Amphibian Conservation Champion Phil Bishop Dies

His career was dedicated to understanding and protecting frog populations.

Written byLisa Winter
| 2 min read

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ABOVE: COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

After a brief illness and under hospice care, Phil Bishop, a zoology professor at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and a globally renowned champion of amphibian conservation, died on January 23. He was 63 years old.

Rob Gandola, the senior science officer for the Herpetological Society of Ireland, tells The Scientist that Bishop “was a gentleman and an incredible scientist with an unparalleled and infectious enthusiasm for the amphibians of the world, and their conservation. He will be sorely missed.”

Bishop, who was born in Devon in southern England, attended University College Cardiff (now known as Cardiff University) in Wales for his undergraduate degree in zoology and stayed at the institution to get his master’s in parasitology, graduating in 1980. His PhD research in zoology was done at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, he studied a ...

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  • Lisa joined The Scientist in 2017. As social media editor, some of her duties include creating content, managing interactions, and developing strategies for the brand’s social media presence. She also contributes to the News & Opinion section of the website. Lisa holds a degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in genetics, cell, and developmental biology from Arizona State University and has worked in science communication since 2012.

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