Mares, Michael A(llen) 1945-

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MARES, Michael A(llen) 1945-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "Mah-riss"; born March 11, 1945, in Albuquerque, NM; son of Ernesto Gustavo and Rebecca Gabriela (Devine) Mares; married Lynn Ann Brusin (an attorney), August 27, 1966; children: Gabriel Andres, Daniel Alejandro. Education: University of New Mexico, B.S. (biology), 1967; Fort Hays Kansas State College (now University), M.S. (zoology), 1969; University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. (zoology), 1973.

ADDRESSES: Home—3930 Charing Cross Ct., Norman, OK 73072-3201. Office—Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, 1335 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019-6070. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 1973-81, began as assistant professor, became associate professor; University of Oklahoma, Norman, associate professor, 1981-85, professor of zoology, 1985—, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History curator of mammals, 1981—, and director of museum, 1983—. Adjunct professor, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina, 1971-72; visiting professor, Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, Argentina, 1972; research fellow, Chicano Council on Higher Education, 1978, and Ford Foundation Minority Research, 1980-81; University of Arizona, Tucson, visiting scientist, 1980-81. Member of American Republics Board, Fulbright Commission, 1983-86, 1988-91; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma representative to Endangered Mammal Species Committee, 1987—; Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, member of board of directors, 1988-91; Systematics Agenda 2000, co-chair of International Programs Committee. Consultant to NUS in Venezuela, 1980-81, Argentine National Science Foundation, Institute for Arid Zone Research, 1983, World Wildlife Fund in Brazil, 1986, and White House Biodiversity, Ecology, and Ecosystems group, 1992-94; member of advisory board, Center for Biological Diversity, Department of the Interior; member of Commission on the Future of the Smithsonian Institutions, 1993-96, and the Smithsonian Council, 2000.

MEMBER: Interamerican Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Mammalogists (vice president, 1990-94), American Ecological Society, American Institute for the Biological Sciences, American Society of Naturalists, Society for the Study of Evolution, Paleontological Society, Association of Systematics Collections, Southwestern Association of Naturalists, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Beta Beta.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Science Foundation grants, 1974-79, 1982-93, 1999-2000; Brazilian National Academy of Sciences research award, 1975-78; Fulbright-Hayes research fellowship, 1976; National Chicano Council on Higher Education Postdoctoral Research fellowship, Sigma Xi, 1978; Ford Foundation Minority Postdoctoral fellowship, 1980; University of Oklahoma Associates' Distinguished Lectureship Awards, 1984, 1987; Mid-America State University Honors Lecturer Designation, 1985; Don W. Tinkle Research Excellence Award, Southwestern Association of Naturalists, 1989; University of Oklahoma Regents Award, 1990, for superior accomplishment in professional and university service; National Geological Society grants, 1992-95, 1999; Alumni Achievement Award, Ft. Hays State University, 1998; C. Hart Merriam Award, American Society of Mammalogists, 2000, for outstanding service to mammalogy.

WRITINGS:

(With Daniel F. Williams) A New Genus and Species of Phyllotine Rodent, Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, PA), 1978.

Convergent Evolution among Desert Rodents: A Global Perspective, Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, PA), 1980.

Mammalian Biology in South America: A Symposium Held at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, May 10-14, 1981, Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (Linesville, PA), 1982.

(With Ricardo A. Ojeda and Rubén M. Barquez) Guide to the Mammals of Salta Province, illustrated by Enrique Guanuco, Patricia Capllonch de Barquez, and Norbeto Giannini, University of Oklahoma Press (Norman, OK), 1989.

The Mammals of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press (Norman, OK), 1989.

(With Ricardo A. Ojeda) A Biogeographic Analysis of the Mammals of Salta Province Argentina, Texas Tech University Press (Lubbock, TX), 1989.

Latin American Mammalogy: History, Biodiversity, and Conservation, University of Oklahoma Press (Norman, OK), 1991.

The Mammals of Tucuman, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (Norman, OK), 1991.

Encyclopedia of Deserts, University of Oklahoma Press (Norman, OK), 1999.

(With Rubén M. Barquez and Janet K. Braun) The Bats of Argentina, Museum of Texan Tech University (Lubbock, TX), 1999.

A Desert Calling: Life in a Forbidding Landscape, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Contributor to and editor of periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A Key to the Skulls of South American Mammals; Field Guide to the Mammals of South America; research on systematics, distribution, and ecology of Argentina's mammals; research on applications of geographic information systems (GIS) in mammalogy.

SIDELIGHTS: In Michael A. Mares's research, he examines convergent evolution, adaptation, and community organization of desert rodents of the world, as well as ecology, conservation, evolution, and systematics of South American mammals. His work as a zoologist and ecologist has taken him all over the world, and his books reflect the depth of his work.

Several of Mares's books deal specifically with the mammals and climate of the desert. His book A Desert Calling is his effort to bring together his scientific insights alongside his personal reflections on life in the desert. Critics such as Tim Markus of Library Journal were impressed by the study tools presented in the book. Markus praised the maps and photographs, adding, "this unique books also includes a thorough bibliography and should appeal to both lay readers and scholars." In Science News, a reviewer praised Mares for bringing the desert ecosystem to life: "he paints amazing portraits of the ways rodents and other creatures . . . adapt to this hot, dry terrain." In a review for Booklist, Nancy Bent commented on Mares's process, noting that "the wonder of field research and of the discoveries that results shines through his matter-of-fact tone." Chip Ward of Washington Post remarked on the personal nature of the book: "Desert Calling is the autobiography of Mares's own evolution as a naturalist woven into a lively tapestry that includes fascinating science and eloquent advocacy." Ward concluded, "Deserts have long been regarded as places of exile where you go to wrestle with your demons and bring back revelations. Mares's exile was thirty years of hard fieldwork, and A Desert Calling is his gift of revelation to us."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Agricultural History, winter, 2000, review of Encyclopedia of Deserts, p. 127.

Booklist, April 1, 2002, Nancy Bent, review of A Desert Calling: Life in a Forbidding Landscape, p. 1290.

Choice, November, 1999, p. 510.

Library Journal, April 15, 2000, Brian E. Coutts and John B. Richard, review of Encyclopedia of Deserts, p. 55; April 1, 2002, Tim Markus, review of A Desert Calling, p. 135.

Science News, June 22, 2002, review of A Desert Calling, p. 399.

SciTech Book News, June, 1999, p. 5.

Washington Post, April 21, 2002, Chip Ward, review of A Desert Calling, p. BW9.