Mark Rehfisch was one of the first ecologists to realize that the impacts of climate change on wintering waders and wildfowl in the UK would tend to move birds eastwards rather than northwards. He recognized that the isotherms in winter lie north–south as opposed to east–west, as occurs in the summer. A series of papers (Rehfisch et al. 2004a, Austin & Rehfisch 2005, Maclean et al. 2008) confirmed these ideas, showing that the wintering populations of birds such as Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus , Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula and Dunlin Calidris alpina were declining on western estuaries while increasing in the east. This allowed the birds to take advantage of better feeding grounds in the east, while not having to face the risks of prolonged freezing conditions. Non‐estuarine shorebirds also shifted distributions northwards and eastwards, which was related to being closer to their breeding grounds.

These papers were just some of the many that Mark wrote or contributed to, based on the extensive citizen‐science datasets held by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and which he helped to create. For 14 years, Mark led the BTO’s Wetlands and Coastal Team and drove the push towards making the schemes such as the Wetlands Birds Survey and Low‐tide Count Scheme much more effective. He did this by moving the systems onto large databases, allowing more efficient collation and verification, so that they could be analysed increasingly quickly over the years. He also instituted the use of Geographic Information Systems and encouraged the use of stratified randomized waterbird surveys. This was greatly appreciated by the partners of the schemes, including the UK Government, through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and RSPB. He also saw the importance of increasing the coverage of wetland bird monitoring to non‐estuarine shorebirds and gulls, as well as non‐native species – leading on the development of surveys of these groups and dealing with some formidable operational and practical problems with great success.

Mark was born in Omdurman in Sudan, where his father was an anthropologist working out of Khartoum and he was proud of his French heritage from his mother. He spent his teenage years in France and Hull (where his father was a professor) and was introduced to birdwatching and ringing by Dr Stuart Walker, the local GP, at Hornsea Mere, joining the BTO as a member at the age of 13. He studied Zoology at Hull, gaining his BSc in 1983, and was winner of the Professor R.K. Murton Prize in Zoology for his thesis on invertebrate prey of mudflat birds. He then went to Lake Ichkeul, Tunisia, as a research assistant from University College London (UCL), where he undertook research on Greylag Geese Anser anser , monitored up to a quarter of a million wintering waterbirds, collected hydrological and botanical data, and co‐authored a number of papers derived from his work there.

His PhD (1990), also at the University of Hull, combined his interest in invertebrates and birds by exploring the chironomid populations of man‐made lagoons of Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve and how they might be optimized for feeding ducks and waders. He came up with what he called a ‘reverse sombrero’ design – shallow areas for feeding, but a deeper central area, where the chironomids could retreat under adverse freezing conditions in winter or dry summer conditions (Rehfisch 1994).

After a brief stint as a teacher in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, which arose when an opportunity to study Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata in Taif fell through, he applied for an Estuarine Biologist post at the BTO in 1990 – his success might partly have been due to the finishing sentence on his application letter: ‘Finally, my main qualification is a love of being cold and muddy’! His first job involved radio‐tracking Pintail Anas acuta on the Mersey estuary – working round‐the‐clock with his colleague Innes Sim, sleeping in cars and following the Pintail and Teal Anas crecca from dawn to dusk. When he returned to the BTO, he worked with Nigel Clark in the Habitats Advisory Unit, undertaking or supervising a wide range of projects, often on potential barrage schemes and wind turbine developments.

In 1995 he became BTO’s Head of the Wetlands and Coastal Ecology Unit where he began, among other things, to work on the potential impacts of climate change. One of the most remarkable projects was working with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on developing models of how estuary shapes and sediments might change with projected sea‐level rise. In addition to producing papers on population estimates for a range of different bird groups, other important studies included an analysis of ringing recoveries to show the optimum spacing for refuges for wintering waders (Rehfisch et al. 1996); how a sudden loss of wintering habitat affects Common Redshank Tringa totanus survival (Burton et al. 2006); the impacts of bird populations on the microbiological quality of bathing waters (Wither et al. 2005); and a number of more general papers on the impacts of climate change on wintering waterbirds (e.g. Austin & Rehfisch 2003, Robinson et al. 2009). In total, he produced over 50 peer‐reviewed scientific papers, as well as many research reports for the BTO. His remarkable work ethic, combined with a highly supportive attitude to his staff, led to a substantial increase in the scientific output and reputation of the BTO team under his leadership.

While at the BTO, he spent eight years as a member and then Chair of the BOU’s Meetings Committee, the latter role as a Trustee on BOU Council. He successfully developed a wide ranging programme of important and well‐attended conferences. The Proceedings of one of which, on Climate Change and Coastal Birds, he edited as a supplement to Ibis (Rehfisch et al. 2004b). He remained a dedicated BOU member and regular attendee at BOU meetings and conferences. He also organized a number of symposia at meetings of the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and of the European Ornithologists’ Union (EOU).

