Mark Elgar

Professor
Mark Adrian Elgar
Residence Australia
Nationality Australian
Alma mater Griffith University
Known for Research on sexual selection, social behaviour and chemical communication
Scientific career
Fields Evolutionary biology
Institutions University of Melbourne
Thesis Flocking and foraging strategies in house sparrows Passer domesticus L (1985[1])
Doctoral advisor Nick Davies[2]
Influences John Maynard Smith[2]
Website http://markaelgar.com/

Mark Adrian Elgar is an Australian behavioural and evolutionary ecologist, based at the University of Melbourne since 1991. He established his reputation with research on bird foraging strategies and sexual cannibalism in spiders,[3][4][5] but now explores a variety of evolutionary questions around sexual selection, social behaviour and chemical communication.[2]

Research career

In January 1980, Elgar completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours at Griffith University.[6] From 1982-1985, he undertook his PhD research at Cambridge University under Nick Davies, studying the flocking and foraging strategies of house sparrows.[1] According to Elgar, Davies taught him "the value of asking questions that can be resolved by simple experiments, and of treating colleagues respectfully."[2] Elgar was also influenced by evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith, who attended one of Elgar's seminars at Sussex University and was enthusiastic about his research.[2]

Following the completion of his PhD, Elgar served as a Science and Engineering Research Fellow at University of Oxford (1985-1987).[6] He then returned to Australia, working as a University Research Fellow (1987-1989) and Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellow (1989-1990) at University of New South Wales.[6] He joined the University of Melbourne in 1991,[7][8] where he became a professor in 2005.[7]

Elgar has served as President of the Australasian Evolution Society and Councillor for the International Society for Behavioral Ecology.[8] He became editor-in-chief of the journal Behavioral Ecology in November 2006,[9] and has also been editor-of-chief for the Australian Journal of Zoology.[6] As of 2016, he is Field Chief Editor for Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Mark Elgar (1985) Flocking and foraging strategies in house sparrows Passer domesticus L PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Interview with Professor Mark Elgar Australasian Evolution Society. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Mark Elgar (1992) Cannibalism: Ecology and Evolution Among Diverse Taxa Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198546505.
  4. ↑ Mark A. Elgar, David R. Nash (1988) "Sexual cannibalism in the garden spider Araneus diadematus" Animal Behaviour, 36(5): 1511-1517 (September–October 1988). ISSN 0003-3472, doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80221-5.
  5. ↑ Mark A. Elgar, Jutta M. Schneider, Marie E. Herberstein (2000) "Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope keyserlingi Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 267: 2439-2443 (7 December 2000). doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1303.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Mark Elgar profile The Conversation. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 Mark Elgar investigator Official website: Principal Investigator Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Mark A. Elgar profile Loop. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Editor-in-Chiefs’ Reports, Behavioral Ecology" International Society for Behavioral Ecology newsletter, 18(2), November 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
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