George Parker Bidder (marine biologist)
George Parker Bidder | |
---|---|
Born | London, UK | 21 May 1863
Died | 31 December 1953 Cambridge, UK | (aged 90)
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Known for | Sponges; Bidder's hypothesis |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine biology |
Institutions | Marine Biological Association The Company of Biologists |
George Parker Bidder (21 May 1863 – 31 December 1953) was a British marine biologist who primarily studied sponges. He was the President of the Marine Biological Association (MBA) from 1939 to 1945.
Life and career
George Parker Bidder was born on 21 May 1863 in London, to barrister
During the 1910s, Bidder suffered
Bidder died on 31 December 1953 in Cambridge.[1][3]
Research
Bidder's research focused on sponges, especially their hydraulics. He also studied the movements bottom feeders, as well as marine geology, in particular coastal erosion.[1]
In 1932, Bidder made a major contribution to the field of biogerontology by proposing that senescence was the effect of a "regulator" responsible for ending growth.[4][5] This theory, known as "Bidder's hypothesis" has been refuted in numerous experiments, starting with Alex Comfort's 1963 study on guppy, a species that ages while growing.[6] Nonetheless, Bidder's hypothesis might be true for some species as a "private" mechanism of ageing.[according to whom?]
Between 1904 and 1906, Bidder conducted research that proved the East-to-West flow of North Sea currents, by releasing some 1,000 messages in bottles, designed to float a short distance above the sea bed. Finders were requested, in English, Dutch and German, to send a postcard enclosed in the bottle to the United Kingdom's Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, for a shilling reward.[7] The majority were recovered just a few months later, but one was found on the German island of Amrum, as late as April 2015, and its postcard was duly returned to the MBA.[8] Guinness World Records confirmed it to be the "oldest message in a bottle", as of March 2016.[9][a]
Poetry
From his youth, Bidder dedicated much of his free time to writing poems, the most famous of which is "Merlin's Youth" (1899).[10]
Notes
- ^ There are now known message-in-a-bottle examples that are both older (date launched) and having longer duration (time between launch and recovery); see Message in a bottle#Long-duration events.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "George Parker Bidder III". MBA Collections. Marine Biological Association. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ .
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31877. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- PMID 689379.
- ISBN 9780226248899.
- ISBN 978-0-19-506133-8.
- ^ "'Oldest' message in a bottle found more than 108 years on". BBC. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ Huggler, Justin (20 August 2015). "World's oldest message in a bottle washes up in Germany after 108 years at sea". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Mysterious postcard found on German shore is confirmed as oldest message in a bottle ever". Guinness World Records. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ Clark, E.F. "George Parker Bidder". Robbins Library Digital Projects. University of Rochester. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
External links
- "Merlin's Youth" via rochester.edu