Henning Eiler Petersen
Encyclopedia
Henning Eiler Petersen was a Danish
mycologist, botanist and marine biologist. He made a major contribution to unveiling the mysterious die-back of eel grass
in Northern Europe
an waters in the early 20th Century as a pathogen
outbreak
.
His main research was in what was then known as lower fungi - Chytridiomycota
and Oomycetes, but he also studied the systematics
of Red algae
. Parallel to these lines of research, he investigated the intraspecific morphological variation in plant species - which would today be called quantitative genetics
.
The Oomycete genus Petersenia is named to his honour.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
mycologist, botanist and marine biologist. He made a major contribution to unveiling the mysterious die-back of eel grass
Zostera marina
Zostera marina is a species of seagrass known by the common names common eelgrass and seawrack. It is an aquatic plant native to marine environments on the coastlines of mostly northern sections of North America and Eurasia. It is the most wide-ranging marine flowering plant in the Northern...
in Northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an waters in the early 20th Century as a pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
.
His main research was in what was then known as lower fungi - Chytridiomycota
Chytridiomycota
Chytridiomycota is a division of the Fungi kingdom. The name is derived from the Greek chytridion, meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased spores. In older classifications, chytrids were placed in the Class Phycomycetes under the subdivision Myxomycophyta of the...
and Oomycetes, but he also studied the systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
of Red algae
Red algae
The red algae are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae, and also one of the largest, with about 5,000–6,000 species of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds...
. Parallel to these lines of research, he investigated the intraspecific morphological variation in plant species - which would today be called quantitative genetics
Quantitative genetics
Quantitative genetics is the study of continuous traits and their underlying mechanisms. It is effectively an extension of simple Mendelian inheritance in that the combined effects of one or more genes and the environments in which they are expressed give rise to continuous distributions of...
.
The Oomycete genus Petersenia is named to his honour.
Selected scientific bibliography
- Petersen, H.E. (1903) Notes sur les Phycomycètes observés dans les téguments vides des nymphes de Phryganées avec description de trios espèces nouvelles de Chytridinées. Journal de Botanique 17 (6-7): 214-222.
- Petersen, H.E. (1905) Contributions à la connaissance des Phycomycètes marins (Chrytridinæ Fischer). Oversigt over det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger 1905 (5): 439-488
- Petersen, H.E. (1908) Danske Arter af Slægten CeramiumCeramiumCeramium is a genus of red algae in the Rhodophyta. It is a large genus with at least 15 species in the British Isles.-Description:All species of Ceramium are small algae growing to no more than 30 cm in length. They consist of a terete axis of cells surrounded by smaller cells forming a cortex...
(Roth) Lyngbye [with French summary]. Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter - Naturvidenskabelig og Mathematisk Afdeling, 7.Rk., vol. 5 (2). - Petersen, H.E. (1908) The structure and biology of Arctic flowering plantsThe structure and biology of Arctic flowering plantsThe Structure and Biology of Arctic Flowering Plants is a classical scientific work on morphology and anatomy in relation to the harsh arctic environment. It was initiated by Eugenius Warming and conducted by himself and a suite of students and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen.Warming, E....
(ed. E. WarmingEugenius WarmingJohannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
. 1. Ericinæ (EricaceaeEricaceaeThe Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
, PirolaceaePyrolaceaePyrolaceae was a small family of flowering plants under the old Cronquist system of plant classification. It included the four genera Chimaphila, Moneses, Orthilia, and Pyrola, and sometimes also the eight genera formerly usually placed in the family Monotropaceae.Recent genetic research by the...
). 2. The biological anatomy of them leaves and stems. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
36: 73-138. - Petersen, H.E. (1908) The structure and biology of Arctic flowering plantsThe structure and biology of Arctic flowering plantsThe Structure and Biology of Arctic Flowering Plants is a classical scientific work on morphology and anatomy in relation to the harsh arctic environment. It was initiated by Eugenius Warming and conducted by himself and a suite of students and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen.Warming, E....
