Volume 19, Issue 6 p. 345
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Obituary notice for Prof. Bauer

Harald Rosenthal

Harald Rosenthal

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Oleg Pugachev

Oleg Pugachev

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Yuri Strelkov

Yuri Strelkov

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Ekaterina Raikova

Ekaterina Raikova

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Ronald M. Bruch

Ronald M. Bruch

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Fred Binkowski

Fred Binkowski

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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Serge Doroshov

Serge Doroshov

Neu Wulmstorf, September 20, 2003

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First published: 24 November 2003

Professor Oleg Nikolayevich Bauer died at the age of 87 on May 11, 2003. He was an internationally renowned and highly respected ichthyoparasitologist and ichthyopathologist as well as a leading scientist in sturgeon disease and parasite studies in St Petersburg, Russia. His last contribution ‘Study of parasites and diseases of sturgeons in Russia’ was presented at the 4th International Sturgeon Symposium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 2001 and recently published as a review in the special sturgeon issue of the Journal of Applied Ichthyology.

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Oleg Nikolayevich Bauer was born on June 7, 1915 in the village of Yablonitsy, some 100 km southwest of Petrograd (now St Petersburg), where his parents spent their summers. His father was a teacher of natural history in the ‘Annenschule’, one of the most prestigious secondary schools in the Russian capital. In 1932, O. N. Bauer began his studies at Leningrad State University, in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology headed by the famous Professor V. A. Dogiel, a prominent expert in ecological parasitology. Under Professor Dogiel, O. N. Bauer participated in the initial steps of establishing a new school of science, which directed him toward his long and distinguished research career in fish pathology.

After graduation in 1937, O. N. Bauer taught for one and a half years at a rural school in the remote Sharan settlement (Bashkiria). Fortunately, in 1939 he returned to Leningrad to begin his work as a junior scientist in the Laboratory of Fish Diseases at the State Institute of Lake and River Fisheries (GosNIORKh). Professor V. A. Dogiel organized this laboratory in 1929 and was its permanent head until his death in 1955. Professor Dogiel entrusted his former student to lead two important expeditions to Siberia for the first-ever ichthyoparasitological investigations in the region. During 1940 and 1941, working with a group of students from Leningrad University, O. N. Bauer collected vast material on fish parasites from the Yenisey and the Lena rivers. World War II interrupted the second expedition, and it was not until 1948 that the results of these studies were published. After World War II, Professor Bauer continued his work as a Senior Researcher at GosNIORKh. In 1958, he became the head of the Laboratory of Fish Diseases, and from 1963 to 1967 he served as a Deputy Director of GosNIORKh.

Academician B. E. Bychovsky invited O. N. Bauer in 1968 to work in the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a Senior Researcher and a member of the Soviet National Committee on the International Biological Programme (IBP). From 1977 to 1985, O. N. Bauer was the successor to B. E. Bychovsky as the head of the Laboratory for the Study of Parasitic Worms. The present staff of this laboratory is much indebted to Professor O. N. Bauer for his continued and dedicated support of their scientific careers.

During his many years of work at the Institute of Lake and River Fisheries and at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Oleg Nikolayevich Bauer published more than 350 scientific papers and technical reports. His own studies on the parasitic fauna of fish in Siberian rivers are examples of his fundamental contributions to parasitology. He maintained a special interest in the parasitic fauna of fish and diseases occurring in natural water-bodies as well as in aquaculture. While the primary focus of his research was on ecological parasitology, he also contributed to disease control measures of practical importance to fisheries and aquaculture, including human health (consumer) considerations. Many technical manuals describing methods of controlling fish diseases were prepared under his supervision and with his participation. With his multilingual capabilities, he also periodically reviewed Russian and world literature on fish parasites and fish diseases and published annual bibliographic indices on the subject, considerably facilitating the work of specialists in Russia and the former Soviet Union. He was able to maintain, for many years, close links to the international scientific community, especially to fish pathologists in Germany (e.g. Wilhelm Schäperclaus).

Professor Bauer established a school of parasitologists and ichthyopathologists not only in the central research institutions but also in many regions of the former Soviet Union. More than 10 postgraduate students received doctoral degrees under his supervision. O. N. Bauer participated in developing teaching programmes and lecture courses on ichthyoparasitology and ichthyopathology in fishery and veterinary colleges and universities. He coauthored two editions of the text books ‘Ichthyopathology’ and ‘Pond Fish Diseases’, translated into English and Estonian. Not only did Oleg Nikolayevich train scientists and give advice and direction to everyone who asked for help, but he also shared with students his vast knowledge of pertinent literature. His broad contacts with parasitologists throughout the world assured invaluable assistance, particularly to young specialists.

A large part of O. N. Bauer's activities was his organizational and editorial expertise. Until 1989, he was President of the Scientific Consulting Council for Fish Diseases under the Interdepartmental Ichthyological Commission in Moscow. He joined the editorial board of the journal ‘Parazitologya’ established by B. E. Bychovsky in 1967, and was the associate editor of this journal from 1975 to 1989. Until his final days O. N. Bauer served on the editorial boards of the ‘Journal of Applied Ichthyology’ and the ‘Journal of Fish Diseases’. Oleg Nikolayevich was elected honorary member of the European Association of Ichthyopathologists and the American Society of Parasitologists. In 1991–1992, at the age of 77, Professor Bauer voluntarily carried out all the preparatory work for the organization of the Parasitological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Oleg Nikolayevich Bauer is remembered as the father and initiator of the classic book series ‘Key to Parasites of Freshwater Fishes of the USSR’ published in three volumes in 1985–1987, reflecting his lifetime work. He acted as editor-in-chief for this unique and comprehensive synopsis summarizing more than 50 years of investigations in the field of fish parasitology.

Professor O. N. Bauer was one of the foremost parasitologists in Russia, an outstanding research leader, and a great mentor. He was modest, kind, generous and highly devoted to his family as a husband, father and grandfather. He spoke with great warmth of his wife, son and granddaughters to his colleagues. This aura of warmth and generosity always attracted people to Oleg Nikolaevich Bauer.

The editors of the 4th International Sturgeon Symposium Proceedings were privileged to visit Professor Bauer in July 2002 and listen to his advice for the younger generation of scientists. Oleg Nikolaevich shared with them some of the anecdotes he remembered when dealing with the international science community. He was loved and respected by everyone who met him. His death is a great loss to Russia and to the world of parasitology and ichthyopathology. The cherished memories of Oleg Nikolayevich Bauer will forever remain in the hearts of his friends, institutional colleagues and those international scientists who were fortunate to work with him.

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