Mitchell Durno Murray (1925 – 25 April 2009) was an Australian
veterinary scientist
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
, and an
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
with a particular interest in
seabirds. He was born and educated in England before moving to New Zealand and then Australia. He was the first regional organiser for New South Wales of the
Australian Bird Banding Scheme. He was instrumental in establishing the
New South Wales Albatross Study Group, now the
Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
The Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association (SOSSA) is an Australian natural history research and conservation organisation. It is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. It was formally established in 1994 by members of the New South Wales Albat ...
(SOSSA). He was President of the
Australian Bird Study Association 1973–1974, Editor of its journal ''
Corella'' 1990–1994, and largely responsible for its 'Seabird Islands' series.
Awards
In 1996 he was awarded the
RAOU's
John Hobbs Medal for outstanding contributions to Australian ornithology as an amateur. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary
DSc DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
by the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
.
See also
*
List of ornithologists
__NOTOC__
This is a list of ornithology, ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists.
A
*John Abbot (entomologist), John Abbot – US
*Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US
*William Louis Abbott – US
*J ...
Bibliography
From the 1990s Murray has been part of a research team studying the movements of
albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
es, especially
wandering albatrosses, ''Diomedea exulans''. Some papers resulting from this collaborative research are:
* Nicholls, David; Murray, Durno; Battam, Harry; Robertson, Graham; Moors, Philip; Butcher, Eric; & Hildebrandt, Michael. (1995). Satellite tracking of the Wandering Albatross, ''Diomedea exulans'', around Australia and in the Indian Ocean. ''EMU'' 95: 223–230.
* Nicholls, D.G.; Murray, M.D.; Butcher, E.; & Moors, P. (1997). Weather systems determine the non-breeding distribution of Wandering Albatrosses over southern oceans. ''EMU'' 97: 240–244.
* Nicholls, D.G.; Murray, M.D.; Butcher, E.C.; & Moors, P.J. (2000). Time spent in Exclusive Economic Zones of southern oceans by non-breeding Wandering Albatrosses (''Diomedea'' spp.): implications for national responsibilities for conservation. ''EMU'' 100: 318–323.
* Murray, M.D.; Nicholls, D.G.; Butcher, E.C.; & Moors, P. (2002). How Wandering Albatrosses use weather systems to fly long distances. 1. An analytical method and its application to flights in the Tasman Sea. ''EMU'' 102: 377–385.
* Murray, M. D.; Nicholls, D. G.; Butcher, E.; & Moors, P.J. (2003). How Wandering Albatrosses use weather systems to fly long distances. 2. The use of eastward-moving cold fronts from Antarctic lows to travel westwards across the Indian Ocean. ''EMU'' 103: 59–65.
* Murray, M.D.; Nicholls, D.G.; Butcher, E.C.; Moors, P.; Walker, K.; & Elliott, G. (2003). How Wandering Albatrosses use weather systems to fly long distances. 3. The contributions of Antarctic lows to eastward, southward and northward flight. ''EMU'' 103: 111–120.
References
* BirdLife International. (2004). ''Tracking ocean wanderers: the global distribution of albatrosses and petrels. Results from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September 2003, Gordon's Bay, South Africa''. BirdLife International: Cambridge, UK.
* Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press.
Bright Sparcs entry on Durno Murray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Mitchell Durno
Australian ornithologists
1925 births
2009 deaths
Australian veterinarians
Male veterinarians
20th-century Australian zoologists
British emigrants to Australia