Peter Colin Young (born 9 February 1940) is a British-born

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

and parasitologist who spent most of his career in Australia. From 1995 to 1997, he served as president of the Australian Society for Fish Biology."Peter Young"
Australian Society for Fish Biology official website. Accessed 25 July 2019.

Early life

Young was born in

Sutton, Surrey Sutton is the principal town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It lies on the lower slopes of the North Downs, and is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough. It is south-south west of Charing Cross ...

, England on 9 February 1940. He studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

after receiving a scholarship from the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and graduated in 1962 with a BSc majoring in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. He completed an Honours in

Parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. From 1963 to 1965, Young undertook his PhD at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, Australia. During this time, he accompanied Harold Manter, an expert on

Digenea Digenea (Gr. ''Dis'' – double, ''Genos'' – race) is a class of trematodes in the Platyhelminthes phylum, consisting of parasitic flatworms (known as ''flukes'') with a syncytial tegument and, usually, two suckers, one ventral and one oral. ...

n trematodes of fish, who was on sabbatical from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, on field trips to

Heron Island Heron Island may refer to: *Heron Island (Queensland), in Australia *Heron Island (New Brunswick), in Baie des Chaleurs, Canada * Heron Island (Quebec), in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada * Heron Island, Berkshire, on the River Thames, England * H ...

and Stradbroke Island to help catch fish. He had originally planned to study the ecology of

Monogenea Monogeneans are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reprod ...

trematodes and their hosts, but, finding that so many of his specimens were undescribed, decided to become a taxonomist instead. Young published nine papers from his doctoral research.

Research career

After completing his PhD, Young became a Scientific Officer at the Commonwealth Bureau of Helminthology at

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, England, studying ascaridoids in fish and

marine mammals Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their relia ...

. His study taxa included ''

Contracaecum ''Contracaecum'' is genus of parasitic nematodes from the family Anisakidae. These nematodes are parasites of warm-blooded, fish eating animals, i.e. mammals and birds, as sexually mature adults. The eggs and the successive stages of their larvae ...

'', '' Anisakis'' and '' Terranova''. At the 1969 Oceanology International Conference, he presented a joint paper on the "cod worm" (''Terranova'') and its potential risks to public health. His research showed that, although grey seals could transmit cod worms to cod, the species they transmitted was not a major risk to humans. In 1970, Young returned to Australia to work for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), as a research scientist in the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography at

Deception Bay, Queensland Deception Bay is a coastal suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Deception Bay had a population of 19,850 people. Geography It is approximately north of Brisbane CBD in the south-eastern corner of the bay of the ...

. He was project leader for the organisation's East Coast Prawn project, studying mortality rates and zoogeography of penaeid prawns. During this period, he also undertook research on coastal and estuarine

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

communities. From 1975 to 1980, Young led the CSIRO sub-program studying community ecology and pollution. Between 1981 and 1985, he led the CSIRO Living Resources, Temperate Species Group, which, beginning in 1982, also included the Tropical Species Group. His research showed that male lethrinid fish (tropical emperors) are larger than females due to

sex change Sex change is a natural or artificial process in which an individual's sex is changed. Sex change may also refer to: Biology and medicine *Sex reassignment therapy *Sex reassignment surgery *Sequential hermaphroditism, a phenomenon whereby some ...

, and not because of differential growth rates. He also showed that sex change occurred in

nemipterid Nemipteridae are a family of fishes within the order Perciformes. They are known as threadfin breams, whiptail breams and false snappers. They are found in tropical waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Most species are benthic carni ...

species. Between September 1984 and January 1985, Young was Officer-in-Charge of CSIRO's Division of Fisheries at Cronulla Marine Laboratories in Sydney. In 1985, he was appointed Program Leader of the Fisheries Resources South and Southeast. Between 1990 and 1996, Young was Chief of the CSIRO's Division of Fisheries. From 1992 to 1996, he served as Director of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. He was also an Honorary Research Professor at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

from 1993 until his retirement, in 1996. From 1995 to 1997, Young served as the 16th President of the Australian Society for Fish Biology. He became a CSIRO Special Research Fellow in 1997. During his career, Young authored or co-authored at least 50 research papers and wrote or edited nine significant books. In 1992, Young donated his 536-specimen collection of monogeneid trematodes, most of which had been collected in Queensland waters, to the Queensland Museum. He retired to a 12-acre property on the outskirts of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, where his hobbies include playing the violin and replanting rainforest on his property.

Awards and honours

In 1995, the Australian Society for Fish Biology awarded Young the inaugural K. Radway Allen Award, the society's highest honour, to recognise his achievements in fish and fisheries research.

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Peter C. 1940 births Australian ichthyologists Australian parasitologists 20th-century Australian zoologists University of Queensland alumni Living people Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Imperial College London British emigrants to Australia 20th-century British zoologists