page_title: Leszek Berger
section_title: Honors
hierarchical_section_title: Leszek Berger / Honors
caption_attribution_description: English: Pond in the shape of a frog
context_page_description: Leszek Berger was a Polish herpetologist and malacologist.
context_section_description: In 1973 Prof. Berger received the first-degree award from the Polish Academy of Science for his discovery of a new type of heredity and reproduction in one of the most common European amphibian species. Because of Berger's results, zoologists around the world have begun to study water frogs; this has resulted in discovery of several new water frog species. One of them, the former Rana bergeri Günther, 1985 (now Pelophylax bergeri), was named in his honour. Significant collaborators (5 or more publications) include Stefania Bucci (IT), Rainer Günther (GE), Elżbieta Czarniewska (PL), Hansjürg Hotz (CH), Giorgio Mancino (IT), Matilda Raghianti (IT), Mariusz Rybacki (PL), and Thomas Uzzell (USA). Today Professor Berger's research is being continued in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Vertebrates at the University of Wrocław (Maria Ogielska team).
  In October 2013, the Leszek Berger Park of Nature Education was opened in Poznań; in June 2014, a pond in the shape of a frog was created in Raszków (near the village of Jaskółki) in honour of Professor Berger.
  Over the course of 39 years (1963–2001) Prof. Berger bred and crossed all 16 taxa of western Palearctic water frogs. He obtained over 800,000 offspring from approximately 1,500 crosses, making him perhaps the most prolific scientific breeder of amphibians in the world. His publication list includes over 120 titles. 
  Prof. Berger died 8 July 2012 at age 87. He is buried in a cemetery near the Żurawiniec reserve in Poznań, where he began his research on amphibians.
caption: Pond in the shape of a frog
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