Arthur Maillefer
Encyclopedia
Arthur Maillefer was a Swiss botanist
and plant geographer
.
He studied numerous classic botanical disciplines, including plant systematics and floristics. He also was very modern in his use of numerical analysis and mathematics. For instance, he made one of the earliest null models in biogeography
showing that - in records of plant or animal species over space - genera
accumulate much faster than species
and thereby refuting Paul Jaccard
's interpretation of the species
-to-genus
ratio in Jaccard's
dispute with Alvar Palmgren
. Maillefer's statistical solution to the problem was later supported by an analytical solution by the Hungarian
mathematician
George Pólya
.
Maillefer took his PhD
at the University of Lausanne
. He became extraordinary professor in 1919 and succeeded his former doctoral advisor, Ernst Wilczek, in the chair of botany in 1949. From 1938-1950, he was also director of the Botanical Museum of the Canton.
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and plant geographer
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
.
He studied numerous classic botanical disciplines, including plant systematics and floristics. He also was very modern in his use of numerical analysis and mathematics. For instance, he made one of the earliest null models in biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
showing that - in records of plant or animal species over space - genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
accumulate much faster than species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and thereby refuting Paul Jaccard
Paul Jaccard
Paul Jaccard was a professor of botany and plant physiology at the ETH Zurich. He studied at the University of Lausanne and ETH Zurich...
's interpretation of the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
-to-genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
ratio in Jaccard's
Paul Jaccard
Paul Jaccard was a professor of botany and plant physiology at the ETH Zurich. He studied at the University of Lausanne and ETH Zurich...
dispute with Alvar Palmgren
Alvar Palmgren
Alvar Palmgren was a Finnish botanist and plant ecologist.Palmgren studied botany at the University of Helsinki under professor J.P. Norrlin. He graduated in 1906 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1914...
. Maillefer's statistical solution to the problem was later supported by an analytical solution by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
George Pólya
George Pólya
George Pólya was a Hungarian mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics from 1914 to 1940 at ETH Zürich and from 1940 to 1953 at Stanford University. He made fundamental contributions to combinatorics, number theory, numerical analysis and probability theory...
.
Maillefer took his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at the University of Lausanne
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
. He became extraordinary professor in 1919 and succeeded his former doctoral advisor, Ernst Wilczek, in the chair of botany in 1949. From 1938-1950, he was also director of the Botanical Museum of the Canton.