Alfred Mathieu Giard was a French zoologist born in Valenciennes

Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...

 on August 8, 1846. He was a professor at the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

, at École centrale de Lille

École Centrale de Lille

Located in the campus of the University of Lille in France, École Centrale de Lille is a renowned Graduate Engineering school, with roots back to 1854 as the École des arts industriels et des mines de Lille, re-organised in 1872 as Institut industriel du Nord.It is one of the Centrale Graduate...

 and served as director of the marine laboratory in Wimereux

Wimereux

Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...

 (Université Lille Nord de France

Université Lille Nord de France

The University of Lille -Nord de France , located in Lille, France, is a center for higher education, academic research and doctoral studies located over multiple campuses in the Academie de Lille....

).

He is known for his description of Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia is a flagellated protozoan parasite that colonizes and reproduces in the small intestine, causing giardiasis. The giardia parasite attaches to the epithelium by a ventral adhesive disc, and reproduces via binary fission...

, a gastrointestinal protozoan parasite that is named after Giard and Czech physician Vilem Dusan Lambl. The illness associated with the parasite is sometimes called giardiasis

Giardiasis

Giardiasis or beaver fever in humans is a diarrheal infection of the small intestine by a single-celled organism Giardia lamblia. Giardiasis occurs worldwide with a prevalence of 20–30% in developing countries. In the U.S., 20,000 cases are reported to the CDC annually, but the true annual...

.

In 1905 Giard coined the word poecilogonie (poecilogony) to describe a phenomenon in which similar adults develop from dissimilar larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e in marine invertebrates. He died on his birthday on August 8, 1908 in Orsay

Orsay

Orsay is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Orsay are known as Orcéens.-History:...

.

Amongst his very numerous publications are 300 devoted to entomology

Entomology

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...

.He was a figure of importance in applied entomology

Economic entomology

Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that are of benefit or those that cause harm to humans, domestic animals, and crops. Insects that cause losses are termed as pests. Some species can cause indirect damage by spreading diseases and these are termed as...

 in France and a member of the Société entomologique de France

Société entomologique de France

The Société entomologique de France, or French Entomological Society, is devoted to the study of insects. It was founded in 1832.The society was created by eighteen Parisian entomologists on January 31, 1832...

.

Sources

• Discussion Regarding Poecilogony
• German Wikipedia Page; Alfred Mathieu Giard