Background
Lawton was born on September 24, 1943 in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom; the son of Frank Hartley and Mary (Cuerden) Lawton.
(I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a ...)
I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a knowledge of ecosys tem functioning can contribute to understanding species activities, dynamics, and assemblages." I have found it surprisingly difficult to address this topic. On the one hand, the answer is very simple and general: because all species live in ecosystems, they are part of and dependent on ecosystem processes. It is impossible to understand the abundance and distribution of populations and the species diversity and composition of communities without a knowledge of their abiotic and biotic environments and of the fluxes of energy and mat ter through the ecosystems of which they are a part. But everyone knows this. It is what ecology is all about (e.g., Likens, 1992). It is why the discipline has retained its integrity and thrived, despite a sometimes distressing degree of bickering and chauvinism among its various subdisciplines: physiological, be havioral, population, community, and ecosystem ecology.
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(As the need increases for sound estimates of impending ra...)
As the need increases for sound estimates of impending rates of animal and plant species extinction, scientists must have a firm grounding in the qualitative and quantitative methods required to make the best possible predictions. Extinction Rates offers the most wide-ranging and practical introduction to those methods available. With contributions from an international cast of leading experts, the book combines cutting-edge information on recent and past extinction rates with treatments of underlying ecological and evolutionary causes. Throughout, it highlights apparent differences in extinction rates among taxonomic groups and places, aiming to identify unresolved issues and important questions. Written with advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mind, Extinction Rates will also prove invaluable to researchers in ecology, conservation biology, and the earth and environmental sciences.
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Lawton was born on September 24, 1943 in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom; the son of Frank Hartley and Mary (Cuerden) Lawton.
Lawton received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1969 from the University of Durham, United Kingdom.
He was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Science degree from the University of Lancaster in 1993, the University of York in 2005, the University of Birmingham in 2005, the University of Aberdeen in 2006, the University of East Anglia in 2006 and Imperial College in 2006.
Lawton began his career as a demonstrator in animal ecology of the department of zoology at Oxford University in 1968. Three years later he took a position of a lecturer at the University of York. Then in 1978, John was appointed a senior lecturer and a reader in 1982 at the same university. In 1985, he became a professor of biology department at the University of York and held it for four years.
In 1989, Lawton was appointed a director of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Population Biology and professor of Community Ecology at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, where he promoted the Ecotron Controlled Environment Facility which produced extremely innovative experiments linking biodiversity, climate change, population dynamics and ecosystem processes. Ten years later he held the position of a chief executive at Natural Environment Research Council and held it until 2005.
Since 1998 John has been an honorary visiting professor at the University of York and at Imperial College since 1999. Also since 2005 he was a chairman of Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, where he worked until 2011. Since 2015 Lawton has been a president of the Institution of Environmental Sciences.
(As the need increases for sound estimates of impending ra...)
(I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a ...)
Lawton is a member of the Royal Society of London, the European Environmental Reserach Organisation, the Royal Entomological Society, the Zoological Society of London, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
He is a vice president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the British Trust for Ornithology, president of the British Ecological Society, chairman of the York Museums Trust and president of the York Ornithological Club.
On October 22, 1966 John Lawton married Dorothy Grimshaw. They have 2 children and five grandchildren.