Editing Tim Berra (biologist) (section)

==Career==
Berra has been called "an international expert in freshwater fish, with a reputation for solving long-standing mysteries". His notable work includes the taxonomic separation of two species of Australian [[cod]] (the [[trout cod]] from [[Murray cod]]) in the [[Murray River]], and solving the disappearance and reappearance of the [[salamanderfish]] in Southwestern Australia, discovering that they burrow when the pools dry only to reappear later when the water returns.{{R|Coleman}}

In 1988, Berra contributed to the preservation of a [[megamouth shark]], a species witnessed rarely before that, described as "one of the most important zoological finds of the decade".{{R|Coleman}}

Berra's 1996 research on ''[[Galaxias maculatus]]'' proved that its freshwater distribution around the Southern Hemisphere was due to dispersal through the sea of salt-tolerant juveniles. He has also worked on other Chilean [[Galaxiidae|galaxiids]].{{R|Benowitz}}

Berra is a university professorial fellow at Charles Darwin University, a research associate at the Northern Territory Museum, and emeritus professor of evolution, ecology, and organismal biology at Ohio State University.{{R|Coleman}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Tim M. Berra |url=https://www.usni.org/people/tim-m-berra |website=U.S. Naval Institute |access-date=22 September 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Southern Pacific fishes illustrations by F.E. Clarke 24.jpg|thumb|[[Australian grayling]] (''Prototroctes maraena'')]]
[[File:FMIB 36611 Murray cod Oligorus macquariensis.jpeg|thumb|[[Murray cod]] (''Maccullochella peeli'')]] 
[[File:Gristes macquariensis from Griffin & Smith 1834 bhl Classpisces00cuvi 0137 crop.jpg|thumb|[[Trout cod]] (''Maccullochella macquariensis'')]]
* 1969 – Awarded a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the [[Australian National University]] in Canberra, Australia{{R|Whitmire}}
* 1971 – Lecturer of biology, [[University of Papua New Guinea]]{{R|Dispatch}}{{R|Benowitz}}
* 1979 – Fulbright senior research fellow at [[Monash University]] in Melbourne, Australia{{R|Whitmire}}
* 1992 – Visiting professor [[University of Concepción]] in Chile{{R|Dispatch}}
* 1996 – Visiting professor [[University of Otago]] in [[Dunedin]], New Zealand{{R|Dispatch}}
* 1992–2000 – Member of the board of trustees of the [[Columbus Zoo and Aquarium]]{{R|Mansfield News}}
* 1989–2022 – Served on the board of governors of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.{{R|Mansfield News}}
* 1981–1985 – Editor-in-chief of ''The Ohio Journal of Science''.{{R|Mansfield News}}

===Charles Darwin===
Fascinated as a child by the adventures of the [[HMS Beagle|HMS ''Beagle'']] and the naturalist [[William Beebe]], Berra has written several books on [[Charles Darwin]], Darwin's family and in 1977, Beebe. ''Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man'' was published in 2009, timed for the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth in 1809. Berra became interested in the children of Darwin and his wife [[Emma Wedgwood]]. The children had often been mentioned in other books, but little had been written about their lives, Berra researched the ten children and published ''Darwin and His Children: His Other Legacy'' in 2013. Darwin and his wife were first cousins, which interested Berra on how this might have affected the family genetics. Their [[consanguine marriage]] possibly affected the children with "reduced fertility" compared with similar families of their class during that time. Seven children lived to adulthood, only three of those had children.{{R|Herald}} Darwin himself suffered from ill-health, "severe digestive problems and a skin disease that made shaving so painful that he grew his distinctive beard". Berra asked researchers in Spain who had used computer modeling to understand the genetics of the [[Habsburg family tree]] to look into the genetics of the Darwin family. The result was that there was an increased risk of low-fertility and bacterial infections, which at least two of Darwin's children died of.{{R|NYT Darwin}}

In 2016 ''[[The Washington Post]]'' contacted Berra to weigh in on the importance of finding a letter from Darwin that had been stolen 30-years prior by an intern at the [[Smithsonian]]. Berra explained that while Darwin was trained as a geologist and would have been "interested in what was going on in America", this letter would be one of over 7,000 letters written by Darwin and anything by Darwin "is of historical significance and scientific significance".{{R|Darwin letter}} Berra has pushed for the city of Darwin to fully embrace the man and legacy that they are named for. In 2014 Berra said that when he started coming to Darwin in 2001 he was "struck by the fact that there was nothing visible about him [Darwin] to the public." Today, the ''Beagle'' ship bell chimes and bust of Darwin reside in Darwin's Civic Center, and the former Northern Territory University is renamed Charles Darwin University.{{R|Vangopoulos}} Berra gave the keynote address on Darwin in 2009 at the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin held at the Darwin Convention Center in Darwin.{{R|Whitmire}}

===After retirement===
[[File:Nurseryfish in net.jpg|thumb|Male [[nurseryfish]] with embryos - photographed inside net]]
In 1995, Berra retired from teaching full time. In 2009 he won his third [[Fulbright Fellowship]], and continued to publish books and scientific papers. In 2016 as a professorial fellow stationed at [[Charles Darwin University]] in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], Australia, Berra continued his work on [[nurseryfish]].{{R|Richland}} His research on the nurseryfish was to investigate the male's unique adaptation, carrying thousands of fertilized eggs on a hook "like a bunch of grapes". Berra wanted to know how the embryos attached to the hook, and if the male was the genetic father of the embryos.{{R|grapes}} {{R|Coleman}}

During one of the research trips in 2011 with Wedd on the [[Adelaide River]] they encountered a 5-metre [[crocodile]] locals call Agro eating the fish that Berra and Wedd had trapped in a net they were using in their research. Argo got his teeth into the net and before Berra and Wedd could attempt releasing it, Argo tore a "humungous hole" in the net. The rest of the day Argo followed them around the river.{{R|Agro}}
In 2009 the [[Smithsonian Institution]] received Berra's collection of 260 species of rare fishes.{{R|Dispatch}} Berra and his wife Rita M. Berra endowed the first chair established at Ohio State's regional campus. Berra hopes that the chair will be filled by a scientist that will do field work and return to teach at the Mansfield campus, also Berra made the bequest to honor his wife Rita, of whom he said "She has made my life easier for all these years and has provided unselfish support, freeing me to pursue my research". The chair is called the Tim M. and Rita M. Berra Endowed Chair in Evolutionary Biology, in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology.{{R|Mansfield News}}