Vidya Jyothi The Vidya Jyothi ( si, විද්‍යාජෝති; ta, வித்யா ஜோதி, translit=Vityā Jōti) is a Sri Lankan national honour awarded "''for outstanding scientific and technological achievements''". It is the highest natio ...

Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama ( si, සරත් විමලබන්ඩාර කොටගම) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is 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 ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. He is a

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

and former head of the Department of Zoology,

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

Education

Kotagama obtained a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from the University of Colombo, and gained a PhD on the feeding and behavioral ecology of

rose-ringed parakeet The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

Career

Sarath Kotagama at FOGSL workshop at Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

Since 1974, Kotagama has lectured at the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo and at the Zoological Division, Faculty of Natural Sciences,

Open University of Sri Lanka "The Open University of Sri Lanka" (OUSL; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විවෘත විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கை திறந்த பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a national universit ...

reaching Senior Lecturer - Grade I by 1997. Between 1989 and 1990 he served as Director of the

Department of Wildlife Conservation The Department of Wildlife Conservation ( Sinhala: වනජීවී සංරක්‍ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ''Vanajivi Sanrakshana Departhamenthuwa'') is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka. It is th ...

on secondment. In 1997, he was appointed Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo holding it until he gained Professor Emeritus status on retirement. He also served a tenure as Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo. Currently he is a Scientific adviser to the Ministry of Wildlife Resources Conservation. During his career he had served as a Consultant to many government and non-government organizations, as well as being a member of several Advisory Committees in the Central Environmental Authority, Department of National Museums and the Sri Lanka Foundation. He has also served as the past president of

Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, commonly abbreviated FOGSL, is the Sri Lankan affiliate of BirdLife International. It was founded in 1976 to promote the conservation of birds and preservation of the environment. FOGSL headquarters are situa ...

, Vice President of Ecotourism Society of Sri Lanka and member of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Honors

He was awarded the "2003 Distinguished Service Award for Environment Education and Journalism" by the International Society for Conservation Biology and the endemic toad '' Duttaphrynus kotagamai'' is named after Kotagama for the honour. In 2017, he was award the title of

by the Government of Sri Lanka. In 2019, a day gecko '' Cnemaspis kotagamai'' was named in honor of Kotagama.

Writings

*Pictorial Pocket Guide 3 - Mammals in Sri Lanka - 2004 *An Illustrated guide to Birds of Sri Lanka (E-book)

References

External links

Sarath Kotagama - Pipl Profile UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
* ttp://www.sundayobserver.lk/2003/07/06/new20.html Online edition of Sunday Observer - Businessbr> University of Colombo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotagama, Sarath Living people Sinhalese biologists Sri Lankan ornithologists Academic staff of the University of Colombo Vidya Jyothi Year of birth missing (living people)