Dorete Bloch, married name Dorete Bloch Danielsen, (14 June 1943 in Rungsted – 28 February 2015 in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. " Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

) was a Danish zoologist, former director of (the Faroes Natural History Museum), editor of ''Fróðskaparrit'' and author of numerous books on the animals and plants of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

Career

Dorete Bloch was born in Rungsted and attended Viborg Katedralskole until 1962 and then

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

. After graduating in 1970 with an MSc in zoology, she worked at the university's Wildlife Research Station at Kalø, where she conducted research into hares and

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...

s. In 1974 she moved to the

, where she settled for the rest of her life, and was appointed a lecturer at the University of the Faroe Islands. In 1980, she was promoted to be the director of the zoology department. She was awarded a D.Phil. by the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion pilot whale Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus ''Globicephala''. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas'') and the short-finned pilot whale (''G. macrorhynchus''). The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, ...

bottlenose whale ''Hyperoodon'' (or ''Hyperoödon'') is a genus of beaked whale, containing just two species: the Northern and Southern bottlenose whales. While not in the genus ''Hyperoodon'', Longman's beaked whale The tropical bottlenose whale (''Indopac ...

s and

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution The mount ...

s. Between 2000 and 2004, she was part of a project using tagged

long-finned pilot whale The long-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala melas'') is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus '' Globicephala'' with the short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus''). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such bec ...

s to track their movements via satellite. From 1995 to 2009, she was director of the Faroe Natural History Museum. She was also editor of ''Fróðskaparrit'' and bird consultant for

Vágar Airport Vágar Airport ( fo, Vága Floghavn) is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, and is located east of the village of Sørvágur, on the island of Vágar. Due to the Faroe Islands' status as a self-governing territory, the airport is not subje ...

Private life

Bloch married Ólávus Danielsen (1927–1997). They lived in Velbastaður, in Tórshavn Municipality and had one son, Jónas Bloch Danielsen, a musician who established Studio Bloch in Torshavn.

Selected bibliography

* Bloch, D., Jákupsson, B. and Arnskov, S. 1980. ''Faroese flowers''. Tórshavn: Føroya Fróðskaparfelag * Bloch, D., Aldenius, J. and Lindell, T. 1982. List to K. Hansen: Vascular Plants in the Faroes. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 30: 119–121. * Bloch, D. and Sørensen, S. 1983. The autumn migration at Akraberg, Faroe Islands, 1982. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 31: 75–93. * Bloch, D. and Sørensen, S. 1984. ''Yvirlit yvir Føroya fuglar''. Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur. * Bloch, D. and Sørensen, S. 1988. ''Ferðafuglur''. Tórshavn: Føroya Lærarafelag. * Bloch, D. 1990. Studies of the long-finned pilot whale in the Faroe Islands, 1976–1986. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 38-39: 35–61. * Bloch, D. 1990. A note on the occurrence of land planarians in the Faroe Islands. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 38–39: 63–68. * Desportes, G., Andersen, L.W., Aspholm, P.E., Bloch, D. and Mouritsen, R. 1992. A note about a male-only pilot whale school observed in the Faroe Islands. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 40: 31–37. * Desportes, G., Bloch, D., Andersen, L.W. and Mouritsen, R. 1992. The international research programme on the ecology and status of the long-finned pilot whale off the Faroe Islands: Presentation, results and references. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 40: 9–29. * Baagøe, H. and Bloch, D. 1993. Bats (Chiroptera) in the Faroe Islands. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 41: 83–88. * Bloch, D. and Mourier, H. 1993. Pests recorded in the Faroe Islands, 1986–1992. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 41: 69–82. * Kaaber, S., Gjelstrup, P., Bloch, D. and Jensen, J.-K. 1993. Invasion af admiralen (Vanessa atalanta L.) og andre sommerfugle på Færøerne i 1992. ''Fróðskaparrit'' 41: 125–149. * Bloch, D., Kristiansen, A. and Rasmussen, S. 1994 ''Jóannes í Króki 200 ár''. Tórshavn: Føroya Froðskaparfelag * Bloch, D., Jensen, J-K. and Olsen, B. 1996. ''Listi yvir fuglar sum eru sæddir í Føroyum''. Torshavn: Føroya Náttúrugripasavn * Bloch, D. and Enckell, P.H. (eds.). 1998 ''Proceedings from: Environmental change in North Atlantic Islands Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, 17–20 May 1998''. Tórshavn: Føroya Fróðskaparfelag * Bloch, D. and Fuglø, E. 1999. ''Villini súgdjór í Útnorðri'' Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur. * Bloch, D. and Náttúrugripasavn, F. 2000 ''Færøernes grindefangst med en tilføjelse om døglingefangsten'' Tórshavn: Føroya Náttúrugripasavn * Bloch, D. and Sneli, J-A. 2005. ''The marine mollusca of the Faroes''. Tórshavn :Fróðskaparfelag Føroya * Bloch, D. 2007. ''Pilot whales and the whale drive in the Faroes''. Tórshavn: H.N. Jacobsens.

Awards

* 1969 – Gold Medal from the University of Aarhus * 1999 – '' Mentanarvirðisløn MA Jacobsen'' (M. A. Jacobsens Cultural Prize) in literature for the book ''Villini súgdjór í Útnorðri''. * 2012 – ' (Faroe Media Prize) for public dissemination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Dorete Danish science writers Danish women writers Danish zoologists Women zoologists People from Hørsholm Municipality 1943 births 2015 deaths