Theriologia Ukrainica (Jul 2019)
Biodiversity research as a key task of ecology (to the 70th anniversary of Professor Igor Emelianov)
Abstract
Environmental concepts are largely related to the study of populations and communities of vertebrates, including mammals, which is the main research focus of the Ukrainian theoriologist I. Emelyanov and of his disciples and collaborators. The researcher has formed a new concept of research objects of biodiversity in the sense of "biotic diversity", i.e. systems above the organism level of integration, which include populations, guilds, communities and ecosystems. The key features of the development of such research in Ukraine through the prism of scientific growth of the researcher and the development of the whole study direction of biodiversity research and protection in Ukraine are considered. An important area of activity is the development of the conceptual apparatus of ecology and the dissemination of knowledge about the ecology of populations and communities, as well as the concepts of ecosystems sustainability. All this is widely put into the practice by I. Emelyanov through his active participation in the formation of state programs on biodiversity protection and related areas (conservation, sustainable development, econet) and a number of educational projects (teaching at universities, preparing lecture notes and manuals, PhD programs in ecology), etc. An active role of the researcher is also in the work organization of ecologists on the publications of several different encyclopedias, including EMU. At the same time, the researcher maintains a non-variable and close connection with the Ukrainian Theological Society (UTS), filling the role of its head succeeding the academician Vadym Topachevsky (1930–2004) and taking an active part of the society's work through institutional and organizational support for all ventures, including publications and conferences. Thanks to I. Emelyanov’s initiatives, despite the forced breaks in ties between most academic societies of the NAS of Ukraine, which occurred in the early 2000s, the UTS continues to function at the National Museum of Natural History NAS of Ukraine. The study provides brief information about the primary scientific achievements of the researcher and his disciples, as well as his scientific honors.
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