A Tribute to Dr. Edward Lloyd Bousfield, 1926–2016

Canadian scientist Edward Lloyd Bousfield died in Mississauga, Ontario on 7 September 2016 at age 90 (Figure 1). Ed was a world authority on the systematics of amphipod crustaceans. He discovered and described over 300 new species and has 18 species and two genera named in his honour with another to come (Table 1). Ed joined the National Museum of Canada (with the natural sciences now in the Canadian Museum of Na ture, CMN) in 1950 after obtaining his B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Toronto (1948 and 1949), and deciding on a career as a biologist, rather than a musician. He then earned a Ph.D. at Harvard University (1954) and, on the recommendation of John Dy mond (1887–1964), Head of Zoology at the University of Toronto, applied to and was hired by CMN as Invertebrate Zoologist (1950–1963). Expecting to work for federal Fisheries or as a university professor, Ed considered that this move had a monumental impact on his career path. Ed said later, “It was a good thing I took the job. Thank heavens I did. I can’t imagine a job that’s given me more pleasure than this job. The director says, here’s the money, here’s the car, here’s the staff, go do your job and turn in the report at the end of the year. I think that philosophy yields far better results than standing over somebody every five minutes”. In 1964, Ed was promoted to Chief Zoologist and in 1974 he became Senior Scientist. During his 36 years at CMN, Ed influenced the museum’s outlook in many ways. Canadian Museum of Nature herpetologist Francis Cook says, “I am indebted to him for supporting my two-year educational leave for my Ph.D. though his patience with me wore out before I finally submitted my thesis and obtained the degree. But when I submitted the manuscript for museum publication, Ed served as in-house reviewer and recommended the museum publish it, backing up the positive comments of an outside reviewer”. Ed’s first years at CMN were spent in the Victoria Memorial Museum Building (VMMB) in downtown Ottawa, which also housed the National Art Gallery and the Geological Survey of Canada. After these organizations moved to new quarters in 1960, the VMMB be came the headquarters for Nature and Man. Eventually, the nature collections became too large for the VMMB. A Tribute to Dr. Edward Lloyd Bousfield, 1926–2016