(ed. E. WarmingEugenius WarmingJohannes Eugenius Bülow Warming , known as Eugen Warming, was a Danish botanist and a main founding figure of the scientific discipline of ecology...
. 2. DiapensiaceaeDiapensiaceaeDiapensiaceae is a small family of flowering plants, comprising 12 species in five genera. Three of the genera, Berneuxia, Galax, and Pyxidanthera, contain only a single species. The Asian species of Shortia were formerly separated as the genus Schizocodon, and some authors still recognize S....
. Diapensia lapponica. Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
36: 139-154. - Petersen, H.E. (1910) An account of Danish freshwater Phycomycetes, with biological and systematical remarks. Annales Mycologici 8: 494-560.
- Ostenfeld, C.H.Carl Hansen OstenfeldCarl Emil Hansen Ostenfeld was a Danish systematic botanist. He graduated from the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming. He was a keeper at the Botanical Museum 1900-1918, when he became professor of botany at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College...
& Petersen, H.E. (1930) On a new PlasmodiophoraceaPhytomyxeaThe Phytomyxea are a group of protists that are parasites of plants. A more common name for them is the plasmodiophorids, but this does not always include Phagomyxa. They typically develop within plant cells, causing the infected tissue to grow into a gall or scab...
found in Canada. Zeitschrift für Botanik 23: 13-18. - Petersen, H. E. (1915) Indledende Studier over Polymorfien hos Anthriscus silvestris (L.) Hoffm. Dansk Botanisk ArkivDansk Botanisk ArkivDansk Botanisk Arkiv was a Danish scientific journal or monograph series concerning botany, issued by the Danish Botanical Society. It was published from 1913 to 1980.Articles were written in Danish, German, English and French...
1: 1-150. - Petersen, H.E. (1924) Studier over Polymorphien hos Vaccinium uliginosumVaccinium uliginosumVaccinium uliginosum is a flowering plant in the genus Vaccinium.-Distribution:Vaccinium uliginosum is native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, at low altitudes in the Arctic, and at high altitudes south to the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Caucasus in Europe, the mountains of...
. Botanisk Tidsskrift 38 (3). - Petersen, H.E. (1921) Nogle Studier over Pimpinella saxifraga L. Botanisk TidsskriftBotanisk TidsskriftBotanisk Tidsskrift was a Danish mixed scientific and amateur journal concerning botany, issued in Copenhagen by the Danish Botanical Society...
37: 222-240. - Petersen, H.E. (1922) Études ultérieures sur la polymorphie de lAnthriscus silvester (L.) Hoffm. Dansk Botanisk ArkivDansk Botanisk ArkivDansk Botanisk Arkiv was a Danish scientific journal or monograph series concerning botany, issued by the Danish Botanical Society. It was published from 1913 to 1980.Articles were written in Danish, German, English and French...
4: 1-28. - Petersen, H.E. (1926) Über die Variation der Potentilla erecta (L.) Dalla Torre. Botanisk TidsskriftBotanisk TidsskriftBotanisk Tidsskrift was a Danish mixed scientific and amateur journal concerning botany, issued in Copenhagen by the Danish Botanical Society...
39: 368-374. - Petersen, H.E. (1933) Wasting disease in eel grass (Zostera marinaZostera marinaZostera marina is a species of seagrass known by the common names common eelgrass and seawrack. It is an aquatic plant native to marine environments on the coastlines of mostly northern sections of North America and Eurasia. It is the most wide-ranging marine flowering plant in the Northern...
). NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
134: 143-144. - Petersen, H.E. (1935) Preliminary report on the disease of eel-grass (Zostera marinaZostera marinaZostera marina is a species of seagrass known by the common names common eelgrass and seawrack. It is an aquatic plant native to marine environments on the coastlines of mostly northern sections of North America and Eurasia. It is the most wide-ranging marine flowering plant in the Northern...
L.). Report from the Danish Biological Station 40: 3-8.