New Editor- Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology
“I believe African ornithology has great potential, and wish to enhance the journal’s position as the flagship publication medium for ornithological research conducted across Africa,” said Dr. Alan Lee, the new Editor for Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology. The journal will be under Dr. Lee’s stewardship from Volume 87, issue 3, 2016.
Dr. Alan Lee completed his BSc Honors at the University of the Witwatersrand on Botanical themes in 1996 and went on to complete his PhD in 2010. His PhD was completed at the Manchester Metropolitan University on the topic of parrots and their clay eating habits. “While my travels and research have taken me around the world, I am African born and a citizen of this continent and so proud of what Africa has to offer the world.”
Through assisting his father set up the Blue Hill Nature Reserve on the edge of the Baviaanskloof (Western Cape, South Africa), his inner researcher began to question local bird movement, and a few years later he was adopted as a researcher by Phoebe Barnard at The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). “This was the start of five productive years as a postdoc at the University of Cape Town and the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology researching birds of the fynbos biome.”
Dr. Alan Lee published in Volume 86, 1-2, 2015, which was a Special memorial issue in commemoration of the late Philip Hockey. In celebration of his appointment as Editor, the paper listed below will be available to access at no charge until the end of August 2016.
In talking about the future of the journal, Dr. Alan Lee has committed to increasing the rigor of the science presented in the journal. His plans include supporting and encouraging more ornithological research from emerging countries, continuing to improve the turn-around time to publication and strengthen ties with European research institutes conducting research in Africa, given the shared avifaunal community and importance of Africa as breeding and overwintering ground for many species.