In Memory of W Richard J Dean – An Ornithological Legend

Richard J Dean combined a boundless curiosity about natural systems with scientific rigour to produce over 300 peer-reviewed papers and six books.

Volume 95, Issue 2 of Ostrich Journal of African Ornithology is a special issue including a compilation of articles in memory of Richard, who died at his home in Prince Albert, South Africa, shortly before his 82nd birthday on 3 August 2022.

Richard remained active in ornithology throughout his life, with this issue including an article on mangrove bird communities (Dean and Milton 2024), which he was working on shortly before his death, and another on museum collections (Craig and Dean 2024).

Contributors to this edition were invited to write on any aspect of ornithology that related to Richard’s interests, which opened a wealth of possibilities because his passion for birds led him to research many aspects of ornithology. He also studied numerous other topics, from invertebrate ecology to rangeland conditions and management.

Richard’s contribution to biodiversity research and conservation was as influential as it was extensive, both locally and internationally. Impressively, he published with almost 200 different collaborators from across the world.

This issue includes a current assessment of the conservation status of Karoo birds, highlighting the threats they face now and likely into the future (Lee and Wright 2024). There is also a paper that revises the population estimate for the localised Karoo endemic Red Lark Calendulauda burra (Kemp et al. 2024) that updates Richard’s estimate from the late 1980s (Deanet al. 1991). 

The issue is available to read here.