Background
GRANT, Peter was born on October 26, 1936 in London. Son of Frederick Thomas Charles Grant and Mavis Irene Grant.
( Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Gra...)
Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant have produced landmark studies of the Galápagos finches first made famous by Charles Darwin. In How and Why Species Multiply, they offered a complete evolutionary history of Darwin's finches since their origin almost three million years ago. Now, in their richly illustrated new book, 40 Years of Evolution, the authors turn their attention to events taking place on a contemporary scale. By continuously tracking finch populations over a period of four decades, they uncover the causes and consequences of significant events leading to evolutionary changes in species. The authors used a vast and unparalleled range of ecological, behavioral, and genetic data--including song recordings, DNA analyses, and feeding and breeding behavior--to measure changes in finch populations on the small island of Daphne Major in the Galápagos archipelago. They find that natural selection happens repeatedly, that finches hybridize and exchange genes rarely, and that they compete for scarce food in times of drought, with the remarkable result that the finch populations today differ significantly in average beak size and shape from those of forty years ago. The authors' most spectacular discovery is the initiation and establishment of a new lineage that now behaves as a new species, differing from others in size, song, and other characteristics. The authors emphasize the immeasurable value of continuous long-term studies of natural populations and of critical opportunities for detecting and understanding rare but significant events. By following the fates of finches for several generations, 40 Years of Evolution offers unparalleled insights into ecological and evolutionary changes in natural environments.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691160465/?tag=2022091-20
GRANT, Peter was born on October 26, 1936 in London. Son of Frederick Thomas Charles Grant and Mavis Irene Grant.
Bachelor with honors, Cambridge University, England, 1960. Doctor of Philosophy in Evolutionary Biology, University British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 1964. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University Uppsala, 1986.
Doctor of Science (honorary), McGill University, 2000. Doctor of Science (honorary), University San Francisco, Quito, 2005. Doctor of Science (honorary), University Zürich, 2007.
Postdoctoral research fellow Yale University, 1964—1965. Assistant professor McGill University, Canada, 1965—1968, associate professor Canada, 1965—1968, professor Canada, 1973—1977, University Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1977—1985, chairman, department ecology and evolutionary biological, 1981—1983. Professor Princeton University, New Jersey, 1985—2008, associate chairman, biology department, 1987—1988, director, program in ecology, evolution and behavior, 1988—1990, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, 1989—2008, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology Emeritus, since 2008, chairman, department ecology and evolutionary biology, 1990—1991.
Visiting professor Universities of Uppsala and Lund, Sweden, 1981, University Uppsala, Sweden, 1985.
( Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Gra...)
Author: Ecology and Evolution of Darwin's Finches, 1986, 99. Co-author: Evolutionary Dynamics of a Natural Population: The Large Cactus Finch of the Galapagos, 1989 (Wildlife Publication award, Wildlife Society, 1991), How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin's Finches, 2008. Editor: Evolution on Islands, 1998.
Co-editor: Molecules, Molds and Metazoa, 1992. Associate editor Ecology, 1968-1970, Evolutionary Theory, since 1973, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, since 1984, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1990-1993. Contributor articles to professional journals.
Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society London (Darwin medal, 2002), Royal Society of Canada, American Ornithologists' Union (Brewster medal, 1983), Linnean Society London. Member American Philosophical Society, National Academy of Sciences (foreign associate), Royal Society Sciences (foreign), American Academy Arts & Sciences, American Society Naturalists (honorary, president 1999, past president 2000, E.O. Wilson Naturalist award, 1998), Society for the Study of Evolution, Ecological Society America, Society Behavioral Ecology, Charles Dawin Foundation (General Assembly, Millenial medal for Conversation in Galapagos, 2000), Nuttall Ornithological Society (honorary).
Married Barbara Rosemary Matchett, January 4, 1962. Children: Nicola, K. Thalia.