In 2009, he took on the role of Director of Development at the BTO, and oversaw the wide range of contractual work being undertaken by the BTO, helping to diversify the Trust’s income streams and ensure that it was on a sound footing In 2012 Mark decided to look for a new challenge, which was to work in the commercial sector and take up the position as Head of Ornithology and Associate Director at the ecological consultancy APEM. The focus of his scientific work for APEM was on the application of aerial surveys to the assessment of the potential impacts of offshore wind farms on marine birds. During his time with APEM the development of digital imaging sensors, carried as multiple camera arrays on fixed‐wing aircraft, led to the ability to cover much larger areas of sea at higher resolution and lower cost. Mark was concerned to ensure that alongside these greater operational efficiencies, there were improvements in the measurement of bird flight heights and of the power to detect change in bird populations before and after an offshore wind farm was constructed. He also led APEM’s own investigations into the use of airborne LiDAR to measure bird flight heights. His long‐term involvement in understanding non‐breeding wader populations was not neglected while at APEM and he was the instigator of a trial of digital aerial imagery for measuring wintering wader populations at low tide on The Wash, taking part in the ground‐truthing himself in February 2018.

In addition to being a deeply committed professional ornithologist, he loved birdwatching and, although not a twitcher, he did seem to know his list to a surprising degree of accuracy! He was also passionate about conservation more widely, supporting the World Land Trust and for the last decade or so, never flying – only travelling by boat or train. He would also wag his fingers at drivers of large SUVs or 4WD gas guzzling vehicles which, surprisingly, never got him into trouble! He was a lover of fine wine, fine dining, rugby, Leeds United FC, jazz and sub‐aqua. He was a great conversationalist with a wicked sense of humour, because, on any topic he would hold interesting and challenging views that would lead to lively discussions – and often coming round to birds or the natural world. He showed huge courage in dealing with his cancer, working passionately throughout and enjoying birding trips out to the East Anglian coast whenever possible. He was immensely proud of his wife, Kay, and their daughters Anna and Natasha, and he will be greatly missed by all his many friends and colleagues.

马克·雷菲施（Mark Rehfisch）是最早认识到气候变化对英国越冬涉禽和野禽的影响将使鸟类向东而不是向北移动的最早的生态学家之一。他认识到，冬天的等温线位于夏天的南北方向，而不是东西方。一系列论文（Rehfisch等人，2004a； Austin＆Rehfisch等人，2005； Maclean等人，2008）证实了这些观点，表明越冬的鸟类如欧亚牡蛎蛎ema（Haematopus ostralegus），普通环斑l Charadrius hiaticula和Dunlin Calidris alpina西方河口在下降，而东方河在增加。这使鸟类可以利用东部更好的觅食场，而不必面对长期冻僵的风险。非河口shore鸟也向北和向东转移分布，这与离它们的繁殖地更近有关。

这些论文只是M​​ark撰写或贡献的许多论文中的一部分，这些论文都是基于英国鸟类学信托基金会（BTO）持有并由他协助创建的广泛的公民科学数据集。在14年的时间里，马克领导着BTO的湿地和沿海团队，并推动使该计划（例如湿地鸟类调查和低潮计数计划）更加有效。他通过将系统移至大型数据库来实现此目的，从而可以更有效地进行排序和验证，以便多年来可以对它们进行快速分析。他还开始使用地理信息系统，并鼓励使用分层的随机水鸟调查。该计划的合作伙伴，包括英国政府，通过联合自然保护委员会（JNCC）对此表示高度赞赏，野禽和湿地基金会（WWT）和RSPB。他还看到了将湿地鸟类监测的覆盖范围扩大到非河口水鸟和海鸥以及非本地物种的重要性，这导致了对这些群体的调查的发展，并成功地解决了一些巨大的操作和实际问题。

马克（Mark）出生于苏丹的奥姆杜曼（Omdurman），父亲是在喀土穆工作的人类学家，他为母亲的法国传统而感到自豪。他在法国和赫尔（他的父亲曾是教授）的地方度过了十几岁的少年时光，并被Hornsea Mere的当地GP Stuart Walker博士介绍了观鸟和鸣叫的声音，并在13岁时加入了BTO。在赫尔（Hull）学习动物学，并于1983年获得学士学位，并因其关于滩涂鸟类无脊椎动物猎物的论文而获得RK默顿教授的动物学奖。然后，他作为伦敦大学学院（UCL）的研究助理前往突尼斯的伊奇库尔湖，在那里他对Greylag Geese Anser anser进行了研究。，他监视了多达一百万只越冬水鸟的四分之一，收集了水文和植物学数据，并合着了许多他在那儿工作所得的论文。

他的博士学位（1990年），也是在赫尔大学获得的，他通过研究Blacktoft Sands RSPB保护区的人工泻湖的奇异虫种群以及如何优化它们来饲养鸭和涉禽而结合了他对无脊椎动物和鸟类的兴趣。他提出了他所谓的“反向草帽”设计–较浅的觅食区域，但较深的中央区域，在冬季或夏季干燥的不利冰冻条件下，猫科动物可以退缩（Rehfisch 1994）。

