dealing with fish population that lived at the bottom of what is a very deep river in some places. She enlisted the help of a team from the United States Geological Survey, which found the river was flowing into a canyon that was 580 feet deep, as well as very strong currents, including some flowing upriver. [7]

Dr. Stiassny indicated she intends to go back to the Congo River her whole career, being interested in the remarkable variety present in the basin and in the key resource, and because of the key role that freshwater fisheries play in the region. [8] She has been collaborating with the University of Kinshasa and the Marien Ngouabi University to train Congolese itchiologists. [3]

Dr. Stiassny was honored with the creation of the Stiassnyiformes in recognition of her contributions to ichthyology and systematics. [9] Her research in the lower Congo led her to catalogue a new species of Teleogramma , which she chose to name Teleogramma obamaorum to recognize the interest of Barack and Michelle Obama for science education and conservation in Africa. [10] [11]

Dr. Stiassny was the lead curator for the renovation of the American Museum of Natural History's Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, which reopened its doors in 2003. [12] About what they were trying to achieve with the renovations, Stiassny said: "I want people to walk away with an understanding of how remarkably superlative the oceans really are. Not just in terms of sheer size and beauty, but also in their ecological complexity and the tremendous biological wealth they contain. Perhaps above all, I want them to understand how absolutely critical ocean health is to the health of all life on Earth. The oceans are a series of interconnected ecosystems that can unravel very, very, quickly." [13]

Stiassny is on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Taxon described by her

Taxon named in her honor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congo River</span> River in central Africa

The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft). The Congo–Lualaba–Luvua–Luapula–Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,900 mi), which makes it the world's ninth-longest river. The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River, and Lualaba is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls, extending for 1,800 km (1,100 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecoregion</span> Ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion

An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation . Ecoregions are also known as "ecozones", although that term may also refer to biogeographic realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Tanganyika</span> Rift lake in east-central Africa

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains into the Congo River system and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Mai-Ndombe</span> Lake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lake Mai-Ndombe is a large freshwater lake in Mai-Ndombe province in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake is within the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe area, the largest Wetland of International Importance recognized by the Ramsar Convention in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewel cichlid</span> Genus of fish

Hemichromis is a genus of fishes from the cichlid family, known in the aquarium trade as jewel cichlids. Jewel cichlids are native to Africa. Within West Africa, Hemichromis species are found in creeks, streams, rivers and lakes with a variety of water qualities including brackish water lagoons. As traditionally defined, the genus includes two distinctly different groups: The five-spotted cichlid group and the true jewel cichlid group (Rubricatochromis), which sometimes are recognized as distinct genera.

Ethelwynn Trewavas was an ichthyologist at the British Museum of Natural History. She was known for her work on the families Cichlidae and Sciaenidae. She worked with Charles Tate Regan, another ichthyologist and taxonomist.

Teleogramma is an African genus of cichlids with five species. These dark and slender fish barely reach 10 cm (4 in) in length and are limited to rapids in the Western Congo River basin in DR Congo/Congo Brazzaville. They are distinctive, with specialized anatomy. They are characterized by elongated heads with tubular nostrils and a lateral line that is not interrupted, as it is in most cichlids.

A rheophile is an animal that prefers to live in fast-moving water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity</span> Centre for the study of aquatic biodiversity in Grahamstown, South Africa

The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), is involved in research, education and in applications of its knowledge and research to African fish fauna, for either economic or conservation benefit.

<i>Haplochromis retrodens</i> Species of fish

Haplochromis retrodens is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Lake Victoria in East Africa. The species is a representative of the genus Haplochromis,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redbreast tilapia</span> Species of fish

The redbreast tilapia is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found widely in the southern half of Africa. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is known as the redbreast kurper in South Africa.

