Bob Beck
Encyclopedia
Robert E. Beck Jr. was a zoologist and conservationist
, who worked to save Guam's indigenous native birds from 1982 to 2003. Beck championed the plight fight to save Guam's native birds, such as the Mariana Crow
, Rufous Fantail
, Guam Flycatcher
, Marianas kingfisher
and the Guam Rail
, known locally as ko'ko' in Chamorro
, which are under the extreme threat of extinction
due to the non-native brown tree snake
and habitat loss. The Rufous Fantail and the Guam Flycatcher listed above are now extinct in the wild in their native Guam. However, the captive and wild populations of the Mariana Crow, Guam rail and the Micronesian kingfisher have increased, due in large part to conservation efforts by Beck.
, on September 2, 1944. His parents were Robert E. Beck Sr. and Ruth Powles Beck. Beck graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1962. He obtained his bachelor's degree
in education
with a concentration in zoology
from the University of Maryland
. He completed his master's degree
in zoology with an emphasis on genetics
and population biology
at the University of Maryland, the University of Rhode Island
and the University of Tennessee
. He started his career as a school teacher in the Montgomery County, Maryland
, public school system
.
Beck was considered to be instrumental in capturing the remaining native birds on Guam, such as the Guam rail or kingfisher, whose numbers had been decimated due to the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake. Beck, a former Guamanian Department of Agriculture Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources wildlife supervisor, established captive breeding programs on Guam. For example, Beck established a stable breeding population of Guam rails, or ko'ko', in captivity and released them on the neighboring island of Rota
, in the Northern Mariana Islands
. Wildlife biologist Gary Wiles was quoted in the Pacific Daily News
as crediting Beck for saving the species, "Bob was one of the first to begin organizing catching the birds so they could be brought into captivity, held there and bred. He started a captive population. We still have Guam rails today because of his efforts."
Beck was also a driving force for the establishment of captive breeding
programs for native Guam rails in zoo
s throughout the United States. The Guam rail breeding program initially began at just three zoos, the Bronx Zoo
, the Philadelphia Zoo
and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
in Washington, D.C.
. However, the program has been expanded to include seventeen zoos nationwide, including the Audubon Zoo
in New Orleans and the San Diego Zoo
. There are now over 120 individual Guam rails at the program's facilities on Guam and thirty-five Guam rails on the mainland United States.
Bob Beck stayed on Guam and remained involved in his programs following his retirement
in 2003. He died in Tamuning, Guam
, on May 24, 2008 at the age of 63. He was married to his wife, Patricia Rossett, from 1978 until 1992. The couple had two children, Erik R. Beck and Joanna R. Beck.
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, who worked to save Guam's indigenous native birds from 1982 to 2003. Beck championed the plight fight to save Guam's native birds, such as the Mariana Crow
Mariana Crow
The Mariana Crow is a species of the crow family from the north Pacific. It is an endangered species which has steadily declined in numbers since the 1960s.-Description:...
, Rufous Fantail
Rufous Fantail
The Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons inhabits the east coast of Australia. The base of its tail is bright orange-red in colour and their wings are greyish brown. They have a black and white breast that grades into a white colour on the chin and throat....
, Guam Flycatcher
Guam Flycatcher
The Guam Flycatcher or Guam Broadbill was a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It was endemic to Guam, where it was known locally as the chuguangguang...
, Marianas kingfisher
Micronesian Kingfisher
The Micronesian Kingfisher, Todiramphus cinnamominus, is a species of kingfisher from the Pacific Islands of Guam, Pohnpei and Palau...
and the Guam Rail
Guam Rail
The Guam Rail, Gallirallus owstoni, is a flightless bird, endemic to Guam. The Guam Rail, which is locally known as the Ko'ko' in Chamorro, disappeared from southern Guam in the early 1970s and was extirpated from the entire island by the late 1980s...
, known locally as ko'ko' in Chamorro
Chamorro language
Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro...
, which are under the extreme threat of extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
due to the non-native brown tree snake
Brown tree snake
The brown tree snake is an arboreal rear-fanged colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia....
and habitat loss. The Rufous Fantail and the Guam Flycatcher listed above are now extinct in the wild in their native Guam. However, the captive and wild populations of the Mariana Crow, Guam rail and the Micronesian kingfisher have increased, due in large part to conservation efforts by Beck.
Early life
Bob Beck was born in Hagerstown, MarylandHagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, on September 2, 1944. His parents were Robert E. Beck Sr. and Ruth Powles Beck. Beck graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1962. He obtained his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
with a concentration in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He completed his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in zoology with an emphasis on genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and population biology
Population biology
Population biology is a study of populations of organisms, especially the regulation of population size, life history traits such as clutch size, and extinction...
at the University of Maryland, the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
and the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
. He started his career as a school teacher in the Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, public school system
Montgomery County Public Schools
Montgomery County Public Schools ' is a school district that serves Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. It is the largest school district in Maryland. As of the 2009–2010 school year, the district had 11,500 FTE teachers serving 141,777 students at 200 schools.Students in the district score among the...
.
Guamanian bird conservation
Beck moved to Guam in 1974 and initially worked as a school teacher for several years. He eventually left teaching to become a zoologist with the Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources.Rota (island)
Rota also known as the "peaceful island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam...
, in the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
. Wildlife biologist Gary Wiles was quoted in the Pacific Daily News
Pacific Daily News
The Pacific Daily News, formerly Guam Daily News, is a morning-edition newspaper based in Hagåtña, Guam. It is owned by Gannett Corporation and is published seven days a week...
as crediting Beck for saving the species, "Bob was one of the first to begin organizing catching the birds so they could be brought into captivity, held there and bred. He started a captive population. We still have Guam rails today because of his efforts."
Beck was also a driving force for the establishment of captive breeding
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
programs for native Guam rails in zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s throughout the United States. The Guam rail breeding program initially began at just three zoos, the Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
, the Philadelphia Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874...
and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, and as part of the Smithsonian Institution, does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to provide leadership in animal care, science, education,...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. However, the program has been expanded to include seventeen zoos nationwide, including the Audubon Zoo
Audubon Zoo
The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers and is home to 2,000 animals. It is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of...
in New Orleans and the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
. There are now over 120 individual Guam rails at the program's facilities on Guam and thirty-five Guam rails on the mainland United States.
Bob Beck stayed on Guam and remained involved in his programs following his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 2003. He died in Tamuning, Guam
Tamuning, Guam
Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon is a municipality or "village" located on the western shore of the island of Guam. The village of Tamuning can be viewed as the economic center of Guam, containing Tumon , Harmon Industrial Park, and commercial districts in other parts of the...
, on May 24, 2008 at the age of 63. He was married to his wife, Patricia Rossett, from 1978 until 1992. The couple had two children, Erik R. Beck and Joanna R. Beck.