Donald McAlpine

Donald McAlpine will be awarded an honorary doctorate of science at the University of New Brunswick’s 51st Spring Convocation ceremony on the Saint John campus on Friday, May 29.

Donald is a biodiversity scientist and museum curator whose career at the New Brunswick Museum spans more than four decades. He earned a BA from UNB in 1979, an MSc in 1988 and a PhD in biology in 1996. He joined the museum in 1981, became curator of zoology and served as head of the department of natural history for periods in the 1980s and 1990s and continuously since 2006.

Donald’s work brings together research, collections and public engagement. He has published more than 270 articles dealing with the fauna of Atlantic Canada in technical journals, books, conference proceedings and popular publications.

His studies have addressed emerging issues such as white-nose syndrome in bats, climate-change-induced range shifts in insects and small mammals, and the introduction of invasive molluscs and crayfish. He co‑edited a comprehensive volume on species diversity in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone and helped produce practical identification tools used by field workers and students.

At the museum, Donald has guided significant growth and modernization of the natural history collections, including the acquisition of significant holdings of marine mammals, freshwater molluscs and insects, all now consulted regularly by researchers worldwide. He has designed or overseen exhibitions and created paths for students and volunteers to learn specimen preparation, field methods and data curation.

In 2009 he founded, and until his retirement in 2024 led, BiotaNB, a biodiversity inventory program in New Brunswick Protected Natural Areas. BiotaNB continues under a new generation of leaders. Each year BiotaNB brings together taxonomic specialists from across North America, students, volunteers and artists for two weeks of intensive fieldwork and a community open house. The program has produced about 60 scientific papers and helped train a generation of naturalists and biologists.

Donald has mentored more than 20 MSc students and several PhD students as a supervisor or committee member, given frequent guest lectures, and widely collaborated with universities and agencies. National awards have honoured his work in conservation and museums, and a special journal issue has highlighted his impact on natural history research in the Maritimes.

Donald’s career is one of rigorous field science, careful stewardship of collections and a commitment to sharing knowledge with the public. He remains closely tied to UNB and to the province he has served for a lifetime.