W. L. "Minck" Minckley

1935 - 2001

Dr. W.L. Minckley, one of the founding members of the Desert Fishes Council and a lifetime supporter of its work, recently passed away. The following obituary was provided by the Department of Biology at Arizona State University shortly after his death. A memorial fund has been established in his memory.

Wendell Lee Minckley
Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology
Arizona State University

Wendell Minckley, better known as "Minck" to his colleagues, friends, and generations of graduate students, died on June 22, 2001 at Desert Samaritan Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, from complications associated with treatment for cancer. He was 65 and lived in Tempe. Dr. Minckley came to Arizona State University in 1963 where he conducted research and taught for 38 years, teaching even after retiring in 2000 to become Professor Emeritus.

Wendell Lee Minckley was born on November 13, 1935 in Ottawa, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1957 where he majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. Not far away at The University of Kansas he received a master's degree in Zoology with an emphasis on Ichthyology in 1959. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Biology at The University of Louisville in 1962 where he studied with Professor Louis Krumholtz. His dissertation was an exhaustive study of the aquatic ecology of Doe Run, a stream in Meade County, Kentucky. His minor at Louisville was Geology, a discipline that would prove foundational for his later studies of the zoogeography of Southwestern fishes. A one year appointment in the Biology Department at Western Michigan University preceded a move to Arizona State University in 1963 as Assistant Professor of Zoology. The Zoology Department was new (1962), occupied a new wing (1963), and was training its first graduate students; the first Ph.D. in Zoology was awarded in 1965. Professor Minckley was among the first faculty members recruited to move the university from its traditional roots as Arizona Territorial Normal School toward the Research I University that it is today. He played a seminal role in that transformation as he garnered major research awards, trained students, and established an internationally recognized research program in aquatic ecology, systematic ichthyology, and conservation biology.

At ASU Dr. Minckley and his students studied aquatic ecosystems and Southwestern fishes. He was the author and editor of three books and some 175 journal articles and book chapters. In 1973 he published Fishes of Arizona, the first compendium of the fishes of this region. Teaming with colleagues produced major papers on the Gila River and on the Colorado River (1972, 1976-79); the fishes of the Rio Yaqui of northwestern Mexico (1980); Southwestern aquatic plant and animal communities (1982,1984); environmental change in Arizona streams from the1800s to the late 20th century (1985); and the zoogeography of the freshwater fishes of western Mexico and the United States (1986). He is a major contributor to the soon to be published Fishes of Mexico.

Dr. Minckley's research documented change in habitats and organisms. Increasing human demands for water in the American Southwest began around 1900 and continue to this day, disrupting aquatic habitats and pushing all but a handful of native fish species to extinction, or to the brink of extinction. In 1968 Dr. Minckley was among the founders of the Desert Fishes Council, a group dedicated to conserving aquatic habitats and fishes in arid lands. He was tireless in his conservation efforts, combining research, training students, and service to state and federal agencies. Besides his technical, scientific papers he wrote articles to educate the lay public because he saw these papers as important vehicles for fostering a conservation ethic. He was a gifted naturalist, which served him well as a conservation biologist; five species (a snail, scorpion, beetle, fly, and a cichlid fish) are assigned the name "minckleyi" in recognition of his discoveries. Several of these species are from Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, Mexico. Professor Minckley was instrumental in having this region designated a Natural Protected Area to conserve its remarkable flora and fauna.

Some 45 students completed doctoral and master's degrees under Dr. Minckley's guidance. In 1990 the Graduate College at ASU awarded him its highest honor: "Outstanding Teacher of Graduate Students." Professor Minckley also garnered awards beyond his home university: the Award of Excellence, American Fisheries Society (1980); U.S. Department of Interior, Service Commendation (1987); Science Certificate of Merit, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain Division (1988); Certificate of Merit in Biological Science, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Norte (1990); Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service, National Research Council (1991). He was a finalist for a Pew Scholars Award in Conservation and the Environment (1992).

Throughout his career, Dr. Minckley served state and federal agencies as well as professional societies. Protection of the scarce aquatic resources of the Southwest was always paramount. His opinions could be controversial since they frequently varied with the recommendations of agencies and developers concerning use and protection of aquatic resources. He served on numerous state and federal committees to review the status of endangered fish species and their habitats. In 1984-85 he was Senior Fisheries Biologist at Dexter National Hatchery and Technology Center, a federal facility in New Mexico devoted to conserving endangered species. Most recently, he served on the U.S. Academy of Science Committee to review the Glen Canyon Monitoring and Research Program.

Dr. Minckley was an internationally respected authority on the systematics, ecology, and conservation biology of the fishes of the Southwestern U.S.A. and Mexico. These animals interested him as exceptional examples of the process of evolution, and his research was among the first to draw attention to the forces driving this fauna to extinction. With James Deacon, he published Battle Against Extinction (1990), a book that reads at times like an elegy for a disappearing fauna. In the Preface they wrote: "Conservationists agree as a group...that diversity must be maintained for the welfare of the biosphere, as well as for the welfare of humans. Those who embrace other philosophies are often just as firmly convinced of their alternative views, and only education based on tangible data and logical, documentable results of research and observation can be expected to change their minds. This volume provides such information, and we hope it is widely used as a reference to provide examples of what has been learned, and accomplished, in dealing with an obscure group of animals that depend on water in an improbable place."

Aquatic ecosystems provided Professor Minckley with the context for understanding the evolution of fishes. He spent his career fighting against the anthropogenic changes destroying the organisms he loved and their habitats. Elsewhere in Battle Against Extinction, Robert and Frances Miller along with Clark Hubbs, co-founders of the Desert Fishes Council, observed: "There are sound biological reasons for holding samples of virgin country in perpetuity. In time, most of the desert will be used by humans for one purpose or another - irrigation, grazing, mining, or playgrounds - but inevitably, scientists will need to know the original situation. A control is a basic part of every experiment. Retention of wilderness for the maintenance of biological diversity is a necessity for the survival of humans themselves. What we must avoid is a domesticated, homogeneous earth; for many it would be a far less fascinating place to live." Professor Minckley dedicated his professional life to avoiding this outcome. He preferred an earth rich in the diversity of plants and animals that fascinated him so much throughout his lifetime.

In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be sent to Desert Fishes Council, c/o Department of Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1501, USA.

DFC	Home	Search	Species Index		Area Index	What's New	Comment
(Dean Hendrickson)				General information:   (E. Phil Pister)

This page last modified:  09 December 2003