Scientist, Adventurer, Editor

Barbara J. Weir

(1942-1993)

In her early career, Barbara J. Weir worked at the Wellcome Institute of Comparative Physiology, part of the Zoological Society of London, where she pioneered studies of the reproductive biology of hystricomorph rodents. Her doctoral work on chinchillas and their relatives (Cambridge University, 1968) began an intense fascination with this group. At a time when women were not expected to be field biologists, she made several expeditions to Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru to study the animals and became a recognized authority on their biology.

In a series of papers Barbara Weir carefully described female breeding habits of these little-known species. She carried out a comparative study of the breeding habits of three different wild guinea pigs, Cavia aperea, and two related species, Galea musteloides, and Microcavia australis. At this point almost nothing was known about wild guinea-pigs compared to their domestic relatives.

Weir’s discovery regarding the induction of estrus in the female by a male wild guinea-pig set the stage for her next paper, “The Evocation of Oestrus in the Cuis, Galea musteloides”, published in 1971. Species related to G. musteloides, (which is also known as the common yellow-toothed cavy), experience estrus cycles in the absence of males. Weir explored why this is not the case in G. musteloides. Weir experimented by exposing female cavies to varying levels of male hormones and scent. Some females were kept completely isolated from males, some females were able to see and smell a male in a neighboring cage, and other females were able to see and smell the male and his urine and feces. This exposure did nothing to induce estrus in the females; except for a few rare instances of spontaneous periods of estrus, estrus began only once the male joined the females in the cage. Weir’s study strongly suggested that female cavies may need to be in physical contact with males in order to begin an estrus cycle.

In her 1973 article, “The Induction of Ovulation and Oestrus in the Chinchilla”, Weir expanded her studies of induction of estrus to the long-tailed chinchilla, Chinchilla lanigera. Weir explored the dosages of exogenous gonadotropins needed to induce estrus and ovulation in female chinchillas. This research allowed chinchilla breeders to breed chinchillas year-round, as the correct dosages of gonadotropins could induce ovulation and make female chinchillas receptive to mating outside of the normal breeding season.

After her extensive work on hystricomorphs, Dr. Weir turned to the editorial side of science. She was the editor of the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility (now Reproduction) from 1973-1991, producing more than 50 volumes of that august journal including several significant volumes on equine reproduction.

An international symposium in her honor was convened and resulted in the classic “Biology of Hystricomorph Rodents (Zoological Society of London Symposium No. 34, 1974). In spite of decades with significant ill health, she maintained a dedication to science and a productive career. (Photo courtesy of the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, used with permission.)