David Lack | |
|---|---|
 Lack in 1966, photo by Eric Hosking | |
| Born | David Lambert Lack 16 July 1910 London, England |
| Died | 12 March 1973 (aged 62) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | Elizabeth Lack |
| Children | 4, including Andrew Lack |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithology |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral students | |
| Other notable students | Robert H. MacArthur |
David Lambert Lack FRS[1] (16 July 1910 – 12 March 1973) was a British evolutionary biologist who made contributions to ornithology, ecology, and ethology.[4] His 1947 book, Darwin's Finches, on the finches of the Galapagos Islands was a landmark work as were his other popular science books on Life of the Robin and Swifts in a Tower.[5] He developed what is now known as Lack's Principle which explained the evolution of avian clutch sizes in terms of individual selection as opposed to the competing contemporary idea that they had evolved for the benefit of species (also known as group selection). His pioneering life-history studies of the living bird helped in changing the nature of ornithology from what was then a collection-oriented field. He was a longtime director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford.
- ^ a b Thorpe, W. H. (1974). "David Lambert Lack 1910-1973". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 20: 271–293. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1974.0012.
- ^ Perrins, Christopher Miles (1963). Some factors influencing brood-size and populations in tits (DPhil thesis). University of Oxford. OCLC 44835614. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
darwinsfincheswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Anderson, Ted R. (2013). The Life of David Lack: Father of Evolutionary Ecology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992264-2.
- ^ Blake, Charles H. (1974). "Obituary" (PDF). The Auk. 91 (1): 239. doi:10.2307/4084715. JSTOR 4084715.