18 August 1949 – 15 October 2020
On October 15, 2020, Sergei Evseenko, a world-renowned scientist, head of the laboratory of oceanic ichthyofauna at the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, died suddenly at the age of 72.
S.A. Evseenko was born on August 18, 1949 in Moscow. After graduation, he was hired at the Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO). In 1967, he entered the Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in Zoology (Specialization – Ichthyology), after which he returned to the laboratory of pelagic fish of VNIRO. Here he was engaged in research on the reproduction and development of commercial and mass fish species in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. His works were devoted to the problems of morphology and ecology of fish in early ontogeny, as well as to elucidation of the main parameters of reproduction and patterns of distribution and abundance of fish larvae depending on environmental factors. The result of his research was the defense of his PhD dissertation (1979) on the early stages of development of flatfishes in the North-West Atlantic.
In 1983, Sergei joined the Institute of Oceanology as a senior researcher, and in 1999 became head of the laboratory of oceanic ichthyofauna. A significant part of these publications were devoted to the development of problems of morphology, anatomy, individual development and evolution of a new family of flounders discovered by him in the Southern Ocean. In 1998, he defended his doctoral dissertation on this topic.
His main research interests also included taxonomy and ecology of the early stages of fish development at high and low latitudes, including deep-water species. He developed an ecological classification of flatfishes, first described the larvae of several dozen species of oceanic fish species, and identified patterns of distribution of ichthyoplankton in the upwelling areas of the Eastern Pacific and in large-scale frontal zones of the World’s oceans. He published about 200 scientific publications, among them, in collaboration with N.V. Parin and E.D. Vasilyeva, he published a major work “Catalog of Fishes of the Seas of Russia”. He was a member of 10 long marine expeditions.
For a long time, Sergei held the position of Executive Secretary of the main ichthyological journal of Russia “Voprosy ikhthiologii/Journal of Ichthyology”, and since 2011 he has been Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Sergey was a worthy successor of the scientific directions laid down by the outstanding Russian ichthyologists, prof. Theodore Rass and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolai Parin.
With the death of Sergei Evseenko, modern ichthyology suffered an irreparable loss. Colleagues remember him as an intelligent, friendly and cheerful person. He was rightfully respected and loved by everyone. Everyone who was lucky enough to know this wonderful man and outstanding scientist will keep a bright memory of him.
From DSL16
