Tuttle, Merlin D.

Tuttle, Merlin D. (Devere)

(1941–  ) mammalogist; born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was codirector of the Venezuelan Research Project of the Smithsonian Institution (1965–67), performed research on population ecology at the University of Minnesota (1972), then became curator of mammals at the Milwaukee Public Museum (1975–86). He made major contributions to studies of predator/prey interaction and foraging behavior in mammals, and the energetics of thermoregulation, hibernation, and migration in bats. He founded Bat Conservation International (1982) in Austin, Texas, to promote a positive image of bats and encourage their preservation, and he relocated to Austin (1986) to work exclusively for this cause.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.