Charles Eric "Chuck" Dawson Jr. (December 6, 1922 – February 11, 1993) was a Canadian-American

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

, and

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...

. He held expertise in

gobies Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising over 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than in length, and the fam ...

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...

es, and sand stargazers, and was considered "the ultimate authority" on

pipefish Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons ('' Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx''), form the family Syngnathidae. Description Pipefish look like straight-bodied s ...

es in the family Syngnathidae.

Life

Dawson was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada and graduated from

Miami Beach Senior High School Miami Beach Senior High School (Beach High, MBSH) is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue Miami Beach, Florida, across from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Garden. It is located at the corner of Prairie Avenue and Da ...

in Florida. Dawson served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, losing an eye in the Battle of Dieppe, France. He also joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in September 1944 as a private, became a naturalized citizen in 1946. He attended

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. He spent much of his career at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi and west of Gautier, Mississippi, Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula metropolitan area. The population was 18,429 at th ...

, where he worked early as an administrator, then researcher, and museum curator. Over his long career, Dawson wrote 150 publications, the majority of which he was the sole author of. He recognized 52 Syngnathid genera and provided systematic reviews of most of them. His work culminated with his extensive review of all Indo-Pacific pipefishes.

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by Charles Eric Dawson

Death

He died as a result of a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in combination with other long-term lung ailments.

Taxon named in his honor

* '' Syngnathus dawsoni'' (

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

, 1969) *the chain pearlfish, '' Echiodon dawsoni'' Williams and Shipp, 1982, *the Brazilian goby ''

Priolepis dawsoni ''Priolepis'' is a genus of fish in the family Gobiidae with a cosmopolitan distribution. Species There are currently 36 recognized species in this genus: * ''Priolepis agrena'' R. Winterbottom & M. E. Burridge, 1993 (Network reefgoby) * ''Pri ...

'' Greenfield. *The parasitic

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

'' Therodamas dawsoni'' Cressey, 1972, *the marine barnacle '' Octolasmis dawsoni'' Causey, 1960

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Charles Eric 1922 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American zoologists American ichthyologists Canadian ecologists Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Canadian Army soldiers Scientists from Vancouver University of Miami alumni University of Southern Mississippi faculty United States Army soldiers Miami Beach Senior High School alumni