Derek William Yalden (4 November 1940 – 5 February 2013)[1] was an eminent British zoologist and academic. He was an Honorary Reader at the University of Manchester.[2]

Derek William Yalden
B.Sc., Ph.D.
Yalden at the BTO Conference in 2010
Born(1940-11-04)4 November 1940
Surrey, England
Died5 February 2013(2013-02-05) (aged 72)
Monuments
NationalityBritish
Alma mater
Occupations
Employer(s)University of Manchester, School of Biological Sciences
Known forPresident of The Mammal Society

After obtaining a 1st Class B.Sc. University College London in 1962, he completed his PhD on carpal bones in mammals at Royal Holloway College, under P. M. Butler, in 1965.[3] He then worked as an Assistant Lecturer, and eventually Senior Lecturer, at the University of Manchester, School of Biological Sciences,[4] teaching vertebrate zoology.[5] He retired from there in 2005, after 40 years' service.[5]

He was president of The Mammal Society[5][6] from 1997 until his death, and edited their journal, Mammal Review from 1980–2002.[4] He authored or co-authored over 200 scientific publications.[5]

Leptopelis yaldeni, (grassland forest tree frog, named by M. Largen in 1977), and Desmomys yaldeni (Yalden's desmomys, a rodent named by L. Lavrenchenko in 2003) are named in his honour.[5] Both are endemic to Ethiopia.

Derek Yalden Fund

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An expert in the mammals of the UK and of Ethiopia, Yalden also took hundreds of students on field courses. To honour his memory, a fund has been set up to provide undergraduates from limited income families with financial support to help fund their field trips whilst studying at Manchester. [7]

Research

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Yalden listed his research interests as:

Publications

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Books

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  • Which Bat is it? by R. E. Stebbings, D. W. Yalden and J. S. Herman; 3rd ed. London: Mammal Society, c2007 ISBN 0-906282-64-0
  • Yalden, D. W. (Derek William) (1977). The Identification of remains in Owl Pellets. Reading: Mammal Society. pp. 8p. : ill., 22cm.
  • Snow, Keith Ronald; D. W. Yalden (1978). Identification of larval ticks found on small mammals in Britain. Reading: Mammal Society. pp. 14p. : ill., 22cm. ISBN 0-906282-02-0.
  • Yalden, D. W. (Derek William) (1982). When did the mammal fauna of the British Isles arrive?. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, for the Mammal Society. pp. 57p : ill., maps, 25 cm.
  • Yalden, D. W. (Derek William) (1987). The scientific names of British mammals and why they change. London: Mammal Society. pp. 11p, 22cm.
  • Yalden, D. W. (Derek William); Malcolm Largen; D. Kock (1996). A catalogue of the mammals of Ethiopia. [S.l.]: [s.n.] pp. 1 v. (various pagings), 25 cm.
  • Yalden, D. W. (Derek William); Priscilla Barrett (1999). The history of British mammals. London: T. & A.D. Poyser. pp. 305 p. : ill., maps, 24 cm. ISBN 0-85661-110-7.
  • Wheeler, Philip Michael Da Silva; D. W. Yalden (2002). Distribution of mammals across the upland landscape. Manchester: University of Manchester. pp. 247p.
  • Harris, S.; D. W. Yalden (2008). Mammals of the British Isles handbook (4th ed.). Southampton: The Mammal Society. pp. xiv, 799 p. : ill., 31 cm. ISBN 978-0-906282-65-6.
  • Yalden, D. W.; Albarella, U. (2009). The History of British Birds. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921751-9.[9]

Journal articles (selected)

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  • Corbet, G.B. and D.W. Yalden. 1972. Recent records of mammals (other than bats) from Ethiopia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology 22: 213-252.
  • "Bog Bilberry Vaccinium uliginosum in the Peak District". Sorby Record; 40: 28-29 (2001)
  • "The older history of the White-tailed Eagle in Britain". British Birds; 100: 471–480. (2007)
  • Pearce-Higgins JW, Finney SK, Yalden DW, Langston RHW (2007) "Testing the effects of recreational disturbance on two upland breeding waders". Ibis; 148 (Suppl 1): 45–55. (2007)

References

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  1. ^ Pearce-Higgins, James (April 2013). "Derek William Yalden (1940–2013)". British Birds. 106 (4): 226–227. ISSN 0007-0335.
  2. ^ "Doctor Derek Yalden: Zoologist acclaimed as one of the finest of his". The Independent. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  3. ^ A Contribution to the Functional Morphology of the Mammalian Carpus, 1966
  4. ^ a b "Biography". University of Manchester. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Yalden, D. W.; Albarella, U. (2009). The History of British Birds. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921751-9.
  6. ^ "Derek Yalden has died | The Mammal Society". Mammal.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Donate online - Derek Yalden - the University of Manchester". Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  8. ^ Michael McCarthy (20 February 2013). "The decline and fall of the Peak District wallabies - Nature Studies - Nature". The Independent. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  9. ^ "The History of British Birds". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2008.