Jacques Pellegrin was a French zoologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromidotilapiini</span> Tribe of fishes

Chromidotilapiini is a tribe of small cichlids from tropical West and Middle Africa. There are thirteen genera and over fifty described species in this tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiassnyiformes</span> Order of fishes

Stiassnyiformes is an order of bony fish (Teleostei) proposed in 2009. It includes the mullets (Mugilidae), the Atheriniformes, the Beloniformes, the Cyprinodontiformes and some families of the paraphyletic Perciformes, including the cichlids. The new taxon was named by the authors of the first description in honor of the curator of the Department of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History Melanie Stiassny, which suggested in 1993 that the mullet are allied with damselfish and guppies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Lowe-McConnell</span> British ichthyologist, ecologist, and limnologist

Rosemary Helen Lowe-McConnell was an English ichthyologist, ecologist, and limnologist known for research on tilapia and aquaculture. Working in the tropical waters of Africa and South America, Lowe-McConnell was a pioneer in the study of tropical fish ecology and an early adopter of the use of scuba diving for scientific research.

Tyson Royal Roberts is an American ichthyologist. He has been described as "the world's foremost authority on Regalecus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Wanja Nyingi</span> Kenyan ichthyologist

Dorothy Wanja Nyingi is a Kenyan ichthyologist and recipient of the Ordre des Palmes académiques for her work on Fish Biodiversity and Aquatic Ecology. She is the head of the Ichthyology Department at the National Museums of Kenya. She is the author of the first guide to fresh water fish in Kenya, Guide to the Common Freshwater Fishes of Kenya. She is a Kenyan freshwater ecologist focusing on community driven conservation

Teleogramma obamaorum is a species of African cichlid native to the Congo River. Unlike other species of Teleogramma, sexes lack color differences in the caudal (tail) fin. Individuals reach up to 75 mm (3.0 in) SL, and prey mainly on snails.

Louise Schilthuis, also known as Lubbina Schilthuis, was a Dutch zoologist and a curator at the Zoology Museum at the University of Utrecht. She was active in the late 19th century and published at least two papers, both describing new species, on the specimens collected in the Congo by M.A. Greshof, a Dutch collector and trader, on the amphibians in 1889 and on the fishes on 1891. Boulenger named the mormyrid Marcusenius schilthuisiae after her.

<i>Lamprologus congoensis</i> Species of fish

Lamprologus congoensis, the Congo lionhead cichlid is a species of riverine cichlid which is widespread in the Congo River, it is the type species of the genus Lamprologus.

References

  1. 1 2 "RGGS Faculty". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  2. ↑ The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, west-Central Africa. Paris: IRD Éditions. 2007. ISBN   978-2709916202.
  3. 1 2 "Melanie Stiassny". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  4. ↑ "Course Author: Melanie Stiassny".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ↑ Alter, Elizabeth S.; Munshi-South, Jason; Stiassny, Melanie L. J. (2016-12-28). "Genomewide SNP data reveal cryptic phylogeographic structure and microallopatric divergence in a rapids-adapted clade of cichlids from the Congo River". Molecular Ecology. 26 (5): 14–01–1419. doi:10.1111/mec.13973. PMID   28028845. S2CID   6999867.
  6. ↑ "Congo river fish evolution shaped by intense rapids". American Museum of Natural History. 2017-07-17. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  7. 1 2 TEDxBroadStreetNY - Melanie Stiassny - Learning from Ancient Fish (Video). 2011-07-28.
  8. ↑ Profile: Melanie Stiassny (Video). 2012-12-06.
  9. ↑ Li, Blaise; Agnès Dettaï; Corinne Cruaud; Arnaud Couloux; Martine Desoutter-Meniger; Guillaume Lecointre (February 2009). "RNF213, a new nuclear marker for acanthomorph phylogeny". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 50 (2): 345–363. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.013. PMID   19059489.
  10. ↑ Boddy, Jessica (2016-12-29). "These nine different creatures have been named after Barack Obama". Science magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  11. ↑ Stiassny, Melanie L.J.; Alter, Elizabeth S. (2015-04-21). "Phylogenetics of Teleogramma, a Riverine Clade of African Cichlid Fishes, with a Description of the Deepwater Molluskivore—Teleogramma obamaorum— from the Lower Reaches of the Middle Congo River". American Museum Novitates (3831): 1–18. doi:10.1206/3831.1. S2CID   86288518.
  12. ↑ "The Museum's Blue Whale Model". American Museum of Natural History. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  13. ↑ "An Interview with Melanie Stiassny". Natural History. April 2003.
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