The
entomological community has lost one of its classic
figures. Rob Roughley passed away suddenly at his
home on 9 November, 2009 at the age of 59. Rob was
an authority on water beetles, especially the Dytiscidae.
He completed his B.Sc. (Agr,) in Entomology in the
Department of Environmental Biology at the University
of Guelph in 1974. He was part of the cadre of young
entomologists emerging from Guelph at the time, inspired
by Dave Pengelly. Rob became immersed in taxonomy
and systematics and stayed on at Guelph to revise
the genus Hydaticus (Dytiscidae) for his M.Sc., spending
some of his time during this period working at the
Canadian National Collection in Ottawa. He went to
the University of Alberta to revise the genus Dytiscus
for his Ph.D. under the supervision of George Ball.
Even before he defended his Ph.D. thesis, he accepted
a faculty position in the Department of Entomology
at the University of Manitoba, where he remained until
his untimely death. He was an untiring supporter of
collections and collection management in Canada, and
as Curator of the J.B. Wallis Museum, helped to develop
the JBWM to where it stands today. Rob was integral
to obtaining funding to expand the rapidly growing
museum facilities and to implement one of the first
bar-coded databases for entomological museums in Canada.
Rob had a big voice, a big personality and a big heart.
Few entomologists were more generous with their time
and expertise. He was endlessly supportive of students,
and always provided the encouragement and enthusiasm
for all things entomological that seemed to inspire
so many of them. If you needed assistance, a reference,
some specimens, an opinion, or an update on scores
in the NHL games the night before, Rob was always
there. Rob was involved in insect research and conservation
at many levels, from the work he and his students
were doing in diversity in prairie grasslands, in
the insects of the subarctic environment of Churchill,
with the Biological Survey of Canada, the Nature Conservancy
of Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada, CANPOLIN, the dytiscids of North
America and the water beetle fauna of Middle America.
Rob has been an important component of the entomological
community in Canada and he will be sorely missed.
Donations may be made in memory of Rob Roughley; the
funds will be used to support the J.B. Wallis Museum
of Entomology, the insect collection to which Rob
devoted much of his life. Donations can be made at
http://umanitoba.ca/admin/dev_adv/donate_now/index.html
or by contacting the Department of Entomology for
a donation package.
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