在沙特阿拉伯吉达担任教师的短暂经历后，由于在塔伊夫学习Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata的机会落空，他于1990年在BTO申请了河口生物学家的职位–他的成功可能部分归因于最后，他的求职信上写着：“最后，我的主要资格是对冷酷和泥泞的热爱”！他的第一项工作是在Mersey河口进行无线电跟踪Pintail Anas acuta –与他的同事Innes Sim全天候工作，睡在汽车上，跟随Pintail和Teal Anas crecca从黎明到黄昏。回到BTO后，他与人居咨询部的Nigel Clark合作，负责或监督了一系列项目，这些项目通常涉及潜在的拦河坝方案和风力涡轮机开发。

1995年，他成为BTO湿地和沿海生态部门的负责人，除其他外，他开始研究气候变化的潜在影响。最杰出的项目之一是与生态和水文学中心合作开发模型，以预测河口形状和沉积物如何随着预计海平面上升而变化。除了撰写有关一系列不同鸟类的种群估计的论文外，其他重要研究还包括对响铃回收率进行分析，以显示越冬涉水者的避难所的最佳间隔（Rehfisch等，1996）。如何越冬栖息突然失去影响赤足鹬矶鹬生存（伯顿等人。2006年）; 鸟类种群对沐浴水微生物质量的影响（Wither等人，2005年）；有关气候变化对越冬水鸟的影响的更多普通论文（例如Austin＆Rehfisch 2003，Robinson等2009）。总共，他撰写了50多篇经过同行评审的科学论文，以及针对BTO的许多研究报告。他非凡的职业道德，加上对员工的高度支持态度，在他的领导下大大提高了BTO团队的科学成果和声誉。

在BTO任职期间，他担任BOU的会议委员会成员八年，然后担任BOU的会议委员会主席，后者担任BOU理事会的受托人。他成功地制定了重要会议和参加者广泛的会议计划。他的论文集之一，是《气候变化和沿海鸟类》的编辑，是对宜必思的补充（Rehfisch等，2004b）。他仍然是BOU的忠实会员，也是BOU会议的常客。在国际鸟类学大会（IOC）和欧洲鸟类学家联盟（EOU）的会议上，他还组织了一些专题讨论会。

2009年，他担任BTO发展总监一职，并监督BTO开展的广泛合同工作，帮助使该信托的收入来源多样化并确保其收入稳健。2012年，马克决定寻找新的挑战，那就是在商业领域工作，并担任生态咨询公司APEM的鸟类学负责人和副总监。他为APEM所做的科学工作的重点是将航空测量应用于评估海上风电场对海洋鸟类的潜在影响。在他任职APEM期间，数字成像传感器的开发作为固定翼飞机上的多个摄像机阵列携带，从而使其能够以更高的分辨率和更低的成本覆盖更大的海洋区域。马克担心要确保在提高这些运营效率的同时，还改进了鸟类飞行高度的测量以及在建造海上风电场之前和之后检测鸟类种群变化的能力。他还领导了APEM自己对使用机载LiDAR来测量鸟类飞行高度的调查。在APEM期间，他长期了解非繁殖涉水种群并没有被忽视，他是数字航空影像试验的倡导者，该试验用于在The Wash退潮时测量越冬涉水种群，并亲自参加了实战研究。在2018年2月。在建造海上风电场之前和之后，鸟类飞行高度的测量以及检测鸟类种群变化的能力都有了改进。他还领导了APEM自己对使用机载LiDAR来测量鸟类飞行高度的调查。在APEM期间，他长期了解非繁殖涉水种群并没有被忽视，他是数字航空影像试验的倡导者，该试验用于在The Wash退潮时测量越冬涉水种群，并亲自参加了实战研究。在2018年2月。在建造海上风电场之前和之后，鸟类飞行高度的测量以及检测鸟类种群变化的能力都有了改进。他还领导了APEM自己对使用机载LiDAR来测量鸟类飞行高度的调查。在APEM期间，他长期了解非繁殖涉水种群并没有被忽视，他是数字航空影像试验的倡导者，该试验用于在The Wash退潮时测量越冬涉水种群，并亲自参加了实战研究。在2018年2月。

除了是一名致力于研究鸟类的专业鸟类学家外，他还喜欢观鸟，尽管他不花时间，但他确实以惊人的准确性了解了他的清单！他还对保护更加热情，支持了世界土地信托基金（World Land Trust），并且在过去十年左右的时间里，从不飞行-仅乘船或乘火车旅行。他还会用手指指着大型SUV或四轮驱动的耗油量大的车辆的驾驶员，令人惊讶的是，从来没有遇到麻烦！他是葡萄酒，美食，橄榄球，利兹联足球俱乐部，爵士乐和苏打水的爱好者。他是一个幽默感极强的健谈主义者，因为在任何话题上，他都会提出有趣而富挑战性的观点，从而引发热烈的讨论-并经常涉及鸟类或自然界。他在治疗癌症方面表现出极大的勇气，热情地工作，并尽可能地享受到东安格利亚海岸的观鸟之旅。他为自己的妻子凯和他们的女儿安娜和娜塔莎感到非常骄傲，他的许多朋友和同事都会非常想念他。