Nigel Bonner

William Nigel Bonner (15 February 1928 – 27 August 1994) was a British zoologist, Antarctic marine mammal specialist, author and ecologist. The topics of his books and scientific publications included marine animals, reindeer and the ecology of the Antarctic. He headed the Life Sciences Division of the British Antarctic Survey from 1974 to 1986, and served as deputy director from 1986 to 1988. Bonner received the Polar Medal in 1987, in recognition of his work in Antarctica.

Later in their lives, Nigel became a respected zoologist, and Gerald Bonner became a noted Early Church historian and scholar.

Following in his elder brother's footsteps, he also received a County Scholarship to the Stationers' Company's School in Hornsey, where he was educated. In 1939, the school was evacuated to Wisbech for several years, due to World War II. During this time, he was lodged with a slaughterman, which may have contributed to his later "matter of fact" approach to collecting large animals for scientific research. While in Wisbech he showed an early interest in natural history, by collecting beetles. This interest was supported by one of his schoolmasters,

By the time he joined the Army for National Service, in 1946, World War II was over. In 1947, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery, and stationed on the Isle of Wight. There, he continued to pursue his budding zoological interests, by studying beetles, dragonflies and adders. He was demobilized in 1948. in the Bay of Isles, where they set up their base in a garden shed. For the following fifteen months, between 1953-1955, Bonner (and Stonehouse) worked for the Falkland Islands' Dependencies Survey, later known as the British Antarctic Survey. Bonner collected specimens from the southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina. By following the deer, and collecting seven stags, Bonner established their food source as tussock grass, not lichens, as had been previously thought. His 1958 monograph on the reindeer remained the sole source of information for many years.

Post-retirement Environmental clean-up After his retirement from the British Antarctic Survey, he periodically returned to South Georgia, beginning in 1989, and worked to clear environmental hazards associated with the now-deserted, and frequently vandalized whaling stations. Through his efforts, the building was repurposed to serve as the South Georgia Whaling Museum, which later widened its scope and became the South Georgia Museum, in 1992. As a result of his many years in the field, he served as a repository of knowledge regarding the "now extinct way of life of the whalers and sealers".

Bonner was president of the Mammal Society for two terms. The first was from 1985 to 1991. His second term began in 1993 and ended with his death in 1994. Bonner was the recipient of the Society's Silver Medal.

Legacy and recognition Bonner Beach, at Larsen Harbour, South Georgia, where the Weddell seals gather to breed, is named in his honour.

The South Georgia Museum, has dedicated the Bonner Room as a tribute to his pioneering work in establishing the Museum.

Works

Publications Bonner, W. Nigel. Reproductive Organs of Fœtal and Juvenile Elephant Seals. Nature176, 982–983 (1955) Bonner, W. Nigel. The Introduced Reindeer of South Georgia 1958. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey (BAS Scientific Report 22) Bonner, W. Nigel. The Fur Seal of South Georgia 1958. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey (BAS Scientific Report 56) Bonner, W. Nigel. (1958) Exploitation and Conservation of Seals in South Georgia Oryx. 4 (6): 373–380. via Cambridge University Press. Bonner, W. Nigel. Seals of the Galapagos Islands Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 21, Issue 1-2, January 1984, Pages 177–184, Bonner, W. Nigel. (January 1987) "Antarctic science and conservation — The historical background" Environment International / 13 pp 19–25 Bonner, W. Nigel. "Environmental Assessment in the Antarctic." Ambio 18, no. 1 (1989): 83-89.

Books Ecology of the Antarctic. 1980. London: Academic Press. (with R.J. Berry) Key environments–Antarctica. 1985. Oxford: Pergamon Press, (with D.W.H. Walton) Conservation areas in the Antarctic. 1985. Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, (with R.I. Lewis Smith) Whales. 1980. Poole: Blandford Press. Whales of the World. 1989. London: Blandford Press Seals and Man: a study of interactions. 1982. Seattle: University of Washington Press. The Natural History of Seals. 1989. London: Christopher Helm. Seals and Sea Lions of the World. 1994. London: Blandford Press